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Comment by hannofcart | Hacker News Reader

> ...I find it boring

If a multi-layered, crunchy, sweet dessert with filings of various nuts, and dipped in clarified butter, with a little salt to the mix is "boring", I'd love to know of a dessert that you consider 'interesting'.

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Hmmm probably I had eaten that too many times as a kid so now as an adult I dislike it? Or maybe it's the way that people here make it? It all depends on the execution!

An interesting desert for me? Not really easy to answer, I guess I'm not into sweets very much ...

My problem with most baklava to me is that all the subtlety and refinement you are talking about just gets lost is big old mess of "sweet". My general baklava experience is that the first bite is good, the second bite is enough and after the third bite I kind of wish I hadn't. It's like some people and chilli heat, once you pass a certain level, it doesn't matter how refined and complex the underlying dish is, all they can taste is 'hot'.

Interesting deserts to me manges to balance sweetness against acidity, tartness, bitterness and similar flavours to create more contrast and where the sweetness isn't the dominating taste experience.

Every time I have tried baklava it was so overpoweringly sweet that I could not manage to finish even a tiny piece. The sugar/honey overwhelmed everything else. So count me as one that agrees with baklava being "boring".

Look up a south asian grocer for Soan Papdi, it's a similar sweet that's not too sugary (by south asian standards anyway) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soan_papdi

Here in Serbia, baklava is mostly too sweet for my taste. I prefer another Turkish dessert called tufahija, which is cooked apple with central part with seeds taken out and filled with grinded walnuts and honey, soaked in sugary water and topped with whipped cream.

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