Baklava

Baklava (or baklawa) is a popular rich, sweet pastry found in many cuisines of the Middle East and the Balkans, made of chopped nuts layered with phyllo pastry, sweetened with sugar or honey syrup.

History

The history of baklava, like many other foods, is not well documented.

Assyrians in the 8th century BCE were the first people in eastern Mediterranean that baked a mixture of chopped nuts and honey with dough, creating thus the predecessor to baklava. According to this theory, Greek seamen and merchants traveling east, soon discovered the delicacy and brought it back to Greece. Although some Greeks claim that their major contribution to the development of this pastry was the creation of a technique that made it possible to roll dough as thin as a leaf, and thus wrap in multiple soft layers the chopped nuts, Turks and other nomads in Central Asia had long been making thin leaf breads . In fact, the name "phyllo" was coined by Greeks, which means "leaf" or "foil" in the Greek language, which Turks call it "Yufka". Vryonis (1971) identifies the ancient gastris, kopte, kopton, or koptoplakous, mentioned in the Deipnosophistae, as baklava, and calls it a 'Byzantine favorite'. Trays of baklava, as we know it today, were being baked in every kitchen of wealthy households in the region, for all kinds of special occasions from the 3rd Century B.C.E. onwards. During the Byzantine era the Armenians integrated cinnamon and cloves for the first time into the texture of baklava. Later the Arabs introduced rosewater and cardamom. The word baklava itself is derived from Arabic بقلاوة baqlāwaḧ, based on an Arabic word for nuts. The nuts that are used in baklava largely grow in the Middle East (e.g., pistachio) which suggests that baklava is more likely to be a Middle Eastern dessert rather than Greek.

Names of baklava

Baklava is found in many cuisines, with essentially the same name:

In Afghan cuisine.
In Albanian cuisine as bakllava.
In Armenian cuisine as Template:Hayeren (pʼaḫlava).
In Assyrian cuisine.
In Azeri cuisine.
In Bosnian cuisine as baklava.
In Bulgarian cuisine as баклава (baklava).
In Egyptian cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
In Georgian cuisine as tapluna.
In Greek cuisine as μπακλαβάς. (mpaklavás or baklavás). This is also the most famous type in the United States.
In Iraqi cuisine.
In Israeli cuisine as Template:Hbrbbet Template:Hbrpatah Template:Hbrqof Template:Hbrshva Template:Hbrlamed Template:Hbrqamaz Template:Hbrvav Template:Hbrqamaz Template:Hbrhe or בקלוה (baqlava).
In Kurdish cuisine.
In Lebanese cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
In Levantine cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
In Macedonian cuisine as баклава (baklava)
In Montenegrin cuisine as baklava.
In Persian cuisine as باقلوا (baqlavā).
In Palestinian cuisine as بقلاوة (bak'lawa).
In Romanian cuisine as baclava.
In Serbian cuisine as баклава, baklava
In Syrian cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
In Turkish cuisine as baklava, Ottoman باقلوا. It is the most famous type, especially in Europe.

Preparation

If layering in a baking dish, layer and butter a dozen filo pastry sheets, then top with a mixture of ground nuts and a little sugar (and cinnamon, for variation, if desired). Walnuts or pistachios are used most often sometimes with a combination of almonds and pecans. After the nut mixture has been spread evenly across the phyllo, layer and butter the remaining dozen phyllo sheets. Before baking, cut baklava with a sharp knife into diamonds (traditional in Lebanese cuisine) or squares.

If rolling, butter 5 individual sheets of phyllo, then place nut mixture along 1 side of the phyllo and proceed to roll up like a tight log. Once rolled, cut the log on the diagonal into about 12 to 13 pieces. Do not cut all the way through until after the baklava is baked. For easier handling, the logs can be frozen for 10 to 15 minutes to firm them up.

Whether using the pan or rolled technique, the procedure is the same after the baklava is baked. Pour on the syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled to a syrup consistency and then mixed with either a small amount of lemon juice and rose water (traditional in Lebanese cuisine) or with honey, cinnamon and cloves (traditional in Greek cuisine). As the hot syrup douses the baklava fresh out of the oven, it boils again and thickens by evaporation. It is then ready to cool down until ready to serve, or to refrigerate and serve later.

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Baklava

History

Names of baklava

Preparation

External links

See also