Is daily life in Switzerland determined by Western values, Christian culture and deep-rooted traditions? It’s quite possible. Except when it comes to food. Because the breakfast coffee and croissant preferred by the Swiss do not really come from the Alps. But historically from a completely different direction – the Ottoman Empire.
Originally from Yemen and the Horn of Africa, coffee quickly became popular here after the Turkish conquest of the Arabian Peninsula in 1522. The first coffeehouses in Istanbul were viewed with skepticism by some strict Muslims. They suspected the exciting new stimulant – wasn’t it one of the spirits banned by the Prophet? A heated debate has flared up among scientists about how to deal with the myriad of burgeoning coffeehouses.
Coffee put an end to beer soup
But it doesn’t take long: In a big city like Istanbul in the 16th century, where many languages are spoken and where mostly Christian residents live, what tastes good is already caught. Coffee soon spread to the rest of Europe, initially as a luxury item for the small elite.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Pope declared its consumption to be religiously harmless, and the first coffeehouse opened in Rome in 1645. Coffee plants were grown in botanical gardens and were coveted gifts in royal palaces. As it became more common, the general population took a taste of it, especially as slave labor on American plantations made coffee production cheaper and cheaper. It replaced beer soup as the preferred morning drink in much of Europe in the 18th century.
Bakery products made from stretched and folded dough made from wheat flour, probably an Iranian invention that spread to the Middle and Near East as baklava, have had a similar success story. Viennese bakers copied it as “Kipferl”, adapted as “Croissant” in France and “Gipfeli” in Switzerland, sweet pastries with crescent-shaped butter. In the 18th century, the symbol of the Orient’s archenemy became an elegant pastry, in keeping with the romantic enthusiasm of the educated for the Orient. Or is puff pastry good for everyone, regardless of religion?
Lettuce considered unhealthy in Europe
European travelers to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries were amazed at the diversity of the local cuisine and the fact that vegetables were eaten raw in salads – this was considered harmful to their health at home. They enjoyed the ubiquitous, ice-cold and sweetened juices – Turkish (and actually Persian) “sorbet”, which is the model for our modern word “sherbet”. You read that right: The Swiss are not only their favorite breakfast, but also their favorite dessert comes from the Arab-Persian food culture: ice cream.
The same goes for apple pie. Our “Chuchichäschtli” are already full of imports from the East. The first citrus fruits, oranges and lemons, were cultivated by the Arabs in the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages. They also brought almonds and that white-brown luxury product that had made another journey—sugar was grown first in India, then in the Middle East and Egypt. The Arabic origin of the word “sukkar” in the Spanish and Portuguese variant “azucar” can still be seen today, with the prefix al – as with alcohol. Because the production of alcoholic beverages is also based on eastern technology.
Turkish style rice with sugar, nuts and candied fruit
A lot of sugar was also needed to prepare oranges for centuries because until the 18th century they were bitter and had to be boiled for a long time to become a fragrant delicacy. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottomans also brought something assumed to be natural, such as apricots, peaches and sweet melons, eggplants and rice, to European kitchen tables. It is prepared in Turkish style as “riso alla turchesca” with candied sugar, nuts and fruit. The perfect luxury dessert of the Renaissance was served at wedding banquets of Christian princes and at the Pope’s palace in the 16th century.
Because religious or not: If they cook well, we want it too. On the other hand, hot peppers imported from Central America by the Christian Spaniards were enthusiastically received as peppers in the Muslim world, even to the remotest corners of Ottoman-ruled Southeast Europe.
Solution? As much as we love to celebrate our own cuisine as home and origin, historically speaking it mostly comes from “foreign pussy”. But the tradition is already import-export. Swiss reform doctor Dr. Bircher-Benner proliferated in the Zurich sanatorium from 1904 as a remedy against the diseases of modern civilization, consisting of oatmeal and apples from a new Swiss industrial product that was just beginning to triumph on the planet at that time: condensed milk.
But what did the ancient Confederates actually eat for breakfast, our original medieval ancestors? Sour milk and warm millet porridge. Enjoy your meal.
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
