Güllaç (pronounced ) is a Turkish dessert made with

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

and a special kind of pastry. It is consumed especially during Ramadan. Güllaç is considered by some as being the origin of baklava. The similarities between the two desserts are many, such as the use of thin layers of dough and nuts in between. Güllaç dough is now prepared with corn starch and wheat flour, although originally it was made only with wheat starch. Güllaç contains walnuts between the layers that are put in milk. Its first known mention is in a 14th-century book, ''Yinshan Zhenyao'' (), a food and health manual written by

Hu Sihui Hu Sihui (, 和斯輝, 忽斯慧, also Hu Zheng Qi Huei; active nr. 1314–1330) was a Chinese court therapist and dietitian during Yuan dynasty. He is known for his book ''Yinshan Zhengyao'' (''Dietary Principles''), that became a classic in Chi ...

(), a physician to the Mongol court of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

. The book documents primarily Mongol and Turkic dishes that exhibit a limited amount of Chinese influence. Güllaç was used for making ''Güllaç Lokması'' and ''Güllaç Baklavası'', old Turkish desserts made during the Ottoman period in Turkey.

Etymology

Turkish ''"güllaç"'' is thought to be loaned from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word گلانج (''gulanc''). The earliest record of the word in a Turkic language dates back to 1477. It is first attested in the Persian-Turkish dictionary '.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gullac Turkish words and phrases Turkish pastries Fruit dishes