Baklava: What Is The Difference Between Turkish And Greek One

Baklava is a beautiful pastry with light, flaky layers of crust and a sweet filling, drenched in a light syrup.

The golden, plump and shimmering honey Baklava is appealing. This dessert requires a long preparation ritual to achieve such an engaging aspect. This involves brushing each sheet of dough with butter or oil. Traditionally, these leaves would number thirty-three. The stuffing, made up of, is then placed delicately. One thing is certain, Baklava is tasted faster than it is made! Everything is then topped with honey flavored with orange blossom or rose blossom. One of the gustatory pleasures of Baklava is its aerial puff pastry consisting of the filo pastry. Very fine, it becomes deliciously crisp after cooking while keeping its softness inside.

What is the origin of the Baklava:

The origin of Baklava has been the subject for years of a fierce battle between Turkey, which claims sole paternity, and Greece, Cyprus, and most of the countries in the Middle East where these puff pastry cakes with honey, almonds, or pistachios soaked in syrup are made under the same name.

How it’s made:

Baklava is normally prepared in large pans. Many layers of filo dough, 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 (180 °C, 356 °F, 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 and is often garnished with ground nuts.

The main difference between the two are:

Filling

When it comes to the filling of Turkish ones the classic choice of nuts is always: pistachio, but you have alternatives walnuts, etc. the Greek ones on the hand are mostly walnuts.

The fatty part

The traditional classic Turkish Baklava has pure butter and nothing else. Only nasty or cheap places use sunflower oil or mixed with butter, The authentic Greek Baklava recipe calls for ‘galaktos’ butter made from a mix of sheep’s and goat’s milk,

Syrup

Turkish ones Always and always water + sugar + some lemon juice type of syrup, as for the Greece ones, some use syrup with cloves and cinnamon and some honey

Softness

The traditional Turkish original one has to have 40 sheets and the upper part has to be crispy and the lower part soft but not soggy. This is hard to manage, if you mess up the bottom will soggy.

Baklava is widely viewed in Greece as a dish reserved for special occasions. In some areas, Baklava is the main dessert served at weddings and is even brought to the church before the ceremony. In many regions, it’s served on Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter

To sum it

The fight on the origin of the Baklava is an everlasting one, in conclusion, both versions are extremely delicious desserts and represent both countries.