Thanks to everyone for playing along with the first Cooking with Amy Trivia Challenge. And a challenge it was just coming up with a question! It's tough to find a question that you can't easily answer by heading over to Google these days.
What pastry from Vienna made a big splash at the 1889 Paris World's Fair?
Pretzel, Croissant, Cheese Danish or Sacher Torte
The answer comes from Harold McGee's recently revised and updated version of On Food And Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, page 567 :
"According to Raymond Clavel, croissants first made a splash at the 1889 Paris World's Fair, where they were one of many kinds of Wienerbrod, or Vienna goods brought from the city that specialized in rich, sweet pastries. The original croissants were enriched yeast-raised breads shaped into a crescent. It wasn't until 1920 that Parisian bakers had the idea of forming them from a laminated dough, thus creating a marvelous pastry that is both flaky and moistly, richly, tenderly bready."
This piece of trivia was particularly tricky because both the Sacher Tort and Danish pastries come from Vienna. Pretzels on the other hand, can be traced back to Roman times, but seem like they could be Austrian.
Congratulations to Rochelle, Liz, Eric, Rachel and Laura! I have sent you each an email regarding your prize.
