Matzo Balls © Denzil Green Matzo balls are small, round dumplings for soup. The dough is made from eggs, water, salt, pepper, matzo meal and schmaltz (chicken fat.) You form the stiff dough into small balls or drop by the tablespoonful into the boiling water or soup. They generally end up very light and fluffy,…
Jewish Food
Matzo Meal
Matzo meal is matzo bread ground into fine crumbs. You can buy it ground, or grind your own in a food processor. Medium-textured matzo meal is about the same texture as cornmeal. It is used for baking, as a coating for fried foods, to thicken, and to make matzo balls from. Fine-textured matzo meal is…
Nabali Olives
Nabali Olives are grown in Jordan and in Israel both for use as table olives and for use as oil. If they are being grown for table olives, they are harvested in September when they are dark green; if being grown for oil, they are harvested in November. The olives are plump with a soft…
Nova Lox
Nova Lox is cured, lightly-smoked salmon. After being soaked in brine for about 3 days, the salmon is cold-smoked for 12 hours at around 76 F (24 C.) It used to be made from Nova Scotia wild Atlantic salmon, thus its name. It’s also called “Nova Scotia Salmon.” Nova Lox is cured for far shorter…
Orangetti Squash
Orangetti Squash is a spaghetti squash variety that is orange instead of yellow. It has a thick, hard, golden-orange rind, with small tan flecks on the rind The flesh is also golden-orange, with mild flavour. The squash has an upright oval shape, 7 to 8 inches (17 ½ to 20 cm) tall. Though the orange…
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday. Special foods are served to symbolize the slavery of the Jews in Egypt and their escape from it.
Potato Pancakes
There are a zillion ways to make potato pancakes; even a zillion ways to make Latkes alone. No one culture has the monopoly, and don’t let them tell you otherwise. After all, no potato food is really all that traditional to any European culture in the grand scheme of things: potatoes didn’t come to Europe…
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the start of the New Year in the Jewish calendar. The day is a festive holiday; a day of no work, except for cooking, carrying or making fire.
Sabra Liqueur
Sabra Liqueur is a brownish-red colour, orange-flavoured liqueur made in Israel with a chocolate aftertaste. The combined taste is a bit reminiscent of Jaffa cakes, and somewhat sweet but not overly so. The bottle is shaped like those in legend for “genies.” Sabra is Kosher for Passover. The alcohol content is 30% abv. Cooking Tips…
Schmaltz
Schmaltz is rendered chicken or goose fat. Schmaltz from goose fat is considered the best, but from chicken fat is more common. Both geese and chickens were expensive; you wouldn’t waste any part of them. Some people make Schmaltz from fat they have skimmed off their chicken soups, saving it up until there is enough…
Sharon Fruit
Sharon Fruit are now a major export of Israel, which might lead you to think the name is somewhat biblical, along the lines of “Rose of Sharon” and all that. The fruit was, however, actually developed in Japan as a variety of Persimmon. Sharon fruit looks very much like a persimmon; the difference is that…
Shavuot
Shavuot is a Jewish harvest festival. It marks when the first harvests of wheat and fruit were brought to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Soup Nuts
Soup Nuts © Denzil Green Soup Nuts are a garnish for soup in Jewish cooking. They float on top of soup until they absorb the soup broth. They have nothing to do with nuts; they can be described as crunchy dumplings or small profiteroles or éclairs. They are small round balls, about an inch (2…
Souri Olives
These are small, long olives with a large pit. They are used mainly for oil production, as they have an extremely high oil content of about 31%. They are harvested in November. They can also be made into table olives. They are often cracked before brining. The oil is aromatic, but with an acidic bite…
Unleavened Bread
Unleavened bread is bread that is made with nothing in it to make it rise: that is, no leavening, be it a chemical leavener, a yeast or a starter dough. Well-known examples are chapati, matzo and Mexican tortillas. Not all flat breads, however, are necessarily unleavened. In Church services, Western Christianity uses unleavened bread, whereas…
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is a Jewish day of atonement. It involves a complete fast from both food and liquids, including water. For some people, it also involves a kapparot chicken or rooster.
Za’atar
Za’atar © Denzil Green Za’atar in Arabic can mean the herb “thyme.” It is also used to refer to a spice-mixture based on thyme. Though thyme will be the dominant herb in the mixture, the other spices used in the mixture vary though always seems to include sumac and sesame seed. Wild Oregano appears quite…