Pretzels

The laugenbrezel -- a bread roll dipped in lye solution before baking to create its distinctive dark, chewy crust and then sprinkled with coarse salt -- originated in Swabia and Bavaria and was granted Protected Geographical Indication for the Bavarian Brezel in 2014. Germany has over 200 regional bread varieties but the pretzel has become the country's global culinary symbol, recognized in 49 countries and exported as a snack food to over 100 nations. Faster than the average German bread in production time by 30%, it outsells the Brezel's closest rival, the Brötchen, by 2:1 at Oktoberfest, where over 200,000 pretzels are consumed each day.