FoodReference.com (since 1999)
BOOK REVIEW SECTION

 You are here > Home > 

Next

Jewish Food: The World at Table

by Matthew Goodman

Description:
For centuries Jewish communities around the world forged dynamic cuisines from ancient traditions combined with the bounties -- and limitations -- of their adopted homelands. In this important new collection, Matthew Goodman has assembled more than 170 recipes from twenty-nine countries, handed down through the generations and now preserved in this historic volume.
 
     The heirloom offerings Goodman gathered range from such iconic specialties as bagels, kugel, and chopped liver to such favorites, mostly unknown in the United States, as Turkish borekas, flaky cheese-filled turnovers; chelou, an Iranian rice specialty; and shtritzlach, a sweet blueberry pastry unique to Toronto. Together the recipes celebrate the ingenuity of Jewish cooks around the world, in Mexican Baked Blintzes with Vegetables and Roasted Poblano Peppers, Syrian Bulgur Salad with Pomegranate Molasses, Moroccan Roast Chicken with Dried Fruit and Nuts, Iraqi Sweet-and-Sour Lamb with Eggplant and Peppers, Italian Baked Ricotta Pudding, and many other unexpected delights.

     These dishes have been shaped by the histories of the communities from which they come. This book also features dozens of lively, engaging essays that present the history of Jewish food in all its richness and variety. The essays focus on ingredients, prepared dishes, and cultures.

     Food is a repository of a community's history, and here, in its broad strokes, is the history of the Jews. The recipes and essays in this book provide a fascinating new perspective on Jewish food. More than a cookbook, Matthew Goodman's Jewish Food: The World at Table is a book to learn from, to cook with, and to pass on through the ages.

     The pleasures of the Jewish table come alive in this comprehensive collection of traditional and contemporary recipes from around the world interleaved with eloquent essays on ingredients, people, and cultures. Jewish communities throughout the world have forged dynamic cultures from ancient traditions and the bounties and limitations of their adopted homelands. Although many of these communities have disappeared, their legacy lives on in the memories, homes and, especially, the kitchens of Jews throughout the Diaspora. In this important new collection, writer and food columnist Matthew Goodman has assembled 173 recipes from Jewish communities throughout the world, handed down through the generations and now preserved in this historic volume. The recipes range from such icons as bagels, kugel, and chopped liver, to delights mostly unknown in America, such as chelou, an Iranian rice specialty; Turkish borekas, flaky cheese-filled turnovers; and shritzlach, a sweet blueberry pastry unique to Toronto.

   Bringing these recipes alive are essays scattered throughout on the cultural and culinary histories of these international communities, and the ingredients and dishes that are their specialties. Every reader is guaranteed to learn something, whether it’s the genesis of the bagel or the incredible rise and tragic fall of thriving Jewish communities in Salonika and Baghdad.