Croissant History and Facts

All of you must familiar with the croissant as a staple of French cuisine. Croissant is one of the most famous and loved foods yet it’s also has a very disputed history. The word croissant brings to mind a flaky, buttery pastry often served with tea, cofe, or perhaps filled with cheeses and chocholate. . Scholars offer several different versions of how the croissant came into existence. But the stories are just as fascinating as the pastry itself.

1. The Battle of Vienna
Famous and widespread story surrounding the croissant. The earliest story dates to 1683, during the Ottoman Turks siege of Vienna. The military collapsed the tunnel in on the Turks and eliminated the threat, saving the city. The baker baked a crescent shaped pastry in the shape of the Turk’s Islamic emblem, the crescent moon, so that when his fellow Austrians bit into the croissant, they would be symbolically devouring the Turks. This advance warning gave the defenders enough time to do something about the tunnel before it was completed. Soon afterwards, King John III of Poland arrived at the head of an army that defeated the Turks and forced them to retreat.

Most food historians confirm that crescent-shaped pastries were baked in Vienna during the 17th century and that they migrated to France soon thereafter. They recount, but do not confirm or deny the story of the brave bakers who supposedly created the first croissants.

2. The Croissant and Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette (Austrian Princess who married Louis XVI), that introduced the croissant to France. As a bride of fifteen, she recalled memories of the croissant in Vienna and insisted that her chefs recreate her favorite pastry. 

Marie Antoinette popularized the croissant in France by requesting the royal bakers replicate her favorite treat from her homeland, Austria. King Louis the XVI of France had brought her to France as a young princess at age 15 and she must have been missing a pastry called the "kipfel", an Austrian staple and the new pastry was so popular in France that it became a French culinary institution

3. August Zang in France

August Zang was an Austrian artillery officer that founded a Viennese Bakery in Paris in approximately 1839. Throughout time, the kipfel was developed into what it is known now as the croissant.

The story still does not explain who created the croissant but rather how it became popular in France.

And in the below is the facts about croissant

• ·         “Yakitate!!” means, “freshly baked” in Japanese. And one of Japan’s most popular Manga characters has to bake a croissant with 324 layers of dough.
• ·         Trademarked cronut A cross between a croissant and a doughnut? The cronut is a recent culinary trend in the U.S., and has already been trademarked.
• ·         Some Islamic fundamentalists have banned the croissant, because its shape is similar to their religious symbol.
• ·         While croissant dough may look like puff pastry, they are actually two different worlds. Unlike puff pastry - which is made with flour, water, salt and butter - the special croissant dough requires the addition of sugar, milk, fresh yeast and eggs.
• ·         The pride of French cuisine, together with the baguette, the croissant is also a daily habit for the nation. It’s been a French national product since 1920.
• ·         In 1839, a retired Austrian officer named Auguste Zang opened what is considered the first viennoiserie in Paris, making kipfel, among other sweets. The pastry was only called “croissant” after 1850.

Refrence :

August Zang and the French Croissant

Food Timeline

Tweet