SEPTEMBER 9 • 2021 | 37
J
ews have prepared special
foods just for the holidays
for at least 1,700 years,
when Talmudic sage Abaye rec-
ommended eating foods which
symbolize a good new year
(Keritot 6a). In 16th century
Poland, R. Moshe Isserles noted
with approval the custom of
serving all sorts of sweets, with a
prayer that God grant us a sweet
new year.
In Jewish Lithuania, a special
High Holiday treat was Taiglach.
Jews from that area, known as
Litvaks, delighted in this con-
fection.
Recipes for Taiglach vary
from simple to exquisitely com-
plex. They all have in common
the basic ingredients: dough,
cut into small pieces, given a
crunchy crust and then covered
with a syrup of boiled honey.
In some recipes, the dough
gets rolled into a rope, then sim-
ply cut into chickpea sized bits.
Other recipes call for tying the
dough into little knots, or mak-
ing miniature circlets, as if for
tiny doughnuts or bagels. The
name “taiglach” is a diminutive
plural of the Yiddish word for
dough, “taig.
” Taiglach are “little
doughs” or, in more idiomatic
English, “little bits of dough.
”
Meanwhile, the recipes call
bringing honey — perhaps with
some other ingredients — to
a boil to make a thick syrup.
Many of the recipes suggest
adding spices, usually ginger and
cinnamon.
The recipes vary about what
to do next. Some call for fry-
ing the dough bits, some for
toasting them, some for drying
them in the sun. Some forgo the
drying entirely, and just add the
dough bits a few at a time to the
honey syrup as it boils. Most
recipes call for adding toasted
nuts. Once you have fried, dried
or baked the dough, then you
mix the dough bits into the
syrup.
And there you have it:
Taiglach. So sticky-sweet that
you will want to eat only a small
serving, washed down with a
cup of hot tea or coffee.
A special dessert for the High Holidays.
Sweet Treat
LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Directions
Sift together the sugar, flour and
baking powder. Add in the eggs and
the oil. Mix until a soft dough forms.
Roll the dough into a thick rope and
cut into small pieces. Roll each piece
into a ball and place on a parchment
paper lined baking sheet. Bake at
375°F until brown, about 10 minutes.
Heat the honey, sugar, ginger,
cinnamon and water in a pot until
it boils. Add in the baked dough,
nuts and dried cherries. Cover and
simmer for 10 minutes. Once that’s
done, uncover the pot and let it
simmer slowly, stirring occasional-
ly until all the honey is absorbed,
about 10-20 minutes or until you start
smelling a delicious caramel smell.
Turn out onto a serving tray, shape
into a mound, garnish with extra
sliced almonds and dried cherries.
Let cool and enjoy.
Recipe from Yocheved Perlman
Magier of Cookies and More by
Shelly and Yocheved. Visit at
facebook.com/cookiesandmore2016.
Ingredients
Dough:
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup oil
4 eggs
Honey sauce:
20 ounces honey
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup water
½ cup sliced almonds
½ cup dried cherries
TAIGLACH
KLEZMERGUY/WIKIMEDIA
Yom Kippur
Eib ich zitz or eib ich shtay
Dos the rabbi has to say.
And oh, ich vil Shayn essn
But ich can nisht fargessn,
Dos iz Yom Kipper, friends,
today.
Eib ich zitz: if I sit
eib ich shtay: if I stand
Dos: this
Ich vil shayn essn: I want to
eat
Ich can nisht fargessn: I can
not forget
Dos iz Yom Kipper: this is
Yom Kippur
By Rachel Kapen
Yiddish
Limerick