Changes

[[File:Brezel.png|thumb|upright=.6|What pretzels (the large soft oness ones and the small hard ones) are called in various dialects of German]]The Italian "''la brazzatella''" sounds quite similar to the German ''"die Brezel"''… Or is it ''"des Brezel"''? Or ''"das der Brezel"''? German speakers can't agree as to the grammatical gender of their pretzels. Nor The jury is there agreement about also out on whether the first "e" in this word is long or short (as in ''"der/die/das Bretzel"''). There are also those, mostly in Bavaria and Austria, who call it ''"die Brezen"'' (or ''"der Brezen"''). Or even ''"die Brezg"'', as they say along the Bavarian-Swabian border.<ref> {{Cyt

The same blogger proves that pretzels have been known in Alsace since at least the 13th century, becuase because you can find their images in ''Hortus Deliciarum'' (''Garden of Delights''), a kind of medieval illustrated encyclopedia. It was created by Herrad of LandbergLandsberg, an abbess of the convent on Mount Saint Odile in the eastern Vosges. You can see breads twisted into the unmistakeable unmistakable pretzel shape in three illuminations depicting Biblical figures seated at a table. What 's interesting is that in all three pictures the pretzels lie right next to fish.

What might pretzels have to do with fish? Well, neither of them contains any ingredients of land-animal origin (pretzel dough containes contains no eggs or butter), which means they may be safely consumed during a period of Catholic fast. Along with fish, the pretzel used to be one of the chief symbols of Lent, which is best illustrated by Pieter Brueghel's famous painting, ''The Fight Between Carnival and Lent''.

[[File:Pieter Bruegel d. Ä. 066.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2|Pieter Brueghel, ''The Fight Between Carnival and Lent'' (1559).<br />How many preztels pretzels can you find here? I got ten(my niece got twelve).]]And because pretzels were made from the relatively expensive wheat flour, they were not only a lean product, but also a luxurious one. Some of those who could afford them couldn't even wait until Lent and would start eating them already in the carnival. And so in many some parts of Germany and the Low Countries did has the pretzel become a traditional carnival treat. In many towns pretzels are given away during carnival parades. The Flemish town of Geraardsbergen is still known for its tradition of throwing little pretzel-shaped sugar-covered cookies called ''krakelingen'' into the crowd on the first Monday of March.<ref> {{Cyt

Skąd właściwie wziął się ten kształtBut where does this shape come from anyway? Tego nikt nie wieNobody seems to know for sure; nawet legendy mające tłumaczyć, skąd pochodzi, nie są ze sobą zgodneeven the legends don't agree. One says that the shape of the pretzel is designed to resemble the arms of a monk folded in prayer. Według jednejAccording to another one, kształt precla ma przypominać ręce mnicha złożone do modlitwy. Wedle innej – wymyślił go wirtemberski piekarz skazany na śmierćit was invented by a baker from Württemberg who had been sentenced to death, którego hrabia but whom Count Eberhard z&nbsp;von Urach rzekomo obiecał ułaskawićpromised to pardon on the condition that he bakes a bread through which the sun would shine three times. In any case, jeśli ten upiecze chleb, przez który słońce zaświeci trzykrotniethe pretzel shape is so distinctive that bakers' guilds throughout central Europe would adopt it as their coats of arms. You can still find it on the shop sign of many a German bakery. W&nbsp;każdym razie kształt precla był na tyle charakterystycznyThe are differences in the pretzels orientation, że gildie piekarzy w&nbspthough;miastach całej środkowej Europy przyjęły go za swój herb, który do dziś można zobaczyć na szyldach niemieckich piekarni. Różnice są głównie w&nbsp;orientacji precla: w&nbsp;niektórych herbach cechowych precel wyobrażony jest brzuszkiem do górysometimes the pretzel is painted on a bakery sign belly-up, w&nbsp;niektórych – brzuszkiem w&nbsp;dółsometimes, a&nbsp;są i&nbsp;takiebelly-down, gdzie kompromisowo umieszczono go brzuszkiem w&nbsp;bokand there are even those compromise signs where it's been placed belly-sideways. Oto jeszcze jeden nierozstrzygnięty dotąd spór dotyczący precliThis is yet another as-yet-unresolved dispute regarding the pretzel.<ref>{{Cyt

[[File:Frau mit Brezel.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|Bawarka z&nbsp;koszykiem precliA Bavarian woman with a basket of pretzels]]Tym co łączy precle z&nbsp;różnych regionów – poza kształtem – jest The one thing that is common topretzels from different regions (apart from the shape) is that they are steeped in lye (4% solution of sodium hydroxide), że zamiast obwarzać we wrzątkurather than boiled in water, moczy się je w&nbsp;ługu (czyli czteroprocentowym roztworze wodorotlenku sodu)prior to being baked. Po upieczeniu daje to gładkąThis is what gives them their smooth, ale popękanąbut cracked, błyszcząco miedzianobrązową skórkęshiny copper-brown crust. Jeśli wierzyć wspomnianej wyżej legendzieAccording to the aforementioned legend, we owe lye pretzels to precle ługowe zawdzięczamy kotu owego wirtemberskiego piekarzathe Württemberger baker's cat, który przypadkiem strącił przygotowane do pieczenia precle do garnka z&nbsp;ługiemwhich accidentally dropped the unbaked pretzels into a vat of lye. Ponieważ nie było już czasu na zrobienie nowych, As there was no time left to spanikowany piekarz upiekł temake new ones, które wyłowił z&nbsp;ługuthe panicked baker just retrieved the pretzels from the lye and popped them into the oven, i&nbsp;okazało się, że wynalazł przepis stosowany do dziśthus inventing the recipe that is still used today. Bawarczycy mają na ten temat inny pogląd: precle ługoweBavarians, owszemthough, wynaleziono przypadkiemhave a different opinion on the lye pretzel's provenance: yes, z&nbsp;tym że nie w&nbsp;XV wiekuthey were invented by accident, ale dopiero w&nbsp;XIXonly it wasn't in 15th-century Württemberg, a&nbsp;wynalazku tego dokonano oczywiście w&nbsp;Monachium i&nbsp;wkrótce później skopiowano w&nbsp;Wirtembergiibut in 19th-century Munich.