A Taste of Shared Histories: From Turkey to Portugal

Turkey

Baklava
One of the most internationally recognised pastries from Turkey, Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert made from layers of thin filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts (like pistachios or walnuts), and soaked in syrup or honey. Its origins are widely debated with Greece, Lebanon, Syria, and Azerbaijan all having their beloved versions, making it one of the most culturally shared pastries in the world. In Turkey, it is especially associated with the city of Gaziantep, and it is a staple at celebrations, religious holidays like Eid, and family gatherings.

Simit
Simit is a circular bread roll coated in sesame seeds with a distinctly crispy exterior and a soft, chewy inside. It is often regarded as the “Turkish bagel”, and has been a part of Turkish street food culture for centuries, with records of it appearing in Istanbul as far back as the 16th century. Its vendors, known as simidçi, have long been a familiar sight on Turkish streets, carrying their stacked trays through neighbourhoods and markets.

Simit bears a notable resemblance to similar breads across the region. In fact, simit, the Greek koulouri, the Balkan gevrek, and even the Eastern European bagel all share the same fundamental shape and sesame coating, which points to a shared culinary heritage along ancient trade routes.

Portugal

Pastel de Nata
Portugal's most iconic pastry, Pastel de Nata is a flaky puff pastry tart filled with creamy egg custard, lightly caramelised on top and dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. It was born in the 18th century at Lisbon's Jerónimos Monastery, where monks used egg whites to starch their clothes and found a clever use for the leftover yolks: custard tarts. When the monastery shut down in the 1820s, the recipe was sold to a nearby bakery, and the rest is history.
Its reach is impressive, thanks to Portugal's vast colonial history. Versions of this pastry can be found across the globe– from the pastel de nata of Macau to the egg tart of Hong Kong and similar custard tarts in Brazil and Angola.

Pão de Deus
Literally meaning "Bread of God, "Pão de Deus is a soft, slightly sweet bread roll topped with a generous layer of dried coconut and sugar, giving it a tropical character unusual for European baking. The coconut topping is widely believed to be an output of Portugal's maritime trade routes, through which coconut was introduced from its colonies in Africa and Asia. Thus, a flavour of the country's far-reaching explorations can be said to have been baked into an everyday street food.

Pão de Deus is a staple of Portuguese bakeries and is particularly popular as a breakfast roll or afternoon snack, often sliced open and filled with butter or cream cheese. It has a vague resemblance to coconut buns found across former Portuguese territories, which reinforces the idea that Portugal's culinary identity was as much shaped by its colonies as it shaped them.