Runza
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox food
A runza (also called a krautburger, or kraut pirok) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of ground beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings.<ref name="rollcall">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="chicago_tribune">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wapo_runza_recipe">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Runzas can be baked into various shapes such as a half-moon, a rectangle, a round (bun), a square, or a triangle. The runzas sold by the Runza restaurant chain are rectangular while many of the bierocks sold in Kansas are round buns.<ref name="kansas_bierock">Template:Cite news</ref>
The runza is a regional cuisine of Nebraska, with some commentators calling it "as Nebraskan as Cornhusker football."<ref name="food_wine">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is served by the Nebraska Society of Washington, D.C.,<ref name="taste_of_ne">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Nebraska Society of New York<ref name="owh_ny">Template:Cite news</ref> at their Taste of Nebraska events and was chosen to represent the state at Flavored Nation, an event serving iconic dishes from all fifty states.<ref name="flavored_nation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
The runza sandwich originated from the pirog, an Eastern European baked good<ref name="chicago_tribune" /><ref name="owh_runza_history">Template:Cite news</ref> or more specifically from its small version, known as pirozhok (literally "little pirog"). In the 18th century, Volga Germans (ethnic Germans who settled in the Volga River valley in the Russian Empire at the invitation of Catherine the Great because of their skill in farming<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>), adapted the pirog /pirozhok to create the bierock, a yeast pastry sandwich with similar savory ingredients.<ref name="chicago_tribune" /><ref name="owh_runza_history" /> When the political climate turned against the Volga Germans as part of Russification<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including the threat of conscription into the Russian army beginning in 1871,<ref name=":0" /> many emigrated to the United States, creating communities across the Great Plains.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These immigrants, including the Brening family that settled near Sutton, Nebraska, brought their bierock recipes with them.<ref name="owh_runza_history" /> Sarah "Sally" Everett (née Brening), originally of Sutton, is credited with adapting her family's bierock recipe into the runza and also inventing the name for the sandwich.<ref name="chicago_tribune" /><ref name="owh_runza_history" /><ref name="rollcall" /><ref name="adelnews">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="owh_1978_interview">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1949, Everett went into business selling runzas with her brother Alex<ref name="alex_obit">Template:Cite news</ref> in Lincoln, founding the Runza restaurant chain.<ref name="adelnews" /><ref name="rollcall" /><ref name="chicago_tribune" />
EtymologyEdit
Many sources agree that Sally Everett invented the name "runza"<ref name="adelnews" /><ref name="rollcall" /><ref name="owh_runza_history" /> although it is likely she adapted it from an existing name for the sandwich; either the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref name="adelnews" /> an older, different German name for the bierock, or the Low German {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref name="owh_runza_history" /> meaning "belly", alluding to the gently rounded shape of the pouch pastry. The modern German Ranzen, also meaning satchel, derives from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The word "runza" is registered as a trademark in the United States, held by the Runza restaurant chain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Fleischkuekle
- List of American sandwiches
- List of regional dishes of the United States
- List of sandwiches
- List of stuffed dishes
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Pastries Template:Fast-food chains of the United States Template:American bread