Back in the days when hunting and gathering were the predominant methods of obtaining food, being able to distinguish the edible from the toxic was a skill that people found necessary to develop for the sake of sheer survival. Over the millennia, that skill was transmitted from generation to generation in every civilization, including to…
On successive trips to Israel beginning in the 1980s, I became enchanted with the country’s native wild salvias, thought to be the inspiration for the biblical menorah described in Exodus (37:17-24). In my travels I saw them growing by the roadside, on hillsides, and in the Negev desert, as well as at Neot Kedumim, the…
When he was a youngster, Moshe Grundman and his father, Chaim, would begin preparations for the Sabbath on Friday morning. They’d wend their way through Jerusalem’s Mehane Yehuda market in search of fresh produce and pastries for that evening’s meal. These memories that still bring a smile to Grundman’s face. We’re sitting in his sleek…
When the Museum of Jewish Montreal stumbled across a handwritten beer recipe from the 1790s, they quickly realized they had uncovered a precious slice of Canadian Jewish history. But little did they know that a few months later, Montrealers would be able to sample the historic brew — and it would sell out to rave…
On a recent morning, I met Naama Shefi for breakfast at Zucker Bakery, a petite Jewish café and bakery in New York’s East Village. Shefi is the founder of the Jewish Food Society, a new project dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Jewish food traditions. And Zucker, which is owned by an Israeli pastry chef and…
Walking down Yaffo Street in Jerusalem, it is impossible not to be impressed by Israel’s diversity. A Filipino caregiver with a friendly smile pushes a white-haired man in his wheelchair. A Moroccan man leisurely sips his coffee as he watches passersby. An Orthodox Jewish mother shops with her three girls for new clothes. Two Arab-speaking…
Jewish cuisine in America is at a high point, as chefs and culinary entrepreneurs across the country enthusiastically deconstruct, reinvent and elevate classic Jewish food. Parallel to this, we are in the midst of an Israeli wine revolution. Wineries in Israel, to global recognition, are honing their skills and harnessing the continuity of an ancient…
Definitely not your bubbe’s matzo balls; these have THC in them. On a recent Friday night in the San Francisco Bay Area, seven 30- and 40-somethings gathered in a cozy home for Shabbat dinner. They lit candles, chanted Kiddish and ritually washed their hands before ha-motzi, the prayer over the bread. But the first bite…
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