Category: Research
Respectfully Responding to Reem Kassis (Re: Bagels)
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. […]
The Complexity of Jewish Food History
Studying Jewish Food history is interesting and exciting, especially when you uncover little-known facts and episodes, the more surprising the better. But as one of the most mobile nations in history (perhaps the most mobile), our people’s food has a history that is sometimes as complex as that of the nation itself. I recently encountered a great example while doing […]
What Exploring Our Food Can Teach About Our People
To me, studying food is not an end in itself. It is a way to learn about the people who make and eat it. Which of course is the angle that I am taking in my book. Obviously, I describe the foods themselves, their origins and history, and other interesting things about them. But beyond that, I use them as […]
Jews Were the Original Culinary Movers and Shakers (Literally)
In my post about Bourekas, I touched on some of the culinary results of the Jewish forced migration following the Spanish Expulsion of 1492. Primarily, however, that focused on the effect it had on a Jewish food (i.e. an internally-focused discussion). In a later post about foods whose Jewish connection was less known, I spoke more about how our moves […]
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 […]
Jewish Food? What’s THAT?!
Anyone who has been following this blog even slightly since its launch, over the last month or so, knows I use the term “Jewish Food” a lot. And if you’ve heard any of my Food Talks over the past few years, or read the “About this Site” page, you know some of my thoughts on the concept. But a recent […]
