My thoughts on Jewish food.
It’s an expression: not to make a tzimmes out of something. A Tzimmes is a traditional Jewish dish that mixes disparate ingredients that somehow manage to work together well. Since the dish has so many ingredients, it’s seen as complicated and complex. Making a tzimmes out of something means to overcomplicate a situation. When people …
Shavuos is a fun holiday in lots of ways, mostly because we get to eat dairy products at our festive meals, making for a lovely change of pace. Cheesecake and blintzes are traditional. But considering that 70 percent of Jews are lactose intolerant, one wonders why we have a holiday where we eat something that …
Once upon a time, fat was supposed to be bad for us. Today, not so much. Carbs are the new culprit. Which means we can once again enjoy schmaltz, which has fewer trans fats and more omega-3 fatty acids than a lot of vegetable oils. People on paleo diets have downright embraced schmaltz. Yup. Those …
The expression “You are what you eat” resonates very strongly with those who adhere to the laws of kashrut. Jews are cautioned not to eat blood and it is thought that eating blood makes a person cruel. For this reason Jews salt their meat to draw the blood out, prior to the cooking process. Liver …