Croissant? The French pastry that was invented to celebrate a victory over those waving the, er, crescent flag?
Some dispute this as myth and legend.
RE: “Croissant? The French pastry that was invented to celebrate a victory over those waving the, er, crescent flag?”
It suits me fine, though.
- Several culinary legends are related to the Battle of Vienna.
One legend is that the croissant was invented in Vienna, either in 1683 or during the earlier siege in 1529, to celebrate the defeat of the Ottoman attack on the city, with the shape referring to the crescents on the Ottoman flags. This version of the origin of the croissant is supported by the fact that croissants in France are a variant of Viennoiserie, and by the French popular belief that Vienna-born Marie Antoinette introduced the pastry to France in 1770.
Another legend from Vienna has the first bagel as being a gift to King John III Sobieski to commemorate the King’s victory over the Ottomans. It was fashioned in the form of a stirrup to commemorate the victorious charge by the Polish cavalry. The veracity of this legend is uncertain, as there is a reference in 1610 to a bread with a similar-sounding name, which may or may not have been the bagel.