Before I even get into the discussion explaining what kitniyot is, I need to express a caveat. The very topic I am about to explore is one that often leads to heated discussions and debate full of emotion and passion. I will not be making suggestions about what any person should or should not do or believe, nor about the […]
Episode 3 – Chulent/Hamin: The Dish That Embodies Jewish Culture
The Shabbat Stew — chulent, hamin, dafina, and so many more — is eaten by Jews from around the world every Saturday, and I consider it the most Jewish Food in the world. Even more than the matzah of the previous episode. Here I explore the diversity of this dish, and trace its migrations through the Jewish Diaspora. I also […]
Episode 2 – Matzah: The Food That Sustained Us
Matzah (or matzo) is arguably the most Jewish Food there is, eaten annually for Passover, especially at the seder, the formal Passover meal. This episode explores the origins of matzah, what differentiates it from other flatbreads, how it has changed over the millennia, how important it was throughout Jewish history, and what are some of the popular Jewish Foods that […]
Episode 1 – Intro: What Do I Mean by 18 Jewish Foods?
In this first episode of “18 Jewish Foods,” I describe the method, idea, and scope of this podcast series. What is a Jewish Food? Why 18? And what can you expect moving forward? Episode Notes Links: The Taste of Jewish Culture Marci Heit – voiceover artist Rebbe Soul – theme music
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 […]
Winter 2024 Tour Schedule
I’m heading back to the States next week for a short winter lecture tour. Here is my basic schedule: Tuesday, February 27 – Hartford Sunday, March 3 – Manhattan Tuesday, March 5 – Baltimore Thursday, March 7 – Denver For complete details of topics, locations, times, and registration links, please check my events page. I hope to see many of […]
What is T’bit?
With the specific history of Jews in the Arab world, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, but also over the preceding century, it is easy to overlook the fact that masses of Jews lived throughout the Middle East for millennia. This is of course reflected in the third major classification category of Jews, afer Ashkenazi and Sephardi: […]
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 […]
From the Jewish Food Bookshelf: A Drizzle of Honey
Cookbooks are one of the great tools for studying food history, beyond providing you with instructions on how to prepare some awesome dishes. And now and then you come across a cookbook that stands apart as truly unique. A Drizzle of Honey, by David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson is one such book. The husband and wife team of […]
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 […]
