Contra a Moorish Origin for Ensaimadas
For those coming late to this discussion, we’ve been kicking around possible origins for the Mallorcan and Menorcan ensaimada here, as well as the puzzles of its spread (why did it get to Argentina, Puerto Rica, and the Philippines but skip Mexico) here.
Adam Balic isn’t happy with a Moorish origin for ensaimadas
I think that to prove a link with the Iberian Moors, then the first thing that needs to be demonstrated is that the origin of the pastry goes back that far in this location. By the early/mid 16th century the Papal court kitchen were producing pastries identical to ensaimadas in all important respects, so the technique was widespread at an early date, with no direct Arabic influence. Which isn’t to say that both the Balearic and Italian pastries don’t have Arabic connections, but I don’t see the evidence for this yet.
He continues
I also have this etymological bombshell. This is the OED entry for “Seam” (a name for a type of fat, used in England for cooking).
Forms: 2-3 seime, 3 seim, 4-5 saym, (5 sayme, 5 sem), 5-6 seme, 6-7 saime, same, 6, 9 Sc. seyme, 7 seame, 8-9 dial. and Sc. saim, 7- seam. [a. OF. saim (also saime fem.), later sain, mod.Fr. only in saindoux lard; a Com. Rom. word, = Pr. sagin-s, saïns, Catal. sagin, sagi, Sp. sain, It. saime:{em}popular L. *sag{imac}men, related to classical L. sag{imac}na fattening, fatness.]
So the derivation of “ensaimidas” could easily be from Latin (or even French for that matter), as easily as Arabic.
My thoughts. Nice find in the OED. Can’t wait to get back to Guanajuato and check it as I’m not prepared to shell out for the on-line OED. Does the OED give any uses? And what type of fat? And what about common Latin o or Greek origins for both Arabic and European uses of “saim” or related word as there are common roots for “semita” or “cemita?”
And what about the possibility that both the Papal recipes and the ensaimada (fat raised pastries) both have had Arabic origins, the one through (say) Sicily, the other through al-Andalus?
The OED indicates that “Saime/Seame” etc can refer to fat in general and hog lard specifically, depending on time/location.
From 19th century England “Saime, or Seame, goose-grease, lard, or any other kind of fat”. References of this nature go back to the 13th century at least. So I think that this word element is very widespread, not just in Arabic.
Regarding the ligusitic origins, well this is outwith my expertise. But what this does mean is that there is now no clear linguistic link ensaimada and Mooris/Arabic origins. So to establish a link then the origin of the pastry have to be documented back much further then in the present case. What is the oldest record again, 19th century? Objectively there is more to link it with the Wiltshire Lardy Cake, then there is an Arabic origin.
Hmm, Adam, you’re right, that opens up lots of possibilities. I’ll need to think about this one.
On a tangent, the introduction of this pastry to the Philippines seems to be of a relatively early date.
From 1843:
“La panadería no está atrasada. Б1 pan que se come generalmente en Filipinas es mejor que el de varias provincias de España aunque no comparable con el de Madrid El de Lingayen es verdaderamente muy bueno. Se hacen varias especies de vizcochos y roscas secas muy finas y sabrosas. En Cavité se hallan mamones ó ensaimadas esce- lentos, y en Cebré elaboran unos ojaldres esquisitos y que tienen la particularidad y ventaja sobre los de Europa de no endurecerse, ni echarse á perder, aunque se guarden muchas semanas. También se hace galleta casi tan blanca y esquisita como la de Pulo Puiarg.”
Futhermore, I’ve found these recipes from 1859. My Spanish is pretty poor to non-existent, but it suggests to me that not all ensaimadas were coiled? Does this mean that the looking at the origins of a coiled pastry is a red herring?
“Ensaimadas de Mallorca
Esta clase de bollo que tanto se usa para tomar el chocolate, etc. exige una masa hecha con todo el cuidado que hemos esplicado en la de levadura á la mallorquína, pero se deja del temple un poquillo mas blando; cuando ya tiene el debido hueco para hacer bollos, entonces se toma el trozo de masa que se quiere hacer la ensaimada, y se soba y restriega suavemente por las manos engrasadas de manteca y en seguida se forma un bollito el que se enrosca por los dedos dándole la Ggura de un caracol; luego se pone encima de una plancha untada de manteca, se coloca en el arca y cuando tiene bastante hueco se empringa de la superficie con el unto de huevo y azúcar batido y se mete á cocer en el horno manso 6 regular: estando cocida se rocía con azúcar tamizado.
Ensaimadas rellenas.
.. nombre que se da á estas ensaimadas es porque en el acto que estan ya formadas se las coloca encima tres ó cuatro rebanadas de la morcilla llamada en Mallorca sobreseída, y en todo lo demas se procede como hemos indicado para las antecedentes, solamente que despues de cocidas se las rocía con el tamiz lleno de azúcar de lustre.
Ensaimadas arrolladas.
Para estas ensaimadas se emplea la misma masa que en las anteriores, pero en el actó de formarlas, se toma un trozo de masa del peso de media libra, se aplana ó estiende velozmente á lo largo sobre la amasadera é incontinenti con la mano se unta de arriba abajo con una onza de manteca de tocino; en seguida se arrolla la aplanada y se enrosca por los dedos dándole la figura de un caracol, y en todo lo demas restante se sigue el órden marcado en las primeras ensaimadas
Also after much searching I have found this English regional name for a type of lard cake:
1905:
“Saim-cake, a cake made with lard in the dough, generally eaten hot. e.Yks.”
1891
“FATTY-CAKE is round flat bread made with butter, dripping or saim : by some [in the West Riding of Yorkshire] it is called short-cake.”
No Moors In Yorkshire?
I have no idea Moorish links to ensaimadas. If I find something I will let you know.
I do know that there are Moorish recipes for cakes or breads made with animal fat.
The version of ensaimada in this post looks very much like a mhancha (snake), but that doesn’t tell us much either.
A mhancha is new to me. Any input is most welcome.
I’ve made mhancha, the modern version at least only has a superficially resemblance in that the are both coiled pastries. The pastry is very different and this is an important point. Coiled pastries are found everywhere, but not many of them used a yeast raised dough. I think that this raises the issue of what exactly are we defining as the “Ensaimadas”? Clearly the linguistic links isn’t much use and some recipes are not coiled pastries at all?
It occurs to me that I had something similar to an Ensaimadas when in Greece, not sure if the pastry uses yeast or is a home made (rather then commercial) phyllo.
Scroll down to image of “cheese pie”.
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=73982&st=0
Mhancha (serpent) made with warka (North African spring roll type thin pastry) or filo dough (Turkish influence) are probably the most common. But mhancha is also made with yeast leavened dough or pate brisse cut with olive oil or butter (perhaps an animal fat was used historically, I do not know).
At this point I don’t know how far the other mhancha goes back in North African culinary history. The web of influences here is so complicated. The “other” mhancha could have been introduced by European colonials.
Thanks Ji-Young, thanks Adam. More on this issue later today.
According to Diane Kochilas some regional Phyllo recipes include yeast (Crete for instance). The name of the Greek spiral pie is “striftopita”, so a striftopita made in Crete could be the seen as part of the ensaimadas group. Not that all ensaimadas are spirals….
It seems that ensaimadas are not the only spiral pastry in the region, the coca bamba looks very similar to some of the solid type ensaimadas.
http://jutipiris.wordpress.com/2005/08/24/xocolati-amb-coca-bamba/
It seems that the same pastry is called either “Ensaimada de Sant Joan” or “Coca Bamba”, depending on the region. Not sure if “Ensaimada de Sant Joan” refers to the town of Sant Joan or the festival. Eitherway it seems that the flaky version of ensaimada is only one version, I wonder if it was actually Coca Bamba under the name of “ensaimida” that was actually exported to some of the Spanish colonies?
Thanks for the link Adam. I’ll get back on this.
Cocas in Algeria are a Spanish influence. They are typically made with some form of flaky dough (brisse, feuilletee, or olive oil dough). Here they are half-moon shaped stuff pastries.
Coca a la frita
http://www.algeriemesracines.com/recettes/page-recette-famille.php?id=81&titre=coca-a-la-frita&idfamille=etienne-courbin-saint-denis-du-sig
Another
http://www.cuisine-pied-noir.com/recette_4136_La.html
another
http://meklacheba.over-blog.com/article-21336622.html
In Algeria they also make flat, “pizza” like cocas.
http://www.culturapollensa.com/es/coca-de-verdura-trampo-mallorca/#respond
from “recetas de cocina mallorquina”
Thanks for this Ji-Young. Are you opening another huge can of culinary worms? Or culinary history worms? My memory of cocas in Minorca was of a pizza like baked good.
“Coca” can be all sorts of shapes, fillings etc. Not sure of the etymology, but as the plural is “coques” I would guess it is related to the northern european term for cake etc.
Apparently there is a catalan cake called “coques grasses”, might be worth looking into for a possible Wiltshire connection…
Re Coca. In the Balearics, espeically Mallorca, the bakers sell a “coca roi” (king’s pastry – probably a Catalan expression) which is similar to an empanada in Chile, but baked upright rather than on its side, edges are similarly crimped. Contains – amongst other things – cabbage, an olive, slices of egg and sometimes raisins.
Thanks very much bagfolder. Is an empanada in Chile very different from one in Argentina or in Spain or in Mexico? Sounds very good. I wonder about the word “coca.”
Both Chileans and Argentinians lay claim to the empanada and each country boasts that theirs are best! In Valparaiso, Chile, we ate a seafood empanada – shrimps, mussels, etc. Best only to eat really fresh, especially in the 30+ deg. C in summer. There is a Chilean village (Bonaire?) which claims “las empanadas mas grandes de todo Chile” (the biggest in all Chile). Square empanadas can also be found, with a cheese filling too…
Sorry, Rachel, Pomaire – not Bonaire – a one-street town. “lo que caracteriza a Pomaire; la empanada de medio kilo o si el comensal es caprichoso, se la hacen de un kilo, o dos 2 o de 3. están preparados en forma cotidiana para poder preparar “la empanada más grande del mundo”.
Thanks for the further information. Somehow I think whatever Chileans and Bolivians claim, empanadas have a wider geographic range!!
I may be a few years late in joining this discussion, but just as a tangential point of interest, Welsh often borrowed words from Old English and continued using them long after they left the English vernacular. SAIM is one of these words, still in common use in modern Welsh, meaning fat or grease. Saim gwydd = goose fat, seimllyd = fatty or greasy.
That’s fascinating Gruffydd. Out of the corner of my eye, I have seen that the historical linguistics of Welsh is an active area of research. I s that right?