A pastry of thin, phyllo-like sheets layered with chopped nuts and bound with sugar or honey syrup, eaten today across the Ottoman Turkish, Greek and wider eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern table. Historians trace it to at least three candidate roots, the Byzantine and Greek placenta-cake and koptoplakous tradition, the medieval Arabic confection lauzinaj, and the Central Asian Turkic tradition of layered breads, and the pastry most likely reached something like its familiar form in the Ottoman imperial kitchens of Topkapi Palace. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin Period, From (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the 15th century, the earliest known reference to baklava itself by name, as opposed to the earlier and separate precursor dishes (the Greek placenta cake, the Arabic lauzinaj) argued as its roots. Origin Period, To (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks 1650, when the word baklava is first attested in English-language sources; closes the origin period at the point the dish's name had already spread into English usage, well after the Ottoman-era dish itself existed. Disputed
Origin RegionOttoman Empire / eastern Mediterranean (contested; Greek, Arabic and Central Asian Turkic origin theories all argued) 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountHistorians propose three competing root traditions: the Byzantine and Greek placenta cake and koptoplakous, the medieval Arabic confection lauzinaj, and Central Asian Turkic layered breads; a recognizably Turkish form is generally placed in the Ottoman court kitchens of Topkapi Palace. Classification
CourseSourced to the subject's own account FAQs
How is baklava made?
Layered buttered phyllo and chopped nuts are baked and then soaked in a honey and lemon syrup.
Baklava is built from thirty or forty sheets of phyllo, each brushed generously with melted butter and layered in a baking pan with finely chopped walnuts, pistachios or almonds. Once the pastry is baked, it is drenched with a syrup of honey and lemon juice. Cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom or rosewater may flavour either the filling or the syrup.
Connections
Expresses Tradition
Source Baklava (Wikipedia)
Source Baklava (Wikipedia)
Source Baklava (Wikipedia)
In Cuisine
Open Questions
Source Baklava (Wikipedia)
Uses Ingredient
Source Baklava (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Baklava (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory section
There are several proposals for the original roots of baklava like the Greek placenta cake, the medieval Arabic confection lauzinaj, and the Central Asian Turkic tradition of layered breads and several places of origin, like Iran and Turkey.
Etymology
baklava is first attested in English in 1650
History section, Kaygusuz Abdal sentence
The earliest known reference to baklava is in a poem by the 15th century mystic Kaygusuz Abdal.
Etymology (existing citation)
baklava is first attested in English in 1650
Wikipedia, Baklava, lead section, placement of the dish in a group
There are several theories for the origin of this pastry, but it is considered a traditional dessert among the cuisines of countries in West Asia, Southeast Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa.
Placenta cake section
In the fifth century BC, Philoxenos states in his poem "Dinner" that, in the final drinking course of a meal, hosts would prepare and serve cheesecake made with milk and honey that was baked into a pie. The word "placenta" originally comes from the Greek language plakous (πλακοῦς), which means something "flat and broad". An early Greek language mention of plakous as a dessert (or second table delicacy) comes from the poems of Archestratos from the 5th century BC.
Expresses Tradition: Christmas Feast Traditions, Article body
It is often served at special occasions like Armenian Christmas or Armenian Easter.
Expresses Tradition: Easter Food Traditions, Article body
It is often served at special occasions like Armenian Christmas or Armenian Easter.
Expresses Tradition: Ramadan and Eid Feasting Traditions, Article body
It is served with walnut and fresh pomegranate and generally eaten during Ramadan.
Uses Ingredient: Honey, Lead section
sweetened with either syrup or honey
View the Source Wikidata: Baklava
Wikidata Q187495, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
Which culinary tradition, Byzantine and Greek, Arabic, or Central Asian Turkic, is baklava's true ancestor?
Food historians propose three competing root traditions for baklava: the Byzantine and Greek placenta cake and koptoplakous, the medieval Arabic confection lauzinaj, and the Central Asian Turkic tradition of layered breads. A recognizably Turkish form is generally placed in the Ottoman court kitchens of Topkapi Palace, but which, if any, of the three earlier traditions is its true ancestor is unsettled.
What would resolve this A securely dated medieval recipe or description linking one of the three candidate traditions unambiguously and exclusively to the layered, syrup-soaked form recognizable as baklava today, or ruling the others out, would settle the question; historians currently weigh three plausible ancestors rather than one confirmed line.
Culinary history / Ottoman and Byzantine studiesBaklava (Wikipedia)
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