Where is the croissant invented

A poem mentions it as one of the Christmas treats that Viennese bakers presented to Duke Leopold in Moon-shaped breads in general date back centuries earlier. Of course not, says Jim Chevallier, an independent scholar and author of a book on croissant history. Legend credits the French queen Marie Antoinette—homesick for a taste of her native Vienna—with introducing the kipfel, and thus the croissant, to France.

But Chevallier sees no evidence to support this notion. The historical evidence pointed instead to an Austrian entrepreneur named August Zang, who opened the first Viennese bakery in Paris in , located at 92 Rue Richelieu on the Right Bank.

His patented steam oven used moist hay to give the pastries a lustrous sheen, notes Chevallier. A star was born. Within a few decades, the newcomer was firmly entrenched as a staple of French breakfast foods. The baked-goods corporation Sara Lee introduced a frozen croissant to America in , which soon outpaced its famous pound cakes in sales.

Perhaps in the most sincere form of flattery—or just poor culinary judgment—the croissant has morphed into almost unrecognizable American creations. Croissants are a style of viennoiserie pastries, which of course relates back to the Austrian city of Vienna, otherwise known as the birthplace of croissants. The ancestor to the modern-day croissant was called the kipferl , which dates back to the 13th century and comes in various shapes and sizes. They are often filled with nuts or other fillings, and kipferl which have possible but unconfirmed roots in ancient Egypt , are also considered to be a form of rugelach, a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin.

They are denser and sweeter to what we think of as the modern croissant. Around the turn of the 17th century, that dough began to change, and the style of dough used in traditional croissants was first documented. According to a recent survey, the French purchase croissants for:. The best time to eat croissants bought in bakeries is in the morning and at weekends. On average, the French eat their croissant:. If you would like more statistics on the consumption of croissants in France, visit this link.

In the United States , the success of the croissant from France is undeniable. It arrived in the s thanks to the famous American company Sara Lee. The French croissant became a cult product until it became a national day, celebrated on January 30th. And the French croissant has not finished its expansion. In , million Americans consumed it, and an estimated million in , according to the polling institute The Statistical Portal.

In Asia too , French-style boulangeries are multiplying. Japan, South Korea and China are among the countries most fond of viennoiseries. Visiting France is not a guarantee that you will be savouring a traditional fresh croissant! Today, the French baker continues to fight to save the French croissant and campaigns to create a home-made croissant label. Another pitfall: boulangeries that sell the best baguettes are not necessarily selling the best croissants either as they have to focus on the quality of their bread at the expense of viennoiseries.

And vice-versa. However, there is a great article on FrenchGuyCooking. Some of their tips include:. Under the marquee the best boulangers bakers were at work, baking bread and croissants. Here you could tell that they were making the real stuff, have a look:.

The croissants are taking shape! In France, the croissant au beurre has been made since the s with a puff pastry dough, like the pain au chocolat. The mixture of flour, sugar, butter, yeast and water is kneaded, then divided into several pieces of dough, before letting it rest.

There are several French croissant recipes on the Internet, including tutorials on Youtube. I personally have not yet tested them. This list was established by the Time Out Paris team on pure butter croissants pur beurre. They assessed the croissants on criteria such as their appearance browned and cooked through , their puff pastry and their taste. Find out more about the rank here. Well, a croissant in French is simply… un croissant!

In astronomy, the crescent is relative to the phases of the moon as it moves from the new moon to the full moon. Thus, in geometry, a crescent is used to designate a piece of disc, concave on one side and convex on the other.

Hence the representation of crescent used as a symbol of Islam. By analogy, the name crescent croissant in French was given to the Viennese pastry that adopts this shape. Shortly afterwards, in , Pierre Larousse, in his Grand Dictionnaire universel , described the croissant as a:.

Where do you get your French croissants from? Please do comment below with your favourite boulangerie in Paris or provincial France! He grew up in France and Germany and has also lived in Australia and England. Ah the iconic French croissant! So beloved; so little understood! Many people think the croissant is made of puff pastry, it is not.

Although flakey like puff pastry, puff pastry contains no yeast. Croissant dough does — it is a yeast leavened dough. If you find a good one, enjoy it!!! It comes from viennoiseries, which kind of hints at its origins. Trust the French to steal the best of European culture and claim it as their own. This is silly. The Viennese got it from somewhere else, and those people also got it from somewhere else.

It came to France, then they developed their version of it. The croissant as is is French. Wow thank you Bernadette! And I have a similar effect to the one you describe — in my case, reading about delicious food makes me want to eat whatever it might be! Tied to the original ! The heroic Christian knights arrived to terminate the Moslem siege on Sep 11th Regards to another distinguished knight—Jeff Lestz.

It was me, Rabbi Daniel Lapin enthusing about your fascinating pastry story. Keep on writing…. Thank you, Rabbi Lapin. Enjoy your croissant! Sulpice that makes small size croissants so it makes you buy more than you normally would BUT they are so rich with butter that eating more than one or two sends you over Pont Neuf!

Ha ha! Yes, those deceptively light and flaky pastries can add on the pounds! Skip to content. Email Address Follow the Curious Rambler. Contact Me. Author Recent Posts. Margo Lestz. Margo has authored seven books and writes mostly about France and England.

She has a BA in Liberal Studies with International Emphasis and enjoys travel, languages, history, writing, and experiencing other cultures. Latest posts by Margo Lestz see all. You always amaze me how you research such incredible histories. Going to share this now with our followers and future bakers.