History of the Danish Pastry
Vikings invented the Danish Pastry in a flower shape to worship a tribe leader’s
daughter and who ever made the best tasting pastry was the one who got to marry
the daughter. Danish Pastries are made all over the world these days, but most
of its origin does trace back to Denmark.
daughter and who ever made the best tasting pastry was the one who got to marry
the daughter. Danish Pastries are made all over the world these days, but most
of its origin does trace back to Denmark.
Around the year 1850, bakers in Denmark went on strike because they wanted to be
paid for their work in cash rather than bed and board. Bakery owners had no
choice but to hire foreign workers, many of them Austrians who had a certain
talent for making buttery, flaky pastries. When the strike was over, the Danish
people continued the Austrians’ method of baking, which explains why the word for
Danish pastry, “wienerbrod,” actually means Vienna bread.
paid for their work in cash rather than bed and board. Bakery owners had no
choice but to hire foreign workers, many of them Austrians who had a certain
talent for making buttery, flaky pastries. When the strike was over, the Danish
people continued the Austrians’ method of baking, which explains why the word for
Danish pastry, “wienerbrod,” actually means Vienna bread.
Danish pastries were introduced in America around 1915, when a man named L.C.
Klitteng from Denmark baked them for President Woodrow Wilson's wedding.
Klitteng later encouraged New York restaurant owner Herman Gertner to sell the
pastries in his restaurant, according to Gertner's January 23, 1962, New
York Times obituary. The owner agreed, and the pastries became an instant
hit. Today, Danishes remain a popular bakery item in the United States and
throughout the world.
