In the 1920s, Grandma Eda and Edward Snyder started selling their homemade fried potato chips door to door, at fairs, and at local markets while their son and his wife made and sold angel food cake. The two merged to form Snyder's Bakery in 1924. In 1909, Harry Warehime began making Olde Tyme Pretzels.

Ingredients. Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Malt (Tapioca Syrup, Malt Extract), Cane Sugar, Canola Oil*, Yeast, Soda. *Adds a Trivial Amount of Fat. CONTAINS: WHEAT.

Snyder's of Hanover traces its roots to a bakery formed in Hanover, Pennsylvania, by Harry Warehime in 1909. In 1920 Eda and Edward Snyder started selling their homemade fried potato chips at various businesses. In 1950, the company was split into two independent companies: Snyder's of Hanover and Snyder of Berlin.

SITUATION: Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Snyder's of Hanover is an American bakery and snack food distribution company that specializes in German traditional pretzels. Founded in 1909, Snyder's of Hanover is owned by Snyder's Lance Inc., the second largest salty snack maker in the United States.

In the late 18th century, southern German and Swiss German immigrants introduced the pretzel to North America. The immigrants became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and in time, many handmade pretzel bakeries populated the central Pennsylvania countryside, and the pretzel's popularity spread.

Pretzel baking has most firmly taken root in the region of Franconia and adjoining Upper German-speaking areas, and pretzels have been an integral part of German baking traditions for centuries.

Pretzels are a type of bread typically made from wheat or rye flour and a few other ingredients, such as yeast, sugar, salt, water, and butter.

If you think pretzels are the “safer” of the traditional snack items, think again. “While this salty treat can be low in fat, they hold no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever,” Grotto says. “In a side-by-side comparison, 1 ounce of pretzels raised blood sugar higher than 1 ounce of potato chips.”

First mentioned in documents in 1100, Hannover was chartered in 1241 and joined the Hanseatic League in 1386. From 1495 it belonged to the Calenberg-Celle line of the house of Welf, whose seat it was from 1636. In 1714 George Louis of that house became George I of Great Britain.

The outcome of the war led to the dissolution of Hanover as an independent kingdom, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia and became the Prussian Province of Hanover. Along with the rest of Prussia, it became part of the German Empire in 1871.

In any case, the pretzel has very early roots in Southern Germany, as well, where it is typically credited as the birthplace of soft pretzels. As early as the 12th century, German pretzel bakers used the pretzel shape in the emblem for their guild (kind of like a union), and also for their own coat of arms.

Pretzel baking has most firmly taken root in the region of Franconia and adjoining Upper German-speaking areas, and pretzels have been an integral part of German baking traditions for centuries.

Bretz'n and Obatzder. The pretzel, or Brezel as it is known in this region, is especially popular in Southern Germany. Bretz'n are familiar sight at the annual Munich Oktoberfest, where Brotfrauen (bread ladies) carry super-sized pretzels in huge baskets from table to table.

In the centuries following, the pretzel made its way into history books and European culture. By 1440 the pretzel's form was a symbol of good luck, long life and prosperity. By 1450, Germans ate pretzels and hard-boiled eggs for dinner on Good Friday – the day of fasting.

In the late 18th century, southern German and Swiss German immigrants introduced the pretzel to North America. The immigrants became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and in time, many handmade pretzel bakeries populated the central Pennsylvania countryside, and the pretzel's popularity spread.

Pretzel baking has most firmly taken root in the region of Franconia and adjoining Upper German-speaking areas, and pretzels have been an integral part of German baking traditions for centuries.