One of the more interesting sub-cuisines in our diverse canon is Persian Jewish Food. The Persian community (from what is today known as Iran) is one of the oldest Diaspora communities, dating back at least over 2600 years. The community’s food is aromatic, colorful and full of vibrant flavors. Yet, it is among the lesser known cuisines to non-Persian Jews. […]
Kosher USA (from The Jewish Food Bookshelf)
I’ve written a bit previously about American Jewish Food, a particularly rich and varied topic. Examples of such posts include my exploration of Jewish-American deli and the review that included books on bagels and knishes. But those posts have only barely scratched the surface, and there will be many more to come. But for now I want to focus on […]
Ashkenazi Food: Unrecognized Diversity
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 […]
Cooking Jewish Culture: Passover Onion Rolls
Every year my mom used to make her Passover rolls, and over time I’ve seen many people use a generally similar recipe. Not sure when this was started or by whom (though I’m guessing it is Ashkenazi, as others would eat kitniyot, more than relying on matzoh meal), but it became very popular. I’ve tweaked it a bit, improving it […]
Media Updates
Just a brief post to update you all about some recent media appearances that you can still check out (and one old, but still relevant one). I am the guest on the most recent episode of the Jewanced podcast. (The date in the picture above was from when we recorded it, and it was viewable on Facebook.) One of the […]
New Passover Foods For Your Seder
I often hear people asking for new Passover foods, bored with the same stuff all the time. And while I clearly respect tradition, for this holiday especially I feel there is at least an argument to be made for not exclusively cooking what your mother and grandmother did. (Years ago, I even wrote an article — with recipes — just […]
The Best Way to Make Chulent
Although the book I am writing focuses on the history of the Shabbat stew (chulent, hamin, dafina, etc.), along the way I have also come across lots of interesting side notes and tidbits that accompany the story of the dish itself. In addition to things such as its influence on many other dishes around the world, extra “bonus” foods that […]
A Traditional Purim Food (That ISN’T Hamantaschen)
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 […]
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: […]
Jewish Food Bookshelf: Yankel’s Tavern
After examining a cookbook and a general source on all things Jewish Food in my previous Jewish Food Bookshelf posts, how about a nice stiff drink? I am fascinated by the long and complex history of Jews and alcohol, and my lecture on the subject is one of favorites (and also a pretty fun one). One of my primary sources […]
