The cinnamon-coated tubular cakes known as Kiortosh are as delicious as they are perplexing. It's unclear exactly when the sweet pastry made its way to Israel, but one thing is certain. It is THE Jewish food to watch in 2024.
What is Kiortosh?
This flaky, hollow pastry has a crunchy, caramelized exterior but is soft and fluffy inside. It's buttery like a croissant and works perfectly as a vehicle for ice cream or a pastry to dip in your coffee. Kiortosh comes from the Hungarian word “kürtő,” referring to the chimney of a traditional coal stove. Though other food scholars claim it received its namesake from the steam that puffs out of the pastry when it’s done cooking.
The Origins of Kiortosh
While it may be enjoying its 15 minutes of fame in Israeli Cuisine, it didn't originate here at all. Its roots date back to medieval Hungary, where the pastry has been enjoyed for centuries and traditionally eaten on celebrations, like at county fairs and religious holidays.
In 1450, the first known Hungarian cake was baked by rotating spit over cinders, by wrapping dough around a spit in a helix shape. However, to get to today’s modern Kiortosh, a few important steps were taken. First, by dusting with sugar and then by coating with a layer of caramelized sugar for the prized “Maillard Reaction” (a chemical effect that creates melanoidins, compounds that give caramelized food its distinctive flavor.) It took over a hundred more years for the next Hungarian genius to add cinnamon and cocoa powder to the crust, making it a more delectable and varied pastry.
What’s made it such a hit in Israel and other European countries is its preparation - which is a spectacle in itself. The dough is wrapped around a wooden cylinder, then coated in sugar and baked to golden perfection over an open flame like a sweet shawarma. The result is a cylindrical, crispy exterior that gives way to a soft, doughy interior.
The Journey to Israel
Kiortosh made its way to becoming an Israeli mainstay when Tel Aviv-born pastry chef Doron Regev introduced the pastry to Israel in 2006 when he opened a bakery called “Kiortosh” in the heart of Tel Aviv. As word of mouth began to spread, so did the dish until Kiortosh was on every block.
Regev came up with the idea for an Israeli bakery specializing in Kiortosh after taking a trip to his father’s homeland of Hungary and enjoying a chimney cake prepared by an elderly Transylvanian lady. He used his pastry skills to bring a slice of his heritage to Israel and bought the recipe on the spot. He went even further and reinvented some of the classic toppings to bring his fresh take on the dish to the promised land. Some of his creations have remained popular to this day, like Chocolate-Halva dip and pistachio crunch topping.
Another factor that led to the dish’s popularity in Israel is the sizable Hungarian population. In 1948, more than 30,000 Jews emigrated from Hungary (after the Holocaust, very few Hungarian Jews remained), and today, they make up a large faction of the Israeli population. Despite Israel’s new coatings and flavors for the dish, Kiortosh remains a nostalgic dish for many. Much the same way funnel cakes and corn dogs bring back memories of a simpler, more carefree time for Americans.
As global cuisines and cultures intertwine, it's not uncommon for a delicacy to traverse borders and find a new home. In the case of Kiortosh, its journey led it to the bustling markets and vibrant streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli culinary scene, renowned for its diversity, embraced Kiortosh with open arms. The journey from Hungary to Israel is not just a tale of culinary exploration; it's a bridge connecting cultures. Through the shared joy of savoring this delightful treat, people from different corners of the world come together, celebrating the universality of good food.
Want to make your own Kiortosh? Get our recipe for a simple at home version here.
We saw chimney cake stores all over the City of Prague