What are the Jewish Foods classically connected with Chanukkah (or Hanukkah, Chanuka, Hanuka, etc., choose your spelling…)? Most people would point to latkes or sufganiyot (potato pancakes or jelly doughnuts), or any of many other fried items from around the Jewish world, as the “traditional foods” for this holiday. And while I will not complain about fried yumminess (most things […]
Category: Holiday Food
Yom Kippur Chulent (For Real)
One of the more intriguing things I’ve come across during my research on Jewish Food was a recipe for a Yom Kippur Chulent. (More accurately, it was a Yom Kippur Hamin, though I recognize that the term chulent is more recognizable for a number of my readers, so I grudgingly use it for ease of understanding!) I don’t mean a […]
More on Rosh Hashana’s Symbolic Foods
Rosh Hashana is the start of the season in which we Jews ask for forgiveness — from those we may have harmed or offended, from God, and from ourselves. So in that spirit, I will first apologize for not posting in quite a while. I’ve been busy with moving apartments here in Jerusalem (an auspicious start for the new year […]
Borscht’s Belt Wraps Ashkenazi Food and Broader Jewish Cuisine
When it comes to holiday food, my mother is a real traditionalist. No need to ask what will be served at the Seder, for example, because it would be the same every year. Which was also the same as what her mother prepared. One of those standard Pesach/Passover dishes was always knobl borscht. I am much less of a traditionalist […]
No, Virginia, Haman Did NOT Have Pointy Ears
Hamantaschen: those triangular stuffed cookies that so many of us eat on Purim. What do they actually have to do with this holiday? The answer is actually more complicated than you might think, but not as asinine as some might make it out to be (i.e. there actually is some mild significance). The most common explanations you will hear are […]
Tu B’Shvat: The Jewish Food Holiday That Isn’t a Holiday But is Definitely About Jewish Food
“Tu B’Shvat has arrived! The Holiday for the Trees!” So goes the famous Hebrew children’s song in celebration of the holiday known as Tu B’Shvat (translated as the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat). On this day, Jews around the world celebrate the fruits of trees, and typically eat dried fruits and nuts in honor of the day. But […]
How an Unknown Herb Became Beans and Carrots, and Spawned Rosh Hashana “Dad Jokes” Galore
For a thousand years or more, Jews have used special symbolic foods on Rosh Hashana to augur good outcomes for the new year ahead. Over time those foods have grown more numerous, taking on multiple diverse meanings. This led to a situation where there are many more omen-laden foods associated with Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) than any other […]
What the Dairy-on-Shavuot Custom Says About Jewish Culture
Admittedly, this is going to be a bit of an experimental post. Rather than heavily researching the Jewish history of a specific food, or presenting a broad-strokes analysis of Jewish Food trends, I’d like to explore an idea in progress. Something that has been gestating in my mind for a while, but has not yet fully developed. Hopefully, writing it […]
Yom HaAtz’Mallow’t
I wanted to do a special post for Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) this week, but really the only food practice that seems nearly universal among Israelis is what we call al ha’esh (Hebrew for “on the fire”) or mangal (Turkish, originally from Arabic for “portable”). It is what you probably know better as grilling. Grilling meat outdoors over an […]
Mimouna Mutations and More
Particularly interesting about Jewish Food are the special food-related customs of specific Jewish communities around the world. The Malida ceremony of the Bene Israel Jews around Mumbai, the Ethiopian Beta Israel’s Sigd festival (as they break their fast) and Seudat Yitro (Feast of Jethro) for the Jews of Tunisia are but a few examples. But even more interesting is when […]
