1. Etymology

2. History

3. Preparation

4. Regional variations

5. See also

6. Notes

7. References

Baklava ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑː|k|l|ə|v|ɑː}}, {{IPAc-en|b|ɑː|k|l|ə|ˈ|v|ɑː}},^[2] or {{IPAc-en|b|ə|ˈ|k|l|ɑː|v|ə}};^[3] {{IPA-tr|baːklavaː|}}) is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the Levant, the Caucasus, Balkans, Maghreb, and of Central and West Asia.

Etymology

The word baklava is first attested in English in 1650,^[4] a borrowing from Ottoman Turkish {{lang|ota|{{Nastaliq|بقلاوه}}}} {{IPA|/bɑːklɑvɑː/}}.^[5][6] The name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling variations.

Historian Paul D. Buell argues that the word "baklava" may come from the Mongolian root {{lang|mn|baγla-}} 'to tie, wrap up, pile up' composed with the Turkic verbal ending -v;^[7] baγla- itself in Mongolian is a Turkic loanword.^[7] Armenian linguist Sevan Nişanyan considers its oldest known forms (pre-1500) to be baklağı and baklağu, and labels it as being of Proto-Turkic origin.^[8] Another form of the word is also recorded in Persian, {{lang|fa|باقلبا}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|bāqlabā}}).^[9] Though the suffix -vā might suggest a Persian origin,^[11][10] the baqla- part does not appear to be Persian and remains of unknown origin.^[11]

The Arabic name {{lang|ar|بقلاوة}} {{lang|ar-Latn|baqlāwa}} likely originates from Turkish,^[14] though a folk etymology, unsupported by Wehr's dictionary, connects it to Arabic {{lang|ar|بقلة}} {{IPA|/baqlah/}} 'bean'.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

History

Although the history of baklava is not well documented, its current form was probably developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.^[12] The Sultan presented trays of baklava to the Janissaries every 15th of the month of Ramadan in a ceremonial procession called the {{lang|ota-Latn|Baklava Alayı}}.^[16][13]

There are three proposals for the pre-Ottoman roots of baklava: the Roman placenta cake, as developed through Byzantine cuisine,

The oldest (2nd century BCE) recipe that resembles a similar dessert is the honey covered baked layered-dough dessert {{lang|la|placenta}} of Roman times, which Patrick Faas identifies as the origin of baklava: "The Greeks and the Turks still argue over which dishes were originally Greek and which Turkish. Baklava, for example, is claimed by both countries. Greek and Turkish cuisine both built upon the cookery of the Byzantine Empire, which was a continuation of the cooking of the Roman Empire. Roman cuisine had borrowed a great deal from the ancient Greeks, but {{lang|la|placenta}} (and hence baklava) had a Latin, not a Greek, origin—please note that the conservative, anti-Greek Cato left us this recipe."^[14][17]

Several sources state that this Roman dessert continued to evolve during the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire into modern baklava.^[21] In antiquity the Greek word {{lang|el-Latn|plakous}} ({{lang-el|πλακοῦς}}) was also used for Latin {{lang|la|placenta}},^[22][20] and the American scholar Speros Vryonis describes one type of plakous, koptoplakous (Byzantine Greek: κοπτοπλακοῦς), as a "Byzantine favorite" and "the same as the Turkish baklava",^[23] as do other writers.^[24] Indeed, the Roman word placenta ({{lang-el|πλατσέντα}}) is used today on the island of Lesbos in Greece to describe a baklava-type dessert of layered pastry leaves containing crushed nuts that is baked and then covered in honey.^[25][26][27]

Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi was a compiler from the Abbasid period who described lauzinaq, a dessert said by some to have been similar to baklava, though others say it was not like baklava.^[28] Lauzinaq, which derives from the Aramaic word for almond, refers to small pieces of almond paste wrapped in very thin pastry ("as thin as grasshoppers' wings") and drenched in syrup.^[29] Al-Baghdadi's cookbook, {{lang|ar-Latn|Kitab al-Tabikh}}, was written in 1226 (in today's Iraq) and was based on a collection of 9th century Persian-inspired recipes.^[16] According to Gil Marks, Middle Eastern pastry makers developed the process of layering the ingredients; he asserts that "some scholars said they were influenced by Mongols or Turks".^[16] The only original manuscript of al-Baghdadi's book survives at the {{lang|tr|Süleymaniye}} Library in Istanbul (Turkey) and according to Charles Perry, "for centuries, it had been the favorite cookbook of the Turks," though Perry also notes that the manuscript has no recipe for baklava.^[30] A further 260 recipes had been added to the original by Turkish compilers at an unknown date retitling it as {{lang|ota-Latn|Kitâbü’l-Vasfi’l-Et‘ime el-Mu‘tâde}}, and two of its known three copies can be found now at the Topkapı Palace Library in Istanbul. Eventually, Muhammad ibn Mahmud al-Shirwani, the physician of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II prepared a Turkish translation of the book, adding around 70 contemporary recipes.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Another recipe for a similar dessert is güllaç, a dessert found in the Turkish cuisine and considered by some as the origin of baklava.^[31] It consists of layers of filo dough that are put one by one in warmed up milk with sugar. It is served with walnut and fresh pomegranate and generally eaten during Ramadan. The first known documentation of {{lang|tr|güllaç}} is attested in a food and health manual, written in 1330 that documents Mongol foods called Yinshan Zhengyao (飮膳正要, Important Principles of Food and Drink), written by Hu Sihui, an ethnic Mongol court dietitian of the Yuan dynasty.^[32] Uzbek cuisine has {{lang|uz|pakhlava}}, {{lang|uz|puskal}} or {{lang|uz|yupka}} or in Tatar {{lang|tt|yoka}}, which are sweet and salty savories ({{lang|tr|börekler}}) prepared with 10–12 layers of dough.^[33]

There are also some similarities between baklava and the Ancient Greek desserts {{lang|el-Latn|gastris}} ({{lang|el|γάστρις}}),^[34] {{lang|el-Latn|kopte sesamis}} ({{lang|el|κοπτὴ σησαμίς}}), and {{lang|el-Latn|kopton}} ({{lang|el|κοπτόν}}) found in book XIV of the {{lang|el-Latn|Deipnosophistae}}.^[35][36] However, the recipe there is for a filling of nuts and honey, with a top and bottom layer of honey and ground sesame similar to modern {{lang|it|pasteli}} or {{lang|fa-Latn|halva}}, and no dough, certainly not a flaky dough.^[37]

Preparation

Baklava is normally prepared in large pans. Many layers of filo dough,^[38] separated with melted butter and vegetable oil, are laid in the pan. A layer of chopped nuts—typically walnuts or pistachios, but hazelnuts are also sometimes used—is placed on top, then more layers of filo. Most recipes have multiple layers of filo and nuts, though some have only top and bottom pastry.

Before baking ({{convert|180|°C|disp=comma}}, 30 minutes), the dough is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms (lozenge-shaped), triangles, diamonds or rectangles. After baking, a syrup, which may include honey, rosewater, or orange flower water is poured over the cooked baklava and allowed to soak in.

Baklava is usually served at room temperature, often garnished with ground nuts.

Regional variations

In Turkey, baklava is traditionally made by filling between the layers of dough with pistachios, walnuts or almonds (in some parts of the Aegean Region). In the Black Sea Region hazelnuts are commonly used as a filling for baklava.^[39] Hazelnuts are also used as a filling for the Turkish dessert Sütlü Nuriye, a lighter version of the dessert which substitutes milk for the simple syrup used in traditional baklava recipes.^[40]

The city of Gaziantep in southeast Turkey is famous for its pistachio baklava. The dessert was introduced to Gaziantep in 1871 by Çelebi Güllü, who had learned the recipe from a chef in Damascus.^[42] In 2008, the Turkish patent office registered a geographical indication for Antep Baklava,^[43] and in 2013, {{lang|tr|Antep Baklavası}} or {{lang|tr|Gaziantep Baklavası}} was registered as a Protected Geographical Indication by the European Commission.^[44] In many parts of Turkey, baklava is often topped with {{lang|tr|kaymak}} or ice cream.

In Iranian cuisine, a drier version of baklava is cooked and presented in smaller diamond-shaped cuts flavored with rose water. The cities of Yazd and Qazvin are famous for their baklava, which is widely distributed in Iran.^[54] Persian baklava uses a combination of chopped almonds and pistachios spiced with cardamom and a rose water-scented syrup and is lighter than other Middle Eastern versions.^[55][56]

See also

• Mille-feuille
• {{lang|de|Strudel}}
• {{lang|it|Sfogliatelle}}
• List of desserts
• List of pastries

Notes

References

• Reuven Amitai-Preiss and David O. Morgan, eds., The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy Brill, 1999. {{ISBN|90-04-11946-9}}.
• Paul D. Buell, "Mongol Empire and Turkicization: The Evidence of Food and Foodways", p. 200ff, in Amitai-Preiss, 1999.
• Christian, David. Review of Amitai-Preiss, 1999, in Journal of World History 12:2:476 (2001).
• Perry, Charles. "The Taste for Layered Bread among the Nomadic Turks and the Central Asian Origins of Baklava", in A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East (ed. Sami Zubaida, Richard Tapper), 1994. {{ISBN|1-86064-603-4}}.
• Roden Claudia, "A New Book of Middle Eastern Food" {{ISBN|0-14-046588-X}}
• Vryonis, Speros, The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor, 1971. Quoted in Perry (1994).
• Wasti, Syed Tanvir, "The Ottoman Ceremony of the Royal Purse", Middle Eastern Studies 41:2:193–200 (March 2005)

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