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Category: Classic Foods

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Chopped Liver’s Staying Power
June 20, 2024

Chopped Liver’s Staying Power

Classic Foods by FunJoel1 comment

Chopped liver is peculiar. I don’t mean that word using its somewhat negative connotations. I mean to use its denotative meanings of distinctive, special, and particular. In this post, I want to explain what is different about chopped liver within the Jewish Food canon, and also explore potential reasons for that peculiarity. I wrote about this topic once in my […]

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Episode 9 – Kashkarikas: Turkish Sephardic Kitchen Wisdom
June 19, 2024

Episode 9 – Kashkarikas: Turkish Sephardic Kitchen Wisdom

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Jews have been the masters of preserving and repurposing foods, reducing food waste. And we act as a “Light Unto the Nations” by sharing this value with the world. Learn about the title food, the concept of “Bal Tashchit,” and my interviewee’s organization that was designed to reduce food waste everywhere. Interview: Sibel Pinto Episode Notes

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Episode 7 – Gondi: A Persian Pleasure to Honor Shabbat
May 22, 2024May 22, 2024

Episode 7 – Gondi: A Persian Pleasure to Honor Shabbat

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Jews everywhere have always reserved their best foods for the Sabbath. Gondi is a food that is unique to the Jews of Persia (Iran), and is almost exclusively eaten at Friday night Shabbat dinner. One of many examples of how Jews use cuisine to honor and show respect for their Day of Rest. Interview: Tannaz Sassooni   Episode Notes

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The German-Jewish Cookbook: From the Bookshelf
May 16, 2024

The German-Jewish Cookbook: From the Bookshelf

Books by FunJoel0 comments

I have written previously about the effects of the Holocaust on Jewish cuisine, most prominently in the breaking of the chain of transmission from generation to generation. This resulted in a tremendous amount of cultural knowledge being lost. We do have a few books that can help us learn about pre-war European Jewish food. For example, there is a unique […]

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Episode 6 – Bourekas: Food For a Globalized Nation
May 8, 2024May 8, 2024

Episode 6 – Bourekas: Food For a Globalized Nation

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Many people know and love bourekas, but few know of its Jewish origin story. Learn how this food is the result of Jewish migrations, and hear of other similar foods that only came about because we have spread around the world. Culinary fusion is not a new thing, nor simply a way to experiment or titillate — often it is […]

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Episode 5 – Moufletta: Jewish-Arab Friendship in Morocco
April 24, 2024May 7, 2024

Episode 5 – Moufletta: Jewish-Arab Friendship in Morocco

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Moufletta is eaten by Moroccan Jews at the holiday of Mimouna, that immediately follows Passover. It reflects the relatively good relations the two communities shared there. This episode looks at this crepe’s Jewish bonafides, discusses other similar examples from around the world, and reveals how the tradition changed (but also stayed similar) in Israel. Interview: The Sephardic Spice Girls — […]

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Episode 4 – Charoset: And Other Symbolic Holiday Foods
April 10, 2024April 10, 2024

Episode 4 – Charoset: And Other Symbolic Holiday Foods

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Charoset is eaten at the Passover Seder, but unlike many other foods, its origins are a bit less clear. It is certainly ancient, but it isn’t mandated in the Torah, as is matzah. Furthermore, we know that it is a symbolic food, but what EXACTLY is it a symbol of? By exploring charoset, as well as many other symbolic foods […]

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What is T’bit?
February 8, 2024February 8, 2024

What is T’bit?

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

With the specific history of Jews in the Arab world, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, but also over the preceding century, it is easy to overlook the fact that masses of Jews lived throughout the Middle East for millennia. This is of course reflected in the third major classification category of Jews, afer Ashkenazi and Sephardi: […]

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What Are Keftes de Prasa?
September 6, 2023

What Are Keftes de Prasa?

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Unlike my previous “What is…” post, this one does not look at a sub-community’s cuisine, but at a dish that is widely eaten by many different sub-communities. Keftes de Prasa, in brief, are leek fritters, beloved and eaten extensively throughout the Sephardic diaspora. From the above picture, you can see they look rather similar to potato latkes, but with some […]

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So DID a Jew Invent Fish and Chips?
July 25, 2023July 25, 2023

So DID a Jew Invent Fish and Chips?

Classic Foods by FunJoel2 comments

On more than one occasion in my writing, my Food Talks, and my tours in Machane Yehuda Market, I have repeated the statement that Fish and Chips, the great British favorite, was actually invented by a British Jew. I had read about this in multiple places, and it seemed legit to me. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a […]

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I'm Joel Haber, and I love to talk about Jewish Food History. Learn more about me here. On this blog I explore Jewish Food and its links to Jewish Culture.

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Recent

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  • Oct 30, 2024 Episode 18 – Choucroute Garnie à la Juive: An Alsatian Jewish Mouthful
  • Oct 16, 2024 The Unknown Jewish Culinary Connection to the Barely Edible Etrog
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