Next Up: Galaktoboureko
Gesundheit. This is a Greek classic that’s not very well known here in the States. However I’ve got it on good authority that it’s a must for every Greek home baker’s repertoire. It’s a fairly simple device, however as a bonus I think I’ll attempt homemade filo, too. Should be good for a little entertainment, no? At least it will when I get back, as I have to travel the next couple of days. More Friday I hope!
My great grandmother used to make phyllo in huge sheets she rolled out with a broomstick… of course, you couldn’t get it frozen back then!
I’d love to see something like that, Tori. I got a lesson but I certainly won’t be a master like that. Wish me luck!
– Joe
Great, really looking forward to this, it’s my all-time favourite Greek sweet! My wife’s Greek, and I’ve put in years of dedicated and tireless research into trying (eating and cooking) all kinds of Greek food. Galaktoboureko is the business (if you’re in Greece, Kosmikon is the shop to go to for these).
BTW: although the Greek spelling uses the letters mi and pi (“m” and “p”) in the middle, non-Greeks will probably pronounce the m and p sounds which isn’t right – I think using using a “b” in an English spelling is a better approximation of what the word sounds like (and looks a bit less weird?). The connection with the Turkish word “burek” also becomes more obvious (gala + burek = galaktoboureko = “milk pie”).
Thanks, Howard, I made the correction as you may have seen. Even deleted the superfluous “m”. But at least you have the assurance that my recipes are coming from a Greek source! Cheers,
– Joe
My father and paternal grandparents are Greek so the majority of the food I make/eat is Greek. This particular dessert isn’t my all time favorite but certainly is a good 3 hour project.
Yeah I think this will take up an afternoon at least. Wish me luck!
– Joe
This does not seem to have popped up on Anglophone radar until the start of the twentieth century:
“The Greeks never eat pie. Instead they have a sort of puff paste which is eaten with thick cream. This heavy pastry is greatly relished, and in Athens there are pastry shops on every corner. ”
1902
http://books.google.com/books?id=ulKlFwamj2gC&pg=PA114&dq=greek+pastry&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4Q3iT4LQL-Hu2QWch-ncCw&ved=0CLkBEOgBMBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Not sure when it first popped up in Greece itself, but I’m wondering if there wasn’t something similar in ancient times:
“As there is a special term for leaven, we must assume the use of yeast was known to them. The terms “puff-cake” and “raised cake ” are ancient, and this is one interpretation given to an obscure phrase in Hesiod, which others explain “milkcake.””
http://books.google.com/books?id=EupvConDHgYC&pg=PA494&dq=greek+pastry&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4Q3iT4LQL-Hu2QWch-ncCw&ved=0CLcDEOgBMD8#v=onepage&q&f=false
This seems to be the passage from the ancient Greek Hesiod:
“Then let me have the shadow of a rock, and Bibline wine, and a milk cake, and milk of goats drained dry, and flesh of a pastured heifer that hath not yet borne a calf, and flesh of firstling kids, with ruddy wine to wash it down withal, while I sit in the shade, heart satisfied with food, turning my face toward the fresh West Wind”
http://books.google.com/books?id=3cpOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA22&dq=inauthor:hesiod+milk+cake&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XRrkT_T-L4Xk0QHOqMCICg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Sounds like a heck of a picnic!
– Joe