A strange earthy, minty soft drink
available in three colors without any difference in flavor is the
preferred drink of millions of Pennsylvanians. What is birch beer, and
what makes it so good?
Perhaps the defining quality of the cuisine of southeastern
Pennsylvania, where I grew up, is a fierce opinion about small
differences. An Italian hoagie must not, under any circumstances,
contain mayonnaise; it must have olive oil. An Italian hoagie with mayo
is incorrect. Also incorrect: a soft pretzel in a traditional pretzel
shape. Philadelphia soft pretzels have a unique thin, rectangular,
symmetrical shape with the knot right in the middle. A regular round
soft pretzel is wrong — or worse, from New York. And so it is with the
soda preferred by Pennsylvanians, including a strange reddish herbal
soda I grew up drinking and didn’t realize was odd until I left.
