STREET FOODS: Bread roll or Koulouri

Πέμπτη 9 Φεβρουαρίου 2012

STREET FOODS: Bread roll or Koulouri

It is made of bread, of course, and sesame. It is a quite cheap street snack served usually with a piece of cheese (graviera). On the way to work or with your breakfast, it can make your day. You can find it at the street vendors “koulourtzides”, they are usually old people, sitting at the corners of crowded streets, exhibiting their products on a short table beside the basket. Although is a standard snack, you can find it in various sizes, crispy or really soft. In any case, you should eat them fresh.

Its history comes from the Byzantine Empire, when Greeks emigrants from Istanbul , brought it to Thessaloniki and it was spread, later on, over Greece. This is the reason why it is so popular in Thessaloniki. In Greek it is called “koulouri” coming from the Byzantine word “kollikion”. Digging into the history, we meet “koulouri” at the first Christian Age. Since then, it was linked with the Christian tradition. The first record of this name was not observed earlier than 1733. Some claim that Greeks used this name for a cake with a cross formed on the top of it, much earlier. The protestant England considered this tradition as dangerous. Thus, they tried to forbid the sales of this product. However, Koulouri was so popular that Elizabeth forced to permit the sales of "koulouri" only during the Easter and Christmas.