Lauzinaj facts for kids

Lauzinaj (pronounced law-zee-naj) is a very old and special sweet treat. It's made mostly from almonds. People in the Middle Ages, especially in Arab countries, loved it! Some even called it the "food of kings" because it was so delicious and fancy. By the 1200s, this amazing dessert traveled to Europe. It came from places like Al-Andalus (which is now Spain and Portugal) and was brought back by Crusaders.

A Sweet History

Many old Arabic books and poems talk about lauzinaj. For example, a poet named Al-Ma'muni mentioned it in the 900s. Also, a judge (called a qadi) named Sahnun told one of his students something interesting. He said that if the student studied law for many hours, they could earn enough money to eat lauzinaj filled with pistachios!

Different Kinds of Lauzinaj

Old recipes show there were two main types of lauzinaj:

• Lauzinaj mugharraq was also called "drenched lauzinaj." Some people think this might be an early version of the famous Ottoman sweet, baklava. It was made with thin pastry dough. This dough was filled with a mix of ground almonds. Sometimes other nuts like pistachios or walnuts were added too. They also used rosewater for flavor. Fancy versions might even have special ingredients like mastic (a plant resin), ambergris, or musk.
• Lauzinaj yabis was made differently. Ground almonds were cooked in boiling honey or sugar. This mixture was cooked until it became thick, like taffy. There was also a raw version, which was softer, like marzipan. For this, almonds were mixed with sugar and flavored with camphor, musk, and rosewater. This soft candy was then shaped into animals or other designs. It could also be cut into squares and triangles.

How Was It Made?

One old recipe from the 900s tells us how to make lauzinaj. First, crushed sugar and almonds were mixed with rosewater. This sweet mixture was then rolled inside very thin dough. This dough was similar to the dough used for sanbusaj (samosa), but even thinner. A poet named Ibn al-Rumi even said the dough was as thin as grasshopper wings! After baking, the finished pastry was soaked in a sweet syrup flavored with rosewater. Finally, it was decorated with crushed pistachios.