![BallokumeShqiptare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/BallokumeShqiptare.jpg)
Ballokume is an
Albanian cookie originating in the city of
Elbasan
Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...
, which is popular throughout
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
Albanian communities. It is traditionally eaten on
Dita e Verës
Dita e Verës or Verëza (English: "The Summer Day") is an Albanian spring festival and pagan holiday celebrated in Albania on March 14 of the Gregorian calendar (March 1 of the Julian calendar). In the old Albanian calendar, Verëza correspo ...
, an Albanian pagan holiday celebrated on 14 March.
Elbasani Ballokume - traditional sweet
Monarch It is sometimes called ''kulaç me finj,'' as it may optionally contain ''finj'', a mixture of ashes from a wood stove boiled in water.
It consists of butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
, sugar, eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
, and cornflour
Cornflour may refer to:
* Cornflour (in the UK), corn starch, from the endosperm of the kernel of the corn (maize) grain
* Corn flour (in the US and elsewhere), very finely ground cornmeal, ground from dried maize
See also
* Flour
* Starch
* Gl ...
. It is traditionally kneaded in a copper bowl, which is supposed to improve the texture of the dough. The dough must be kneaded vigorously, which is why the men of the house are often involved in the ballokume preparation.
Etymology
Tradition holds that the name comes from a 16-century Ottoman ruler of Elbasan who, after having tasted a small cake made from corn flour cooked in a wood fire, exclaimed: “Është ba si llokume!” (“It’s as good as a lokum!“), the word ballokume resulting by contracting this sentence.
See also
* Cuisine of Albania
* Dita e Verës
Dita e Verës or Verëza (English: "The Summer Day") is an Albanian spring festival and pagan holiday celebrated in Albania on March 14 of the Gregorian calendar (March 1 of the Julian calendar). In the old Albanian calendar, Verëza correspo ...
References
Albanian cuisine
{{albania-cuisine-stub