Okay, so you can probably guess what first drew me to this book, right? Of all the Jewish Food books I own and have read, this one is unique. The Angel and the Cholent: Food Representation from the Israeli Folktale Archives, by Idit Pintel-Ginsberg is not a book of food history, nor is it a cookbook or a book analyzing […]
Category: Sabbath Food
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The History of Potato Kugel
Many of you may remember a post I wrote a few months back all about kugel. Well, if you thought there was nothing more to discuss on the subject, you were wrong! 🙂 My newest piece for The Nosher covers the entire History of Potato Kugel, and soon there will be another one coming out dedicated to Noodle Kugel. This […]
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 […]
The Sephardi-Style Eggs that are Not Just for Sephardim
Huevos haminados, eggs cooked slowly through the night, are one of the most recognizable foods of the Sephardic kitchen. But in fact, the uniquely Jewish cooking method long predates its popularity among the Jewish community in Spain. With the Spanish Expulsion of 1492, it spread widely to other Jewish communities while simultaneously remaining a hallmark of Sephardic cuisine. * * […]
Kugel: Simple Food That’s Not So Simple
Although I strive to shine a light in my research and writing on a wide array of non-Ashkenazi Jewish Foods, as I discuss in my description of this site, that doesn’t mean I plan to entirely ignore Ashkenazi foods. There are many delicious Ashkenazi delicacies as well, typically falling in the heimish style, rather than the formal and fancy. Plus, […]
