I often hear people asking for new Passover foods, bored with the same stuff all the time. And while I clearly respect tradition, for this holiday especially I feel there is at least an argument to be made for not exclusively cooking what your mother and grandmother did. (Years ago, I even wrote an article — with recipes — just […]
Category: Books
Jewish Food Bookshelf: Yankel’s Tavern
After examining a cookbook and a general source on all things Jewish Food in my previous Jewish Food Bookshelf posts, how about a nice stiff drink? I am fascinated by the long and complex history of Jews and alcohol, and my lecture on the subject is one of favorites (and also a pretty fun one). One of my primary sources […]
Jewish Food Bookshelf: Encyclopedia of Jewish Food
It’s time for another edition of From The Jewish Food Bookshelf. This time around, I’m featuring a highly recommended classic. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I like to cite my sources, and there are three in particular that I quote most frequently. I consider them the best three Jewish Food books […]
The Jewish Food Bookshelf: Sephardi – Cooking the History
With this post, I am inaugurating a new series on this blog, called “The Jewish Food Bookshelf.” I love Jewish Food History, and there are so many wonderful sources out there to get educated on the topic. In the past, I have tried to footnote and credit the many amazing books I have used as resources for my posts. And […]
The Holocaust and Jewish Food History
Yom HaShoah, Israel’s official Holocaust Remembrance Day, has just begun this evening. And so, I wanted to take a few minutes to write a post that relates to the day, as well as to Jewish Food History. Many of you may be wondering what there could possibly be to write about on this topic, and indeed it is largely a […]
Kosher Pork Chops and Other Crypto-Jewish Foods
One of the saddest chapters in Jewish history is also one of the more interesting on a gastronomic level. Following the forced conversions in 15th century Spain, and the Inquisition and subsequent Expulsion, many so-called New Christians secretly maintained Jewish beliefs. Practicing in secret to avoid arrest and torturous execution, they are now known as Crypto-Jews. (1)The better-known term Marrano […]
Bagel, Knish & Haroset, Oh My! (On Books About Iconic Jewish Foods)
Of all the books I’ve come across during my research into Jewish Food, there are many wonderful ones (and some that are less great, too, of course). They fall into a wide array of categories, from cookbooks to histories, dry-but-informative academic texts to just entertaining (whether more or less informative). One of the more interesting breakdowns I’ve encountered is how […]
