In the seventh century European monks began giving children twisted(扭曲的，卷曲的) dough treats as rewards for learning their prayers. Thus was born the pretzel. (Purportedly the snack’s three holes represent the holy trinity(圣三位一体（基督教核心教义）).) It became especially popular in southern Germany, whose emigrants(移民（移出者）) eventually took their favoured snack to America. Many congregated(聚集，群集) in Pennsylvania.
七世纪时，欧洲僧侣开始给孩子们分发扭成结的面团零食，作为他们学习祈祷文的奖励。椒盐卷饼由此诞生。（据称，这种零食的三个孔洞代表圣三位一体。）它在德国南部尤其受欢迎，那里的移民最终把他们喜爱的零食带到了美国。许多人聚居在宾夕法尼亚州。
Today the state produces four-fifths of America’s pretzels, and exports many abroad as well. Even as snack sales have suffered from the rise of private labels(自有品牌（零售商品牌）) and weight-loss drugs, pretzels have proved resilient(有韧性的，能恢复的). In the 12 months to mid-May Americans bought $2.9bn-worth of the crunchy(松脆的，嘎吱响的) treat, up by 2.6% from the previous year, according to Circana, a data provider. A dense cluster of bakeries is probably not what Donald Trump imagines when he speaks about reviving American manufacturing.(密集的烘焙坊集群可能不是特朗普重振制造业时想象的样子。) Yet it represents a rare success for small, family-owned(家族所有的，家族经营的) American factories.
如今，该州生产美国五分之四的椒盐卷饼，并大量出口海外。尽管零食销售因自有品牌和减肥药的兴起而受到影响，椒盐卷饼却表现出韧性。根据数据提供商 Circana 的数据，在截至5月中旬的12个月里，美国人购买了价值29亿美元的脆脆零食，比上年增长2.6%。当唐纳德·特朗普谈论重振美国制造业时，他想象的恐怕不是密集的烘焙坊集群。然而，这代表了美国小型家族工厂难得的成功。
The “pretzel belt(椒盐卷饼带（指宾州椒盐卷饼产区）)” traces its origins to Pennsylvania’s status as a haven(避难所，安全之地) for members of persecuted(受迫害的) religions. William Penn’s tolerant rule of the state he founded attracted European outcasts(被排斥者，流亡者) such as the Pennsylvania Dutch(宾夕法尼亚荷兰人（实为德裔）) (who in fact spoke German). That cultural group, which includes members of religious sects like the Amish, brought pretzels and, in some cases, a knack for(对……有诀窍，擅长) business. The Amish eschewed(回避，避开) many modern technologies, but other Pennsylvania Dutch were eager inventors and adopters of tools such as the mechanised(机械化的) pretzel-maker and deep-fryer.
“椒盐卷饼带”的起源可追溯到宾夕法尼亚州作为受迫害宗教信徒避难所的地位。威廉·佩恩对他所建立的州的宽容统治吸引了欧洲的流亡者，如宾夕法尼亚荷兰人（他们实际上说德语）。这个文化群体包括阿米什人等宗教派别成员，他们带来了椒盐卷饼，在某些情况下还带来了商业头脑。阿米什人回避许多现代技术，但其他宾夕法尼亚荷兰人则是热切的发明家和工具采用者，如机械化椒盐卷饼机和油炸锅。