Where does the croissant really come from? It may not be as French as one might think

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It’s such an integral part of the french culinary landscape that it’s hard to believe that not only does it not originally come from here, but it’s also fairly recent. The myth collapses, leaving a pile of crumbs.

The legend, first told by author Antoine Scheibenbogen in 1896, claims that the croissant was invented in 1683 to celebrate the Austrian army’s victory over Turkish troops during the siege of Vienna. A baker, called Adam Spiel, who was already at work in the kitchen during the night, is said to have heard the Ottomans digging a tunnel in preparation for an attack. He sounded the alarm, and the attack was thwarted. To celebrate, a small pastry shaped like a crescent moon was created as a nod to the flag of the defeated enemies.

This tale is likely symbolic, given that Eucharistic pastries called “panem lunatum” were in fact being made as early as the fifth century, and that the said Turkish flag didn’t bear the Islamic emblem, the hilal, until the 19^th century! Nevertheless, in Vienna, it was declared that “eating a croissant meant eating a Turk,” and hörnchen (little horns), now known as kipferl, were all the rage at the time.

Some say, somewhat fancifully, that Austrian Marie-Antoinette was the one who brought this classic-to-be to France around 1770. One thing that is certain is that in 1837, at 92 rue de Richelieu, Ernest Schwarzer and August Zang opened La Boulangerie Viennoise, where they sold “viennoiseries,” in the same way as you might say “chinoiseries,” in other words, Viennese pastries.

The French croissant

Today’s croissant, the authentic one that three in four French people enjoy (with a peak in consumption on weekends), was really born in 1905, at the same time as puff pastry, a wonderful combination of patience and butter (20% of the total mass) trapped between the layers of flaky pastry.

It was around the time of the “Trente Glorieuses” that the trend for this sweet morning treat began to spread, and it soon gained a firm foothold in society, along with a class distinction that quietly disappeared only recently. The infamous “butter or ordinary” distinction between the fuller, more rounded, margarine-laden poor man’s croissant, and the straighter, slimmer rich man’s croissant made with good French butter.

Purists eat them plain, sometimes with almonds, but this now-cult food lends itself to hip heresies with crazy fillings, flavoured doughs, cubic shapes, giant formats, or other surreal American mutations such as the cronut, the crookie, the cruffin and even the croger, a croissant burger. Judging by our dismayed faces and legitimate indignation in the face of such creativity, it’s at times like these that we’re utterly convinced that the croissant is indeed French, and we kindly request that you don’t tamper with its flaky perfection.

Where to eat the best croissants in Europe?

Le comptoir du Ritz, Paris

François Perret, head pastry chef at the legendary Ritz on Place Vendôme, wasn't voted “world's best restaurant pastry chef” for nothing. And since it would have been a shame to limit his talent and boundless imagination to the table, it's now possible to buy his crazy, fine pastries at the counter adjoining the Parisian palace, including a croissant like no other, laminated a thousand times and shaped like a little log - to be tasted at least once in your life.

ritzparislecomptoir.com/en

Il Cornettone, Rome

It's hard not to mention the cornetto, the Italian croissant that isn't a croissant at all. In the north of the country, it's rightly called a “brioche”, and its sweeter dough is often filled with crema, cioccolato, marmellata, etc. (naked, it's called “semplice” or “vuoto”)… It's eaten in the morning, of course, but also at night, as a late-night snack, as in this insider's shop where you can eat it at 3 a.m. in a sophisticated version (ricotta-pear) or junk food (with Galak or Snickers).

ilcornettone.it

Demel, Vienna

A historic tearoom opened in 1786, this dazzling bonbonnière has become famous not only for its pastries such as the kipferl (the original croissant with a gazelle-horn look and brioche dough) and pastries such as sachertorte and strudel, but also, and above all, for its enchanting decor and extravagant window displays, always in the spirit of their creator, Baron Berzeviczy-Pallavicini, husband of Klara Demel, also known as “the last of the romantics”.

demel.com