50 Friday, April 11, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
COOKING
MOD TECH FURNITURE,IFIC
fM
n
Designs That Fit
Tradition! U.S. Jewish Food
Traces Roots To Europe
manufacturer of custom furniture
553-2246
BY GLORIA KAUFER GREENE
LIQUIDATION SALE
All Knitting Yarns must go
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up to
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OFF
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Farmington Hills
Michigan 48018
6264042
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FOR IUDS
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The Corners — Southfield Rd. & 13 Mile Rd.
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•
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Daily 10-9, Sunday 12-5
Defining "Jewish cuisine" is with carp, pike, and whitefish
not easy. If the term describes because most Jews dwelt in in-
areas where these fresh-
any food prepared or eaten by land
Jews, then Jewish food has been water fish were available and
much less expensive than fish
around for several millennia.
Actually, what Americans from distant oceans.
Originally, the flesh was re-
have come to • think of as
"Jewish dishes" are primarily moved from the bones, extended
the result of denturies of Jewish with a filler such as matzah
migration and settlement in meal, and then stuffed (gefilte)
Eastern and Central Europe. Al- back into the reserved skin to
though wonderful and signific- resemble a whole fish.
Herring, a plentiful salt-water
ant contributions to our culinary
heritage have been made by fish which was easily preserved
Jews wih Sephardic and Middle for long-distance travel, also be-
Eastern backgrounds, it seems came a staple of poor
obvious that such cultures have Ashkenazim.
For holidays and other special
had relatively little influence on
mainstream American-Jewish times throughout the year,
Ashkenazi Jewish cooks .ingeni-
cuisine.
Where did Ashkenazi food, the ously worked out ways to trans-
nostalgic "Yiddish" dishes so form such mundane ingredientb
many of us still treasure today, as carrots and matzah farfel into
first develop? When the Romans candy, cook beets into preserves,
conquered ancient Judea and and turn bits of plain dough. into
scattered its people, many mig- the luscious confection known as
rated northward. By the Tenth taiglach They fermented beet
Cdntury, Jews had made their juice into rossel and then used it
way across the Alps and estab- to coldr and season horseradish,
lished the Ashkenazic• tradition meat and soup.
When, around the turn of the
in Jewish centers along with
Rhine River. It was during this century, terrifying pogroms and
period that Yiddish developed as the devastations of poverty
forced many Ashkenazic Jews to
a language.
Further migration brought desperately seek a new life in
many of these Jews to Poland, North America, they brought
Lithuania, Latvia, Bohemia, with them a, few material heir-
Russia and nearby areas. They looms such as their Shabbat
carried with them not only the candlesticks and kiddush cups.
Yiddish they spoke, but the But, more important, they also
Ashkenazic culture and "Yid- carried in their minds the tradi-
dishkeit" they had developed tions and remembrances or '`the
old country" — includiUg the
over several centuries.
Even though they sometimes dishes they had prepared and
had barely enough food to sur- the meals they had once sa-
vive, the pious Jews of the vored.
American bounty 'encouraged
shtetls were amazingly innova-
tive and creative with the little the growth of Jewish food stores,
and the Jewish deli was born. It
sustenance they did have.
Nothing edible was wasted, was based on European delica-
and some of our favorite dishes tessens (which were available to
developed out of their vital need few Jews), but all the food was
to make do with whatever was kosher and suited to Ashkenazic
available. For instance, gefilte preferences.
The typical Jewish deli car-
fish, stuffed cabbage, and kishke
are all ingenious ways to take ried. such specialty products as
meager amounts of precious food corned' beef, salami, chopped
and stretch it into a delicious, liver, creamed herring and
smoked fish.
satisfying meal.
For Shabbat, even the poorest
Following are some tradi-
Jews tried to have+some special tional recipes:
food on the table, especially a
dish featuring fish, which was MY MOTHER'S
considered essential for this CHICKEN SOUP
1 large chicken (3% to 4
most important holiday. .
pounds) preferably a pul-
Gefilte' fish came to be made
,
,
.
•