I just ate a delicious croissant, so I decided to make a post in tribute to this wonderful, wonderful pastry. Without further ado, a short history (courtesy of wikipedia, which requires another tribute post all of it's own):
Fanciful stories of how the bread was created are modern culinary legends. These include tales that it was invented in Europe to celebrate the defeat of a Muslim invasion at the decisive Battle of Tours by the Franks in 732, with the shape representing the Islamic crescent; that it was invented in Vienna in 1683 to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish siege of the city, as a reference to the crescents on the Turkish flags, when bakers staying up all night heard the tunneling operation and gave the alarm; tales linking croissants with the kifli and the siege of Buda in 1686; and those detailing Marie Antoinette's hankering after a Viennese specialty.
Several points argue against the connection to the Turkish invasion or to Marie-Antoinette: saving the city from the Turks would have been a major event, yet the incident seems to be only referenced by food writers (writing well after the event), and Marie-Antoinette - a closely watched monarch, with a great influence on fashion - could hardly have introduced a unique foodstuff without writers of the period having commented on it. Those who claim a connection never quote any such contemporary source; nor does an aristocratic writer, writing in 1799, mention the pastry in a long and extensive list of breakfast foods.
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