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Taste of Jewish Culture

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Category: Classic Foods

The Best Way to Make Chulent
March 20, 2022

The Best Way to Make Chulent

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Although the book I am writing focuses on the history of the Shabbat stew (chulent, hamin, dafina, etc.), along the way I have also come across lots of interesting side notes and tidbits that accompany the story of the dish itself. In addition to things such as its influence on many other dishes around the world, extra “bonus” foods that […]

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A Traditional Purim Food (That ISN’T Hamantaschen)
March 8, 2022

A Traditional Purim Food (That ISN’T Hamantaschen)

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

The spirit of the Purim holiday (which is coming up next week), is one of near-reckless abandon, which shines through in the traditional Purim foods. This crazy-fun party holiday is one on which drinking is encouraged, even to excess (more on that in a future post), a festive meal is mandated, and gifts of food are traditionally exchanged between Jewish […]

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Cooking Jewish Culture: Schmaltz
February 9, 2022

Cooking Jewish Culture: Schmaltz

Classic Foods by FunJoel1 comment

Schmaltz, aka “Liquid Gold,” is the not-so secret ingredient in the classic Ashkenazi kitchen. So while last week I wrote about some truly beloved Sephardic baked goods (and a big shout out to all of the new followers to my blog, who came via that popular post), I felt this week I should go to my own heritage. After all, […]

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Beyond Bourekas: On Boyos and Bulemas
February 3, 2022

Beyond Bourekas: On Boyos and Bulemas

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Do you know what boyos and bulemas are? You may have even eaten one without realizing it, but more on that later. Some time ago, I wrote a post about the Jewish history of bourekas, mentioning in it that they were one of three Sephardic pastries commonly referred to as “The Three B’s.” Boyos and bulemas are the other two. […]

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The Multicultural Jewish Food of Machane Yehuda
January 20, 2022

The Multicultural Jewish Food of Machane Yehuda

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

As the most globalized nation on Earth, the Jewish people have a cuisine that is notoriously hard to define. But as Claudia Roden wrote in her The Book of Jewish Food, just “because a culture is complex this does not mean it does not exist.” Our food is multicultural, because we have been influenced by the foods of the people […]

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Cooking Jewish Culture: Choucroute Garnie
January 10, 2022February 9, 2022

Cooking Jewish Culture: Choucroute Garnie

Classic Foods by FunJoel1 comment

Welcome to the newest recurring feature on my blog: Cooking Jewish Culture. While this site is not a “cooking blog” per se, and it remains focused on my primary topic of Jewish Food History, I am going to incorporate periodic cooking posts. One of the things I’ve noticed as I research Jewish Food culture is that you can sometimes tell […]

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Q&A: All About American Jewish Deli
December 22, 2021

Q&A: All About American Jewish Deli

Classic Foods by FunJoel1 comment

I love answering questions about Jewish Food history, and some time ago, in my newsletter, I asked people to email me with anything they wanted to know. My long-time friend Julie responded with some queries about American Jewish delis. As fate would have it, the most common topic I was asked about while on my recent lecture tour in America, […]

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Thank God for Food Spoilage
June 9, 2021June 10, 2021

Thank God for Food Spoilage

Classic Foods by FunJoel0 comments

Traditional Jews have a wide array of food blessings, based on the type of food being consumed. We thank God with a different bracha (blessing) for creating grain products, fruits or wine, for example. These add up to an expression of our gratitude to the Creator for providing us not just with sustenance, but with a variety both nutritionally and […]

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The Freaky Ancient Grain Still Prepared Today and Connected with the Season
May 4, 2021May 9, 2021

The Freaky Ancient Grain Still Prepared Today and Connected with the Season

Classic Foods by FunJoel2 comments

If you’ve attended Hebrew School, or one of many Jewish Summer Camps, you probably know the Hebrew word for Spring: Aviv. It’s an ancient word, that appears multiple times in the Jewish Bible. The only problem is… it doesn’t mean Spring. Or at least it didn’t in Biblical times. Back then, it described a food product, one that is still […]

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Respectfully Responding to Reem Kassis (Re: Bagels)
April 13, 2021

Respectfully Responding to Reem Kassis (Re: Bagels)

Classic Foods by FunJoel1 comment

If you spend time reading on the Internet about food history or Middle Eastern cuisine, chances are you recently saw a post by Palestinian-American cookbook author Reem Kassis in which she claimed that the bagel has origins in the Arab kitchen. I first came across it when my friend Sarah forwarded me an article from Serious Eats in which Ms. […]

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About

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.

Upcoming Talks

Feb 28
7:30 pm - 8:45 pm

Chulent & Hamin: The Stew With a Thousand Flavors

Mar 2
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Chulent & Hamin: The Stew with A Thousand Flavors

Mar 3
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

My Cup Runneth Over: The Jews and Their Drinking Habit

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Recent

  • Jan 30, 2023 Updates (about me and others)
  • Jan 20, 2023 Food Wins at the National Jewish Book Awards 2022
  • Jan 08, 2023 2022: The Year in Jewish Food
  • Dec 22, 2022 Announcing My New Website: ChulentBook.com
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