Once upon a time there were two cities, Athens and Salonica. The first was named Capital of the Country, the second Capital of the North. One would wish that those two cities co-existed and go in peace. However, the tale of the two cities does not follow the bourgeois plot of a Dickinson novel, but rather a Bothers Grimm tale.
"Magic mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?"
The mirror glorifies the beauty of both, but in the end it is the young princess that wins the favor and is named Nymph of the North.
In the real world, the fight between the two biggest cities in Greece is taking place in many fields, with the most prominent being the sports arena. Nevertheless, the most interesting battle, which is traveling into the sphere of urban legends, is the linguistic one.
"What is the proper name for yellow cheese?" How do you drink a frappé coffee?" When you say souvlaki, what does that include?"
And the mother of all questions: "What is a bougatsa and what is in it?"
Bougatsa is a pastry that came in the Greek mainland along with the refugees of Smyrna and Constantinople in the beginning of the 20th century. The main ingredient is a very thin oil-based dough, close to what is today known as fyllo dough. History teaches us that the recipe for this dough, as well as for fyllo dough, was a creation of the great culinary minds in Top Kapi Palace, the center of the Ottoman Empire. Thus the name of bougatsa derives from the Turkish word boğaça for dough. As a matter of fact, many dough-based foods of the European area have names of the similar root, like the Italian focaccia.
War brought in the North of Greece many families with the well-hidden recipe for bougatsa. At first, bougatsa was made only of dough, thinly rolled and stacked, baked to crisp perfection and sold by moving carts in the neighborhoods. The low cost of ingredients (only flour, water and oil) made it a cheap treat for people of low means, a condition that gave bougatsa its first name: the pie of the poor. Later, in other regions, like Serres, pastry chefs decided to enrich it by filling it with cream, either a custard or a cheese-based cream. This particular twist in the recipe turned a simple dough into one of the most famous Greek pastries, traveling on the fast lane from the cold corners of the north to the warmer climates of the south. Nowadays, it is part of the traditional cooking and in many places bougatsa is served in special occasions, like in Heraklion, Crete where it is served on New Year's Day to farewell the old year.
But, no matter how far the pastry traveled, it grew roots in Salonica and became the city's signature dish. Throughout the years cooks gave their own versions of the pie, so that locals end up calling every phyllo pie a bougatsa. And here's where the linguistic dispute with Athens is located, as for Athenians bougatsa can only be filled with cream. Lack of culinary imagination in the South or an inexhaustible cooking freedom in the North? No one can answer the question with certainty, but the dispute over a piece of bougatsa has become a living legend in the history of the two cities.
As for my personal opinion, I would have to agree with the mirror. Salonica gets my vote and the fact that bougatsa is one of my favorite sweet dishes plays a major role in my decision. But most of all, I am drawn by the enchanting atmosphere of the city, the cool disposition of its people and the distinct culinary identity of the North expressed in the served dishes.
"Magic mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?"
The mirror glorifies the beauty of both, but in the end it is the young princess that wins the favor and is named Nymph of the North.
In the real world, the fight between the two biggest cities in Greece is taking place in many fields, with the most prominent being the sports arena. Nevertheless, the most interesting battle, which is traveling into the sphere of urban legends, is the linguistic one.
"What is the proper name for yellow cheese?" How do you drink a frappé coffee?" When you say souvlaki, what does that include?"
And the mother of all questions: "What is a bougatsa and what is in it?"
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| Bougatsa filled with custard cream |
Bougatsa is a pastry that came in the Greek mainland along with the refugees of Smyrna and Constantinople in the beginning of the 20th century. The main ingredient is a very thin oil-based dough, close to what is today known as fyllo dough. History teaches us that the recipe for this dough, as well as for fyllo dough, was a creation of the great culinary minds in Top Kapi Palace, the center of the Ottoman Empire. Thus the name of bougatsa derives from the Turkish word boğaça for dough. As a matter of fact, many dough-based foods of the European area have names of the similar root, like the Italian focaccia.
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| Bougatsa custard cream in the making |
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| Sign on a pastry shop window in Crete calling people to buy bougatsa on for New Year's Day |
But, no matter how far the pastry traveled, it grew roots in Salonica and became the city's signature dish. Throughout the years cooks gave their own versions of the pie, so that locals end up calling every phyllo pie a bougatsa. And here's where the linguistic dispute with Athens is located, as for Athenians bougatsa can only be filled with cream. Lack of culinary imagination in the South or an inexhaustible cooking freedom in the North? No one can answer the question with certainty, but the dispute over a piece of bougatsa has become a living legend in the history of the two cities.
 |
| Bougatsa compliments well Greeks' favorite pastime of drinking coffee |
As for my personal opinion, I would have to agree with the mirror. Salonica gets my vote and the fact that bougatsa is one of my favorite sweet dishes plays a major role in my decision. But most of all, I am drawn by the enchanting atmosphere of the city, the cool disposition of its people and the distinct culinary identity of the North expressed in the served dishes.
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