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Tag: Ashkenazic Food

Q&A: Why Can’t I Find a Good Bagel in Israel?
February 8, 2023

Q&A: Why Can’t I Find a Good Bagel in Israel?

Reader Q&A by FunJoel0 comments

The question above, or the similar one that replaces “bagel” with “pastrami,” “knish” or something else of the sort, is one of the most frequent I receive, both as an American-Israeli food researcher, and as a tour guide specializining in culinary tours. When I received some form of this question on a recent tour in Machane Yehuda Market, I answered […]

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Traditional Jewish Foods for Thanksgiving
November 20, 2022

Traditional Jewish Foods for Thanksgiving

Holiday Food by FunJoel0 comments

Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday for the Jews. Certainly we are quite familiar with the concept of a thanksgiving feast; in Hebrew it is called a seudat hoda’ah, and it is commonly done for personal reasons by Jews around the world. But since, in America, it is one of the most widely observed holidays, yet does not come with accompanying […]

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Eat and be Satisfied: The Jewish Food Bookshelf
June 17, 2022

Eat and be Satisfied: The Jewish Food Bookshelf

Books by FunJoel1 comment

For this edition of From the Jewish Food Bookshelf, I wanted to talk about the second of my top three resources for Jewish Food History. I previously wrote about Gil Marks’ excellent Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, which I reference repeatedly when looking into a topic. John Cooper’s Eat and Be Satisfied: A Social History of Jewish Food is a different […]

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Ashkenazi Food: Unrecognized Diversity
April 27, 2022April 27, 2022

Ashkenazi Food: Unrecognized Diversity

Classic Foods by FunJoel2 comments

Anyone who has read my blog regularly knows that I try very hard to explore Jewish Food beyond the Ashkenazi staples that so many people think of when they think of Jewish Food. However, I also do my best to “defend” Ashkenazi food against the attacks I see as unwarranted. People think of it is boring, un-tasty, and monolithic. In […]

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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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Q&A: Knishes, Bourekas and Other Stuffed Goodies
February 17, 2022

Q&A: Knishes, Bourekas and Other Stuffed Goodies

Reader Q&A by FunJoel1 comment

Knishes are a type of beloved Ashkenazi stuffed pastry. Bourekas, as I’ve written about previously, are a type of beloved Sephardi stuffed pastry. Is there a connection between them, and if so, what is it? That is essentially what I was asked by two readers of my recent post about boyos and bulemas, though they asked it in somewhat different […]

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

Q&A: All About American Jewish Deli

Classic Foods by FunJoel2 comments

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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The Tangled History of Noodle Kugel
April 5, 2021

The Tangled History of Noodle Kugel

Articles by FunJoel1 comment

About a month ago I posted a link to my recent article for The Nosher, all about Potato Kugel. Well, as promised, my next article to come out follows up on that, by unraveling the tangled history of noodle (or lokshen) kugel! Noodle kugel is the older of the two, and has at least as complex a story as the […]

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Borscht’s Belt Wraps Ashkenazi Food and Broader Jewish Cuisine
March 23, 2021

Borscht’s Belt Wraps Ashkenazi Food and Broader Jewish Cuisine

Classic Foods by FunJoel1 comment

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 […]

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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

  • Feb 08, 2023 Q&A: Why Can’t I Find a Good Bagel in Israel?
  • 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
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