When I give my tours in Jerusalem’s open-air Machane Yehuda Market, I say something in my intro that sometimes confuses my guests. In discussing the diversity of foods that we encounter in the market, I explain there are foods from Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, and “Jews who are neither.” Usually, I get quizzical looks from those who can’t envision Jews […]
Category: Classic Foods
Five Metaphors for Israeli Cuisine
Many people argue that there is no such thing as Israeli cuisine. I find that argument ridiculous, and driven by ulterior motives, rather than a desire to actually uncover truth. Every country has its own cuisine (or cuisines), and Israel is of course no different. When I give my food talk “A Land of Milk and Mufletta: At the Crossroads […]
The Passover Foods That Unite Us
On Passover, many people highlight the food customs that divide Jews into different groups. One of the “worst offenders” in this context is kitniyot; Ashkenazi Jews have the custom not to eat foods such as rice, corn, sesame, and beans, while many non-Ashkenazim have no issue consuming such foods on the holiday. Still, as I wrote previously, it isn’t like […]
Jewish Food That Bugs You
So those burgers in the picture are not your standard type. But more on that a drop later. I want to focus on a topic that might bug some of you, but really shouldn’t. Kosher edible insects! For those who don’t already know it, hearing about kosher bugs might be somewhat surprising. We don’t eat pork or lobsters, but locusts […]
Media Updates
A few recent media updates for y’all… I had a lot of fun chatting with my friend Leah Jones for her podcast Finding Favorites, that explores people’s favorite things, without using an algorithm. Of course, for my favorite thing, we chatted at length about Shabbat Stews from around the world, the topic of the book I’m working on. So if […]
T’fina Pkaila: Something Old-New for the New Year
When it comes to cooking for the Jewish holidays, people fall along a menu-selection spectrum that runs from fully traditionalist (“I make what my mother made, which is what her mother made”) to rather adventurous (“I want to serve something new for the new year”). I’ve typically leaned towards the latter end of the spectrum, though I still look for […]
My New FREE Cookbook
Hey there! I’m happy to annouce the launch of my FREE giveaway cookbook, Chulent & Hamin: The Ultimate Jewish Comfort Food. As you probably know, I’m writing a book that explores the history of the Shabbat stew. This ecookbook is connected with that larger project, and contains 12 international (and delicious) recipes — a chulent recipe, a few hamin recipes, […]
Kishke: Ashkenazi Comfort Food That… Sticks to Your Kishkes
Thinking about kishke (or kishkeh, kishka, etc.), so many questions spring to mind. How did it become so beloved in Ashkenazi cuisine? Who even thought it was a good idea to make in the first place? And why do so many Ashkenazi food names start with “k” (e.g. kugel, knaidlach, knish, kasha, kreplach, etc.)? While I may not have a […]
Jewish Food Names We Rarely Think About
When people think about Jewish Food names, they often come up with those that are derived from Hebrew, Yiddish, or Ladino, or those that are clearly tied to Shabbat, holidays and other Jewish celebrations. And yet, there is another category of Jewish Food names that many overlook, but which are the most obvious, since they display their Jewishness as openly […]
Get To Know These Yemenite Jewish Baked Goods
The Yemenite Jewish community is a very old one, and many of their foods are largely unique among Jewish cuisine. Among the many special Yemenite Jewish foods, perhaps their most distinctive are their baked goods. But due to the only passing familiarity that many Jews have with this community, a number of similar pastries and breads are often confused for […]
