France is known for its “French croissant“. It is up there with the Eiffel Tower and beret as a French icon. From Sydney to New York and London, most people know that the croissant is a true French delicacy. And it is loved in all its forms: plain croissant, chocolate croissant (“pain au chocolat” in France), almond croissant, ham and cheese croissant and more… Let’s find out more about where this indulgence of national obsession come from! And to finish with style, I’ll give you some great tips for where to find the best French croissants in Paris!
Why the French croissant is not that French at all!
The idea of researching the croissant came to me in June 2011 when one of our French students asked me the meaning of the French verb “croître” (to grow). While explaining this word in French, I wrote on the board another word using the same root: “la croissance“. Immediately, the man pointed out: “then it’s like ‘croissant’!“. One thing lead to another, we went a little bit further and came to talk about the moon crescent (le croissant de lune), of similar shape to our yummy croissants.
“But then, this is like the crescent that is displayed on some of the Arab flags?” asked the student. Oui bien sûr I replied- but then why? By researching on the Internet (and in a good etymological dictionary), I came across a historical anecdote about our French croissant… And to be honest, it was kind of devastating for it told me that the croissant did not have its origins in France!
It’s not a French croissant after all?! There are in fact two legends about its creation. First is the story reporting that the Turks invented the croissant during the siege of Istanbul in the 16th century. A second legend – arguably more glamorous – came from Vienna in Austria. In order to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish army at the siege of the Austrian capital in 1683, the Viennese bakers came up with a brioche in the shape of a crescent (which was part of the enemies’ flag) to take a bite out of them! This explains why we still use in French the word “viennoiseries” (or Viennese pastries) to refer to all sorts of croissants, brioches, pains au chocolate, apple turnovers, butter pastries and other breakfast delicacies of the kind.
Many sources report that the first croissants to be sold in France were at 92, rue de Richelieu in Paris from 1837 to 1839. This is where Austrian bakers August Zang and Ernest Schwarzer opened a Viennese bakery.
And it’s not an Austrian cliché!
You may ask why the croissant became so French. And why it is not an Austrian cliché?
The answer is quite simple. Towards the end of the 19th century, French bakers replaced the brioche dough with a puff pastry. By not changing the particular crescent shape of the croissant, this transformation inevitably altered its taste. The new croissant was a huge success and has remained until now a typical French indulgence.
Back then, the French bakers made the French croissant in different shapes and fillings:
- the croissant au beurre (with butter – a lot of butter!),
- the ordinary croissant nature (with margarine),
- the croissant au chocolat (which is not found in Australia: it is a real croissant filled with chocolate and sometimes an icing-sugar coating),
- the croissant aux amandes (almond croissant),
- the rich croissant aux chocolat et amandes (almond and chocolate croissant),
- the savery croissant jambon-fromage (ham and cheese croissant) etc.
We hope this little study gave you an insight of the interesting story behind the French croissant.