Most people think pretzels got their name from the German version of the Latin pretolia for prize. Actually, it came from Bretzel ,the German version of the Latin for arm; the shape does suggest crossed arms. Pretzels are believed to have been given by monks to their pupils as rewards.

As for croissants, they came from Vienna, when the Austrian capital fought the Ottoman Turks. Viennese bakers baked pastry rolls in the shape of the Islamic crescent* moon that Viennese patriots might take symbolic revenge on their enemy.

*crescent comes from the same root as increase, to grow.

tjoeb};>

[ 04-16-2002, 04:55 PM: Message edited by: tjoebigham ]

No matter what their origins, they're both delicious.

It's odd you should bring up croissants as a subject today, because I just bought a bag of 24 mini-croissants ( a new item at my grocery store) and was wondering how best to eat them - with butter, jam, stuffed with cheddar and heated? I eat bagels and pretzels, but haven't had much to do with croissants.