Chuck Schumer’s Meatloaf Contains Pork. Is That News?
Did the Times err by not making an issue of the fact that Senator Chuck Schumer’s meatloaf recipe contains pork? The Algemeiner thinks so. Image by Liza Schoenfein
By Liza Schoenfein February 12, 2017
On Wednesday, The New York Times ran a story in its food section about a new cookbook by New York Times writers Frank Bruni and Jennifer Steinhauer called “A Meatloaf in Every Oven: Two Chatty Cooks, One Iconic Dish and Dozens of Recipes — From Mom’s to Mario Batali’s” (Grand Central Life & Style). In it, the two discussed the book’s recipes and the people who contributed them — chefs, politicians, friends and family.
Related
On Sunday, the Algemeiner, a publication with a large Orthodox readership, published a piece criticizing the Times for its coverage of the book — in particular, of Senator Chuck Schumer’s recipe, which includes a combination of beef, veal and pork.
“If anyone at the Times wondered even for a second why a Jewish senator would be promoting a recipe for a dish that violates the dietary laws of the Jewish religion, it’s not evident from the story, which portrays the recipe as somehow a perfect fit for the senator,” Ira Stoll wrote.
He goes on to say that while he doesn’t fault the Senator himself — that what he chooses to eat is his own concern — that “as someone who avoids eating pork, I’m baffled that the Times would declare a recipe collection that includes Senator Schumer’s as ‘compelling.’”
“It’s as if the Times editors can’t imagine anyone taking Jewish — or even Islamic — dietary laws seriously.”
But is it, really?
The Times is a secular publication; the piece was about a recipe book. Scads of cookbooks by Jewish authors, covered by the paper, contain recipes with pork, shellfish and other treyf. (These are obviously too numerous to list, but consider, for example, Deb Perelman’s popular “Smitten Kitchen.”)
Famous Jewish delis (not kosher; but considered Jewish by most people), which are also covered regularly, serve turkey and Swiss, Reubens and many other milk-meat combinations. That many Jewish people don’t observe the laws of kashruth may be disappointing to more observant Jews, but it isn’t news; it’s the norm — and therefore probably not worth noting in an article about meatloaf recipes in a mainstream publication.
Those are my two cents. Let us know yours.
Related
Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter, @LifeDeathDinner
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
