Category: Uncategorized
Spring 2024 Updates
It has been some time since I’ve posted here, so I figured I should write this update post to both explain why, and tell you what is new around here. I’ve thankfully been very busy, and I hope that it will bring good things here and to you! I recently completed my fourth lecture tour in the States. It was […]
Old Wine in New Barrels? (Podcasts)
Hey there! One of my hopes for the new year ahead is to expand into a new medium with the work I do. I am in the very early phases of planning to launch a podcast about Jewish Food History. And while I know that the phrase I used in the title of this post actually had negative connotations, I […]
2023: The Year in Jewish Food
Tradition… Tradition! My tradition here at The Taste of Jewish Culture is to write an annual post reviewing the past year’s developments in the world of Jewish Food. So on this final day of 2023, let’s look back at this year’s news… Some of the Stories To my view, the biggest Jewish story of the year has taken place over […]
Israelis Respond to War’s Pain With Food Love
In light of the horrific and ongoing pain and losses that Israel (and the Jewish people at large) endured over the past month, we are all trying our hardest to do what Jews have always done in the face of adversity: persevere. And perhaps not surprisingly, food has played a large role in how we have coped and supported each […]
Win These Cookbooks!
As many of you may recall, back in the winter, I launched a website dedicated to the book I am writing. ChulentBook.com is designed to be a one-stop shop for all things Shabbat stew. The website includes recipes for Shabbat stews from around the world, and includes many that I have gathered throughout my research. But one of the cornerstones […]
2022: The Year in Jewish Food
I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus while traveling and speaking in England. So a drop late on my annual year in review post, but hopefully not so much that it is irrelevant to you! (Here is a link to last year’s post, if you want to compare and see how much things have changed or progressed.) What Was […]
Kosher Pork and Soviet Failure
“When I was a little boy, I ate real kosher meat, not like this. It was tasty, it was greasy, and it was great.” “What kind of meat was it?” I ask. “It was pork,” replies Grigorii. “There are special butchers for pigs. Otherwise their meat is not kosher.”(1)“Soviet Jewish Foodways: Transformation through Detabooization,” Gennady Estraikh, in Global Jewish Foodways: […]
2021: The Year in Jewish Food
In what has now become an annual tradition, I’d like to welcome you to my Jewish Food Year in Review. To see how much (or little) has changed since last year, here is 2020’s Year in Jewish Food post. While the world has not yet fully emerged from under the cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a lot to […]
The Good, The Bad and The Boozy: Jews and Prohibition
I’ll be presenting my talk “My Cup Runneth Over,” all about the history of Jews and alcohol, live in Jerusalem on Sunday, July 25. So as a little teaser, this post will explore in a bit more detail something I’ll only have time to address in passing during the talk. (And if you’re in Jerusalem, and want to join, please […]
One and a Half New Articles
Just a brief post to let you know about two articles I have had published this week. My latest piece for The Nosher is up, and it is the interesting story of the Fleischmann’s Yeast family. I’d been thinking of writing this piece for a while, and find the story somewhat surprising and fun. As I write there, amid the […]
