About | Viva's Greek Pastries

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Our Inspiration

Our story begins in 1995 in the Town of Nazareth, Israel (birthplace of Jesus Christ), where at the age of 18 Viva Audeh started learning how to make Baklava with her mother Sofia Pavlou.

Sofia learned the traditional recipes of making Greek Food from her original roots in the Greek Islands. Viva's passion for quality hand made pastries was inspired by her mother's love for Greek Food.

Viva got married in 2002 and moved to the United States to start her new life. She became a mother in 2003 when she gave birth to her oldest son Anesti. In 2019 her life took a big turn when she became a single mother. Suddenly she was alone taking care of her 3 sons and her mother Sofia with no financial income, and no way to provide for herself or her family.

Viva continued to pray for strength and wisdom in hopes that God would provide a way for her to improve her situation. It was through that prayer that Viva began to realize the answer to her problem would be to share her love of Greek Pastries as a business to help support her family.

She first began in September of 2019. Viva started offering Holiday gift packs of traditional Baklava and other assorted Greek Pastries. At first, Viva wondered if anyone would want to try her pastries because Baklava is not very common in the United States and some people have never heard of it. She was so happy to see the reaction of all the people who tried her pastries. After a few months, her pastries became so popular that she was completely sold out! Viva realized the way to her success would be through sharing her love and passion for Greek Pastries for all the world to enjoy. Viva loves making new friends and telling them about her quality pastries and sharing her life experiences.

"I feel very blessed to be able to meet and chat with people to share the joy and happiness they experience when they try my pastries!" Says Viva

Viva's dream is that her pastries will bring great success to her family and that her business will prosper. Her goal is to help more people experience the joy and benefits of sharing Baklava with the world. Viva thanks The Lord that she has the opportunity to share her experiences and love for Greek Pastries with you and your family.

Thank you for visiting this website and reading this story. We hope that you will find great joy and many blessings from our work. Live, Laugh, Love 2020

History Of Baklava

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines of the former Ottoman countries. It is made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, or pistachios, and sweetened with syrup or honey. The result is a dish so delicious that not only was it served to royalty but numerous ethnic groups claim it as their own. Baklava is an example of human ingenuity in developing food that not only nourishes the body but also brings happiness to the mind and spirit.

Commonly regarded as a Greek specialty, baklava is available in a wide range of local variations throughout Greece, both mainland and islands. It is also widely found in Turkish and many Arabic and Middle Eastern cultures. Baklava is generally served on special occasions, in many areas during religious ceremonies. Thus, Christians serve baklava at Christmas and Easter, Muslims eat it during Ramadan, and Jews often enjoy it as a Rosh Hashannah and Purim treat.

Preparation

Baklava is prepared on large trays and cut into a variety of shapes.
Baklava is basically layers of crisp phyllo dough (paper-thin sheets of raw, unleavened flour dough used for making pastries) alternated with a sugary spiced nut mixture, which includes walnuts, almonds, and possibly pistachios. The pastry is prepared on large trays, and melted shortening is poured on top. After baking, the whole thing is soaked in a fragrant sweet syrup made with honey, lemon, and cinnamon. Sweet and exotic, baklava is cut into small pieces of various shapes (triangles, squares, or diamonds) and cooled before serving.

History

The word "baklava" entered English from Turkish, although the dish is often thought to be of Greek origin. The history of baklava is not well-documented; but although it has been claimed by many ethnic groups, the best evidence is that it is of Central Asian Turkic origin.[1] The version known and used today was probably developed in the kitchens of the Topkapi Palace. Indeed, the sultan presented trays of baklava to the Janissaries every 15th of Ramadan in a ceremonial procession called the Baklava Alayı.

One of the oldest known recipes for a sort of proto-baklava is found in a Chinese cookbook written in 1330 under the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty under the name güllach. "Güllaç" is also found in Turkish cuisine. Layers of phyllo dough are put one by one in warmed up milk with sugar. It is served with walnut and fresh pomegranate and generally eaten during Ramadan.

An ancient recipe from the Greek island of Crete for Gastrin (in Greek: γάστριν) is quite similar to modern baklava. Sesame seeds, pepper, and poppy seeds are only some of the unusual ingredients in this ancient recipe. Petimezi (a sweetener made from grapes), used long before sugar arrived in Greece, adds to its unique taste.

The Greek's major contribution to baklava was the creation of the dough technique that allowed it to be rolled as thin as a leaf, rather than the rougher, bread-like texture of the Assyrian dough. The name "phyllo" comes from Greek language, meaning "leaf."

The phyllo dough was then given a French touch in the late eighteenth century, when a former pastry chef of Marie Antoinette, in exile at the Ottoman Turkish palace, created the "dome" technique of cutting and folding baklava squares.

Source: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Baklava