Pennsylvania Is Home To Some Of The Best Pretzels In The US

Wisconsin is known for its cheese and Louisiana for its gumbo and jambalaya, but Pennsylvania's culinary claim to fame is pretzels. Snyder's of Hanover, one of the most popular pretzel brands in the United States, began producing its famous Old Tyme Pretzels in Hanover, Pennsylvania, in 1909. The company's headquarters are still located there today. But alongside Snyder's of Hanover, Pennsylvania produces about 80 percent of the country's pretzels — the state is home to a whopping 45 companies that produce this famous Oktoberfest snack.

In addition to the large corporations, Pennsylvania has plenty of local bakeries that serve up some of the best soft pretzels in America. One such establishment is Martin's Pretzel Bakery in Lancaster County, which is the birthplace of North American pretzels. Hand-rolled and twisted at the family-run shop, these are made with recipes passed down through several generations, so there's been a lot of time to hone the craft of pretzel-making.

Another famous spot is the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, where visitors can learn how to twist dough themselves. Having founded their business in 1861, the Sturgises have been in this business longer than any other American family, giving them decades to perfect their pretzels. In addition to the bakery's rich history, it consistently wins awards and finds itself on "Best of" Lists. Travel Awaits named Julius Sturgis one of the top Amish bakeries in the Lancaster area in 2020, and TripAdvisor awarded the eatery a Traveler's Choice Award in 2024.

The reason that so many pretzel enterprises set up shop in Pennsylvania over a century ago has to do with the demographics of the region. The large population of German speakers, known as the Pennsylvania Dutch began immigrating to the area in the 1680s and continued arriving into the 19th century. Doing so, they brought their pretzel-making traditions with them and worked to build Pennsylvania's culinary traditions, including the oldest farmers market in America.

The earliest North American pretzels were the same soft, doughy creations with a long history in Bavaria, Germany. However, it didn't take long for hard pretzels to become popular, and Julius Sturgis claimed to be the first to produce the crunchy spin on the classic treat. In doing so, he changed the pretzel business. Hard pretzels can be stored for longer than their soft counterparts, which made it possible to ship them further away, increasing pretzel companies' range of business. While hard pretzels may now be found at grocery stores around the country, it's still hard to beat that soft, warm, buttery dough — especially when it's from the heart of Pennsylvania's Pretzel Belt. As the home of these baked treats in America, this is the place to go for award-winning pretzels.