One of America’s most popular foods, the pretzel, is being celebrated this month on National Pretzel Day.

It was in 2003 that Pennsylvania’s then-governor, Ed Rendell, declared April 26 “National Pretzel Day” to acknowledge the importance of the pretzel to the state’s history and economy. Pennsylvania produces about 80% of America’s pretzels, according to Pa Eats, a nonprofit group whose mission is to showcase stories about the state’s food culture.

The average American consumes two pounds of pretzels a year, showcasing how deeply embedded the pretzel is in America. But our area blows that statistic out of the water: Pa Eats says that while it’s a bit tricky to find statewide pretzel consumption statistics, it is well documented that, at least in Philadelphia, the annual pretzel consumption per person is 12 pounds per year.

There are annual pretzel festivals held in Lititz and Reading, and some 45 pretzel companies call Pennsylvania home. Pa Eats calls it the Pretzel Belt. Some of the biggest brands in Pennsylvania include Synder’s of Hanover, Herr’s and Utz.

Among the hard-pretzel specialists is Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels, in Lancaster, with its handmade Pennsylvania Dutch Pretzel. It’s a small, family-owned business that makes its pretzels using only four ingredients: flour, yeast, sourdough starter and salt.

This is unorthodox compared to the typical way of making pretzels, but according to Misty Skolnick, co-owner of Uncle Jerry’s, this isn’t the only unique thing about the company.

“The biggest difference is that we’re handmade,” she said. “The dough is mixed and then rolled out and hand twisted and then sent through a hearth oven.”

“We hand package and seal every bag,” she said. “We also don’t use any oils, we don’t add sugar, and we don’t use preservatives.”

Uncle Jerry’s was started in 1988 by Misty’s father, Jerry Skolnick, and was originally located in Philadelphia. At first, the pretzels were sold by going door to door, which the company hasn’t completely abandoned, she said.

One local market that sells Uncle Jerry’s is Weavers Way Co-op Farmstand in Roxborough, but they are always happy to expand their retailers, “If a store is interested in carrying us, we’re happy to work with them,” Skolnick said.

“We’re a proud family owned and operated business and have been for almost 40 years. And we intend to keep it that way.”

Historical accounts say that the pretzel may be the world’s oldest snack, created by monks around 610 AD in Southern France, and was used to reward children for learning their prayers. They were baked in thin strips of dough and shaped to look like the arms of children folded in prayer. From there pretzels spread across Germany and Italy and were used for religious fasting because of their simple ingredients. By the 18th century, Swiss-German immigrants arrived in Pennsylvania, bringing their pretzels with them, which became the roots of American pretzel culture.

“If Pennsylvania had a state food flag,” according to Pa Eats, “... there is a 100% chance that a pretzel would be emblazoned on it, front-and-center.”