Encyclopedia of Jewish Food
Page 15
On the other hand, the Jews of northeastern Europe rarely ate beans, except in cholent (Sabbath stew). The consumption of legumes, which were even less expensive than potatoes, was generally limited to periods of famine, when Ashkenazic rabbis even permitted their use during Passover. Hungarians and Romanians, however, influenced by the lengthy Ottoman occupation of their countries and by contact with Sephardim, absorbed numerous Middle Eastern proclivities, including an affection for beans, both dried and fresh. As a result, Hungarian and Romanian cuisines contain a number of legume dishes. The more vegetable-accepting Ukrainians, especially those in the south, adopted a bit of the neighboring Romanian fare and even some Polish Jews eventually succumbed to the bean's charms. Nevertheless, most Jews in Poland and the Baltic States steadfastly refused to eat most green vegetables or legumes. Indeed, bubkes (little beans) became the Yiddish term for "insignificant" and "nothing of value."
In 1923, the H. J. Heinz Company, at the time generally known for their pickles, decided to do something totally unprecedented—offer a kosher version of a national brand of food. At the time, it was a revolutionary idea. The only kosher foods in the United States were produced at home or by a few small local Jewish companies and stores. But America's Jewish community was growing (more than 3.6 million in 1920, 4.2 million in 1930), and Heinz saw an interesting opportunity to reach this untapped market. There was one important obstacle to overcome—certifying that the product was kosher. Because this was an untested notion, Heinz was reluctant to carry the word "kosher" on its label. The company agreed to use something recognizable yet not overtly Jewish. The supervising agency, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, and the advertising agency devised the first and still most-recognized symbol of kosher supervision, the OU. Thus were born both Heinz Vegetarian Baked Beans and a new industry—kosher supervision. Other national companies eventually followed suit and by the year 2010, nearly half of all national brands in the United States were under kosher supervision, certainly not bubkes.
(See also Avicas, Fava Bean, Lobio, and Shkanah)
Beef
Beef refers to the meat of cattle over the age of nine months. Meat from younger animals is called veal. Beef as a major component of the diet, except among the very wealthy, is a relatively recent phenomenon, engendered by the transformation from animal power to machines with the Industrial Revolution and late nineteenth-century cattle raising in the American West. Throughout most of history, with a few exceptions, cows were more valuable while alive, serving as the predominant draft animal rather than as food. Oxen not only plowed the fields, but also turned the wheels that drew water from canals and wells, hauled the harvest in carts from the field, carried items on their backs, and provided fertilizer for the crops. In essence, cows provided a low-maintenance as well as self-perpetuating tractor, truck, pump, soil revitalizer, and currency. If the modern world operates on horsepower, the ancient one ran on ox power.
Thus the Bible established that if someone stole an ox, thereby seriously affecting the owner's livelihood, he must pay back "five oxen for an ox," a fine levied exclusively for this particular animal. Cows, along with the other ancient beast of burden, the donkey, are singled out in the Bible to be allowed to rest on the Sabbath. Cattle, unlike sheep, were rarely raised in large herds, but most families owned one or a few for work animals and progenitors.
During the medieval period, as laws emerged in many parts of Europe forbidding Jews from owning land, some turned to raising and selling cattle, ensuring a steady supply of beef in the Jewish community. Still, most Ashkenazim could at best afford the organs and the tougher cuts of meat—brisket, plate, and flanken—so these emerged as the focus of many traditional dishes. Many households could only manage to purchase some bones or scraps for the Sabbath cholent.
One of the few historical exceptions to the limited consumption of meat occurred in western Europe during the two centuries following the Black Death (approximately 1350—1550), which saw the loss of 30 to 60 percent of Europe's population. Due to a big decline in farming and corresponding increase in pastureland, a previously unparalleled meat surplus emerged in western and central Europe. Cattle were also raised in eastern Europe and driven on foot to the west.
It was during this state of plenty that many of the Ashkenazic customs relating to meat and slaughter developed. As there was more than enough kosher meat available from the front half of the cow, Ashkenazim began avoiding the entire problematic hindquarter, which includes the tenderloin and porterhouse steaks, containing forbidden sinews and fats. Sephardim, who neither experienced this period of meat profusion nor were particularly bothered by the effort and expertise involved in these rituals, continued to utilize cuts from the hindquarter. Also at that time in Franco-Germany, the position of shochet (ritual slaughterer) was institutionalized; previously any Jew versed in the ritual could slaughter an animal. Suddenly, dairy products were to a much greater degree incorporated into various Ashkenazic dishes and serving large roasts and beef stews on a regular basis became commonplace. Whereas previously goose had been the preferred Ashkenazic festival dish, beef emerged as the prevalent Sabbath and holiday food. It was also at this time that the Yiddish words milchig (dairy) and fleishig (meat) first appeared, terms unnecessary among Jews in the contemporary Islamic world, where other than cheese, dairy products were still rarely used in cooking. In addition, in the Middle East and southern Europe, most milk came from goats and most meat from sheep. Beef was a rare sight on the Sephardic table and when used in cooking was primarily a flavoring ingredient.
Subsequently, toward the end of the sixteenth century, when much of the fallow land had been transferred back to agriculture, Europe faced an extended meat shortage and beef again became extremely expensive. Yet the Ashkenazic preference for beef remained. Rabbi Yair Chaim Bacharach (1638—1702) of Germany wistfully noted, "The taste of poultry does not awaken the joy of a festival as does the taste of beef."
Until the late nineteenth and into the twentieth century, beef remained a rare part of the Ashkenazic diet. When Ashkenazic immigrants in America began achieving a degree of financial success, their traditional preference for beef returned, as did its regular, if not daily, presence in the diet. Sabbath meals in America featured huge briskets and roasts, the tzimmes often became more meat than vegetables, and the cholent was typically packed with chunks of beef. During the latter part of the twentieth century, although growing health consciousness in the United States led to the decline of red meat consumption beef remained a popular part of hearty Ashkenazic dinners and festive occasions. Meanwhile, beef plays a much smaller role among Ashkenazim in Israel, where poultry fills more of both the everyday and festive roles in cooking. The vast majority of beef in Israel is imported, already slaughtered, primarily from South America.
Today, Ashkenazic butchers use only the five cuts of the forequarter of the animal—rib, chuck, brisket, plate, and shank. Beef terminology can be a bit confusing, since names of cuts differ from region to region and often from butcher to butcher. And American butchers generally cut across muscle and bone, unlike the European style of separating the muscle sections. In Israel, cuts are connoted by numbers.
The more tender cuts of the meat come from the sections of the animal that are not used for movement and therefore develop little connective tissue. As the muscles on the back of the animal involve the least amount of motion, the rib and the loin areas are the most tender parts. Ironically, the very factors that toughen beef—exercise and age—produce more flavorful meat. Cuts from tender sections are generally cooked by dry heat (broiling and roasting) or fast cooking (stir-frying). Moist-heat cooking (braising and stewing) is better for the leaner, more sinewy cuts.
(See also Brisket, Cheilev (Forbidden Fat), Cholent/Schalet, Corned Beef, Delicatessen, Flanken, Fleishig, Glatt, Kishke, Kolichel, Kosher, Liver, Lungen, Meatball, Miltz, Pastrami, Sausage, Shank, Shechita, Sweetbread, Tongue, Treibern, Treif, and Udder)
Beer
People early on discerned that brewed beverages were safer to drink than water, which was all too often tainted; they also noticed that these drinks provided an enjoyable buzz. And when food was scarce, primitive beer provided an important source of nutrition. The earliest Mesopotamian tablets mentioned beer. Hammurabi's Code dictates laws concerning its sale. Egyptian tomb illustrations depict the brewing process. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, barley beer served as the common beverage of the entire population, drunk throughout the day by rich and poor, young and old. From their contact with Egypt, the Greeks learned the techniques of brewing barley and spread this information to the rest of Europe.
Early in history, a dichotomy developed between areas conducive to viticulture and areas where conditions were unfavorable to grape production. Along the Mediterranean, the ancient Israelites, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans maintained a preference for wine and generally viewed beer with little enthusiasm. After the Babylonian Exile in 586 BCE, the Jews living there adopted their new country's fondness for beer. Several Babylonian rabbis earned considerable fortunes from brewing. The Talmud permits beer as a substitute for wine in Havdalah, (the ceremony performed at the end of Sabbath encompassing all the senses—reciting and hearing the benedictions, tasting wine or beer, smelling the spices, seeing the flames, and feeling the fire's heat) in countries where it is a national drink.
While wine was favored by the early Ashkenazim in France and Alsace, and later in Hungary and Romania, beer became common among the Jews of Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic. Eastern Europeans, however, rarely had barley beer. Instead, the predominant beer was kvas (from the Slavic meaning "sour"), an acidic, slightly sweet, lightly alcoholic beverage made from malted rye grains or rye bread, for all levels of society. Kvas was even used to make a soup.
Early central European settlers in Israel relied on beer imported from Europe or, without the benefit of hops, homemade brews. The first commercial Israeli brewery, the Palestine Brewery Ltd, also known as Nesher Brewery, opened in 1934, a joint French-Israeli venture. The brewery produced a light lager and Nesher Malt, a very slightly alcoholic malt "beer," referred to as bira shechora (black beer), with a dark color and noticeably sweet taste, more akin to root beer than European brews. In 1950, Cabeer Breweries, using old facilities at Rishon LeZion, introduced Goldstar, a Munich-style pale lager, with an amber color and malty aroma. The main rival to Goldstar, Maccabee, appeared in 1968; this yellow Pilsner lager quickly became the country's best-selling beer and a symbol of young Israel.
Then in the 1970s, Israel's breweries, using outdated equipment that too frequently turned out undrinkable beer, and subjected to the Israeli socialist economic practices, were driven into receivership and the government was forced to search for an investor. Filling that role was Murray Goldman, a Toronto real estate developer, who, in conjunction with John Labatt Ltd. Brewery, purchased Goldstar and Maccabee in 1975, forming the National Brewery. Acquiring new equipment and establishing new production and marketing practices based upon the Canadian model, Goldman revived the brands, which he sold in 1986 to the country's largest soft drink manufacturer, Tempo. Also in 1986, Tempo Beer Industries Ltd. purchased Nesher, becoming Israel's largest brewer. Goldstar grew into Israel's favorite local brew, while Maccabee, which had once dominated the country's beer market, by 2007 had shrunk to only 10 percent of the market, with much of that being consumed by tourists.
(See also Barley, Bread, and Wine)
Beet
The modern world knows the beet, a native of the eastern Mediterranean region, primarily for its sweet red root. The original vegetable, however, possessed thin, fibrous white roots and large stalks and leaves, similar to those of its close relative or progenitor, chard. The Talmudic term silka denotes both what we now call chard as well as the beet green. Early sources refer only to the consumption of the beet greens, although the root was used occasionally for medicinal purposes. An autumn and spring vegetable that does not fare well in hot weather, the beet was so highly regarded in ancient Israel, as well as Greece and Rome, that methods were found to produce it during the summer. The Talmud made note of the beet green's nutritional and health benefits. In response to the question, "Wherewith does one show delight in the Sabbath?" the Talmud responded, "With beets [greens], a large fish, and garlic." Besides being favorite foods, all three of these items were considered to be aphrodisiacs.
The fleshy red beet root was developed either in Italy or Germany and first recorded in 1542; initially it was elongated like a parsnip, but it transformed into the modern swollen root by the end of the century. The red root quickly became the most widespread type, yet failed to make a culinary impact on most of the world for another two centuries. It was in northeastern Europe that the beetroot emerged as a staple of the diet, as it was among the few vegetables available throughout the winter. Eastern Ashkenazim feature beets in borscht, salads, pickles, preserves, and confections, as well as mixing them with ground horseradish. Ashkenazim also make a simple salad from the greens or add them to various soups.
The beet eventually became popular in the Middle East as well, most notably in salads, relishes, and soups; a slice was typically added to Middle Eastern turnip pickles called turshi to produce a pink hue. The beet's root and greens are commonly made into separate salads, or the greens are cooked with chickpeas. Beets particularly complement the slight tang of goat cheese and sour cream. Beets have long been a traditional Rosh Hashanah food.
In 1747, the Berlin chemist Andreas Marggraf discovered the process of producing sucrose from sugar beets. A half century later, in 1806, one of his students capitalized on this process to open the first sugar beet factory in Kunem, Germany, now western Poland. Today, almost half of the world's sugar comes from the long, white roots of sugar beets.
(See also Borscht, Chard, Kubbeh, Rosl, and Sugar)
Beleela
Beleela is a grain pudding made from barley, wheat berries, or bulgur.
Origin: Middle East
Other names: Lebanon: belila, qamhiyya; Syria: belila; Turkey: moostrahana, prehito.
Cooked whole grains sweetened with honey date back at least to ancient Greece. In the Middle East, whole grains are considered to be healthy, as it takes the body a long time to break them down. In this vein, Middle Easterners have long prepared puddings from whole pearl barley, wheat berries, and bulgur. Plain porridge provides everyday fare for breakfast and sometimes dinner, especially during the cold months of winter, Puddings enhanced with honey or sugar, nuts, and sometimes dried fruits are offered on special occasions. A medieval European version made from wheat berries was frumenty.
Beleela is a term dating back at least to the Mishnah, a beleela avah denoting a thick mixture and a beleela rakhah a thin one. The term prehito may be derived from the Hebrew pri hita (fruit of wheat) or may be from a Ladino barley pudding. During the medieval period in the eastern Mediterranean, beleela came to denote wheat and barley porridges, the grain differing from place to place. Puddings made from bulgur, quicker and easier to prepare, became especially popular. Turkish and Syri
an cooks tend to use bulgur for beleela, while Egyptians more frequently opt for wheat berries or barley.
Grain pudding is a traditional Turkish Sukkot dish, because it symbolizes the harvest. Beleela is popular for Tu b'Shevat and some Sephardim serve it during a Frutikas Seder on the evening of Tu b'Shevat, during which ten items are presented, each with an appropriate blessing. Since whole grains resemble teeth, Middle Easterners customarily serve beleela at a party to honor a baby's first tooth.
(See also Ashure)
Berbere
Berbere is a spice mixture with at least six and up to sixteen ingredients, especially chilies.
Origin: Ethiopia
The most fiery cuisine on the African continent comes from Ethiopia, due primarily to berbere. This complex seasoning takes its name from the Amharic beri-beri, in turn derived from the Portuguese piri-piri, denoting an African bird's-eye chili. This small red variety, also aptly called African devil, is extremely hot. In Ethiopia, the chilies are dried in the sun, then toasted, combined with at least a half dozen spices, and all finely ground. Cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice contribute a sweet counterbalance to the chilies and peppercorns. Many versions contain ajwain, a spice that has a flavor and aroma similar to thyme. Mitmita, a hotter Ethiopian spice mixture also based on the bird's-eye chili, is less vibrant in color and flavor and primarily used in kitfo (a form of steak tartare).