Variety of Baklava | Libanais Sweets (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular baklava? ›

Pistachio baklava, with its fantastic blend of crunchy nuts and crispy pastry, has been the most popular baklava type since medieval times.

While not always true, Turkish baklava ordinarily uses a light neutral oil, while Greek baklava is typically made with melted butter. Also, the Greek version is usually a walnut baklava, although almonds are sometimes used, while the Turkish version is usually a pistachio baklava.

Greek baklava (Greek: Μπακλαβάς) comes in many regional guises, with different names such as samousades, zournadakia, and masourakia. Generally speaking, in southern Greece baklava is mostly made with chopped almonds and in the north with walnuts. Some recipes use hazelnuts, sesame or raisins.

Cold Baklava is a modern twist on traditional baklava, and although they share the same name, they're actually quite different.

Baklava is originally from Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East, but it was brought to Hungary by Turkish invaders during the 16th century. Hungary revised it and made it part of their culture as the strudel. 2.

Baklava has a really lengthy shelf life, lasting about 2+ weeks. It should be stored in an airtight container, either in room temperature or in the fridge. Storing in room temperature will preserve the crispness. If you like your baklava chewy and a bit harder, store it in the refrigerator.

Baklava is a good source of essential vitamins and minerals

Nuts are an excellent source of heart-healthy fats, protein, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals like magnesium, vitamin E, and selenium. This makes Baklava a dessert that contributes positively to your nutrient intake.

Baklava is made out of sugar (şerbet), yufka (sort of a flat layered dough) and antep fıstığı (pistachio). These three ingridients are very expensive in Turkey due to the shortages of production and current currency crisis.

As walnuts have a more bitter flavor than pistachio, it's less sweet than the pistachio and, if you're ordering more than one variety at once, forms a nice counter-balance to many of the sweeter forms of the dessert.

In Greece, it's a customary dessert during festive occasions and family gatherings, especially during Easter and Christmas. But it's not uncommon to see it enjoyed as a daily indulgence, either. One thing's for sure, the homemade version of baklava is leagues ahead of any store-bought version!

What does Turkish baklava taste like? ›

The pastry is layered with nuts, usually walnuts or pistachios, which have been finely chopped and mixed with sugar and spices. But basically, the combination of sweet and nutty flavors is what gives baklava its distinctive taste.

Turkish ones: The classic choice of nuts is always: pistachio , but you have alternatives walnuts etc. Greek ones: Walnuts , I didn't find any with pistachio. Turkish ones: The traditional classic baklava have pure butter and nothing else.

Baklava | Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash. Usually known as baklava around the world, Egypt has a different name for the layered phyllo dough dessert – goulash.

For one, paklava has a sugar-based syrup flavored usually with lemons while baklava's syrup is made with a significant amount of honey, which I happen to enjoy. Also, I've been told that paklava is not soaked in as much syrup as baklava, so it's not as heavy in that aspect.

Since there is no cream added in the Dry Baklava, the consumption time is quite long compared to the Fresh Baklava. While you should consume fresh baklava within a few days, dry baklava can last for a month under suitable conditions.

After the pastry has been drenched in syrup, the center of the baklava is filled with chopped pistachios or walnuts; there is no nut filling inside the phyllo itself. The syrup can be flavored with aromatics like cardamom, rose water, or orange blossom water, depending on the region in which it is prepared.

Burma Kadayıf is a circular sweet pastry commonly made in Turkish cuisine. Instead of having layers of phyllo pastry, such as in baklava, it has shredded phyllo pastry called 'kadayıf' or 'kataifi'. 'Burma' is Turkish for 'twisting' and refers to how the noodle-shaped pastry is twisted around the nuts.