| Plăcintă | |
| Region: | Romania Moldova Budjak, Ukraine |
| Course: | Dessert |
| Type: | Pastry |
| Main Ingredient: | soft cheese or apples |
| Variations: | Placenta |
Plăcintă [1] (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /pləˈtʃintə/) is a Romanian and Moldovan traditional pastry resembling a thin, small round or square-shaped cake, usually filled with apples or a soft cheese such as Urdă.
The word plăcintă comes from Latin placenta, which means "cake",[2] from the Greek, "flat cake".[3]
As shown by the etymology of the word, the plăcintă has its origins in Ancient Rome, see Placenta cake.[4]
Ancient Greek bakers made their bread with olive oil, herbs, and cheese. The secret of making cakes was given to the Romans during the invasion. At first there were only two varieties of cakes, called the libum and the placenta. The libum was a small cake, used as an offering to the gods.[5] As for the placenta, the Romans developed the recipe as a cake made of fine flour covered with cheese, honey, and fragrant bay leaves.[6] Ancient Roman bakers customarily prepared a large placenta which was cut into squares to be offered for sale.[7] This is the way that Romanians continue to prepare their plăcintă.
On July 6, 2022, the culture of platsynda cooking and eating in the villages of Frumushyka river valley was inscribed in the National Inventory of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.[8]