Sacre Bleu! The croissant, that magnificently curved, coquettishly flaky pastry synonymous with the beauty and joie-de-vivre of French baking, has disappeared from a supermarket chain in Britain, having been usurped by a straight version. Tesco says its customers find the traditional shape too difficult when spreading jam. It’s “more fiddly” and increases the chances of sticky fingers, says Tesco’s Chief Buyer Harry Jones.
“At the heart of the move away from curved croissants is the spreadability factor. The majority of shoppers find it easier to spread jam, or their preferred filling, on a straighter shape with a single sweeping motion.” August Zang, the nineteenth-century baker who is believed to have created the croissant, must be spinning in his coffin — his tiny crescent-shaped coffin.
