A food fight so ancient and so new

Filed in archive Food for Thought , News , Recipes on May 15, 2006

The enmity between Greeks and Turks is legendary and it has been going on for centuries. I didn't realise the extent of this until I had classmates who were Turkish and a greek Cypriot. Since neither of them had personal issues against each other, I really wondered how come I found myself in the middle of a cold war every now and then. The Greek Cypriot told me not to mind them. It was nothing personal, it was just automatic for them to lapse into that situation. Nobody really know how it started but it just is. Huh?!?! Alright then, I just resigned myself to never understand the mystery.

I was thinking of that when I read about its latest explosion. Who would have thought an international incident would be caused by that delectable pastry - baklava.

From Reuters Turk sweet makers claim just desserts in Cyprus row:

Turkey's baklava makers are up in arms over European Union posters presenting their sweet, sticky dessert as the national dish of ethnically Greek Cyprus.

"Baklava is definitely more Turkish than Cypriot," Halil Dincerler, owner of Haci Sayid baklava makers, told Reuters.

The "baklava battle" is the latest irritant in relations between EU-member Cyprus and EU-candidate Turkey, which hopes to become the EU's first predominantly Muslim state.

I am not sure what this is all about (definitely not food history) because it is common knowledge that baklava is not exclusive to any single nationality. It has many different variations and is made in most of the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean. Politics and diplomacy are never straightforward.

Here's a link to the history of baklava and then for good measure, two recipes, one Turkish and the other Greek.