Illustration by Kurt Hoffman This is the second in a series of pseudonymous essays by The Treyfster. The pieces explore forbidden foods from the point of view of a person who used to keep traditionally kosher. Before, when I was frum, we all used to have those conversations about “if you did, what would you?”…
Oxford University Press has banned references to pigs and pork in its publications in order to avoid offending Jews and Muslims. “Many of the educational materials we publish in the UK are sold in more than 150 countries, and as such they need to consider a range of cultural differences and sensitivities,” a spokesman for…
Illustration by Kurt Hoffman It was on a trip to Madrid, about four years ago, that I finally understood the paradox of opposites: that there’s no such thing as opposites, really, and that what you get when you try to run as hard as you can in the opposite direction to your upbringing is, well,…
Popular music has a long and well-documented tradition of fomenting rebellion and social change, both overtly and covertly. Not as well documented, however, is pop’s embrace and endorsement of that ultimate Jewish dietary taboo: treyf. The consumption of meat, shellfish and other comestibles that do not conform to the laws of kashrut has long been…
Michael Pollan considers himself a nature writer, but since publishing “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” in 2006, he’s become a major voice in the cultural revolution currently happening around such food issues as sustainable agriculture, health and locavorism. Pollan is such a cult figure among foodies that people follow him around the grocery store and the farmers…
What will the Orthodox White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew be eating for lunch on January 21st? We’re not quite sure, but his dining companions will be feasting on a meal that’s as treyf as they come. Earlier today the menu for the traditional Inaugural Lunch in Statuary Hall was released and it starts…
A full menu — including corned beef bahn mi and beef bacon — for the New York City-based Kutcher’s restaurant (yes, like the resort in the Catskills), set to open this fall, is finally available. With Octavia’s Porch, Traif, Mile End and Sixth and Rye, Grubstreet wonders, “Is it time to officially declare ‘modern Jewish…
Passover (and its many accompanying recipes) is in the air. We’ll have Egyptian, South African, vegetarian and numerous other recipes for you next week. But if you simply can’t wait to start your Passover reading, check out Saveur for an Iraqi beet stew with lamb meatballs, Serious Eats adds some suggestions for spicing up your…
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