By the holy month of Ramadan every year there comes people’s favorite-annual dessert “kunafa”. A trend that never ends and lately has been used as a marketing tool for some patisseries who take advantage of it not by only coming up with new filling ideas but unusual ones that grasp everyone’s attention.
The latest most talked about filling or Kunafa topping was RENGA (Herring) that a patisserie used as a joke that helped spread their brand name widely.
Aside from that every year there is a new creative filling to it added to the list.
The creative, tasteful flavors and fillings that keep popping every Ramadan in every patisserie are the iftar table’s show stopping dessert item. It all began since the arrival of Nablus Kunafa a few years ago, that’s stuffed with cheese or cream and soaked with simple syrup, that many people agree on its unique taste.
So you know how Ramadan moves each year, not set in a particular season. At some point Ramadan started occurring in the summer. So, when it happened in summer they started experimenting with new fillings, which happened to be mangoes and it’s still a thing until today in many forms and mixes.
But last year it started by the end of April and this year it started mid April when you won’t find much mango fillings now because it’s not its season. And winter fruits are not likely to be added to the Kunafa’s yearly new fillings list.
As well as it's beginning in Egypt with the Syrian version "Nabulseya", stuffed with the Shami cheese "Akkawi", Egyptians loved the idea of incorporating different ingredients into Kunafa. So, they created their own versions with new twists every year.
And that opened the door for new fillings and more ingredients are added to Kunafa. Because they had to keep it going and create more stuffing.
They come up with Nutella or any type of chocolate, Oreos and Lotus fillings.
And then people started going all in with many more flavors that are hard to resist, the newest filling is Kunafa with red-velvet.
"I don't think it's necessarily worth the hype but I like that people are becoming more experimental and are open to new ideas and this is what allows a market to develop," said Chef Sarah Khanna, owner of a well known food blog and shares her unique and new recipes on her Instagram account.
“Kunafa is an annual dessert because it is a plain base that is easy to utilize.”
"Generally I don't mind the Nutella or cream one. The lotus is fine too depending on how much syrup is used in the Kunafa," the chef added.
"If I were to create a new Kunafa filling, I would probably put an Indian twist to a Ricotta Kunafa with a cardamom and saffron syrup."
"I've tried the lotus and the Nutella fillings. They're too sweet for me but generally Egypt has a very sweet tooth and so it fits the market's profile," concluded chef Sarah.
“When it comes to Kunafa I’m a minimalist, I like the classic Kunafa with cream or fruit and cream," said chef Mayada El-Batran, who runs an Instagram business account for desserts and shares easy food tips and recipes.
"I make different fillings because this is what people like but for me I like simple Kunafa fillings or the classic ones," said chef Mayada.
“I believe it's greatly sought after every Ramadan because Kunafa has a subtle taste so it’s easier to add in different recipes but Basbousa is thicker and heavier with its own unique taste. It's harder to incorporate into many recipes.
And according to one of Sale Sucre's branch vendors, “Kunafa is the easiest dessert to recreate. Lotus and Nutella Kunafa are currently the most selling items. However, previously we had the Mango Kunafa as our number one selling item in Ramadan, but since mangoes aren't in season now, it isn't as available. Therefore, we opted for adding other available ingredients which we test out first before the Ramadan season.
From the latest inventions that are becoming a staple on many iftar tables, the "Trés Leches" dessert. It is a dish of sweetened cooked rice with milk and cream, with the addition of Dulce De Leche caramel. We also created new mixes to Basbousa where the trend in Ramadan is mixing oriental and western tastes together. Our latest twist is Kunafa with dates and almonds.”
And we took a few people’s opinions too, of what they prefer and think about all those fillings and why they think it’s always trending.
Tarek, 28,” I like the mango one so much. It gave me summer vibes, it was a nice fusion And it truly represents Ramadan in the summer for me.
I think it’s a trend mostly because it was a new change in like how we ate the traditional desserts.
Also because they are infusing new delicious flavors that people love, like lotus , Nutella and red velvet.
The other ones felt very forced for me, I didn't prefer them that much Or never really was interested enough to try them, I think I only tried the Nutella one but that's just too easy. It wasn't very creative.
Also I am generally a classic guy when it comes to desserts. I like the classic ones, the cream one is still my absolute favorite.”
Mohamed, 22, “they are ruining it and all for money , none of these are creative or good. I prefer the traditional ones (the cream filling) and the mango is still the best they made. In my opinion Kunafa is still found in all patisseries Since it is available everywhere with relatively affordable prices.
Nahed, 50, "it’s not worth the hype as the new fillings are all too sweet for me and I enjoy the original Kunafa or the mango and cream stuffed ones."
Comments