The croissant is a rich, crescent-shaped roll of leavened dough or puff pastry. Croissant is French meaning crescent. How did the croissant get its name?
Croissant was used to translate the German Hِrnchen, the name given by the Viennese to this pastry, which was first baked in 1689 to commemorate the raising of the siege of Vienna by the Muslim Turks, whose symbol was the crescent. In 1683, the Ottoman army besieged the Austrian city of Vienna. The Viennese sent a spy to penetrate Turkish lines. A spy with experience in Turkish culture walked through the Turkish camp, observed details and reached Christian forces. With this information, they defeated the Turks. So next time you bite into a croissant, think of its history.
According to one version, the Turks left behind anything not essential, including 500 pounds of what was thought to be camel food. As payment the spy accepted the camel food, which he knew was coffee from his experience in Istanbul. With this he opened the first coffee shop in Vienna. The city is now famous for its coffee shops. How far this is true we do not know, but Muslims certainly influenced Western life one way or another.
Curved Crescent: The Croissant
