Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  The terms Danish pastry and Danish both seem to have originated in New York City around 1915, where the pastry as well as the name was popularized by Jews. An earlier citation attributed to a 1907 book was an appendix added in 1920.

  Toward the end of 1915, L. C. Klitteng, a baker from Denmark, arrived in New York City. According to his claims, he had just prepared pastries for the wedding of President Woodrow Wilson to Edith Bolling Galt, on December 18, 1915. He approached Herman Gertner (1872—1962), a German Jew who at the time owned five restaurants in Manhattan along Broadway from 38th Street to 97th Street. Klitteng arranged to teach Gertner's pastry chefs the secrets of rich, flaky wienerbrod, which Gertner called Danish. Theatergoers would commonly stop at one of Gertner's establishments after a show for coffee and pastries; during the day people came by for coffee breaks and a Danish. Meanwhile, Klitteng worked to popularize Danish pastry throughout America, traveling to some thirty states to teach the baking techniques.

  Danish pastry immediately proved a big hit with Gertner's patrons and began spreading to other New York restaurants and delis. One of Gertner's busboys and later managers, Leo Lindemann, himself a Jewish immigrant from Berlin, married Gertner's sister Clara. In 1921, Lindemann started his own famous deli, Lindy's, which also featured Danish. Gertner hired additional bakers and began selling his Danish wholesale. By the time Gertner retired in 1939, Danish had become ubiquitous in New York delis, coffee shops, and bakeries and at Jewish morning celebrations, especially brit milah.

  Date

  The date palm is a towering, slender evergreen tree, hence its Hebrew name tamar, from the root "to be lofty." The date palm was most probably the first cultivated tree. The earliest evidence of its domestication was found in the city of Eridu in Lower Mesopotamia and dates back more than five thousand years, about a millennium before the initial cultivation of grapes. Date seeds from the third millennia BCE were found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur of Chaldeas, twenty-five miles northeast of Eridu, so this fruit was certainly a conspicuous part of the diet of Abraham and his family.

  Since the date palm's nearest relative and possible ancestor, the sugar date palm/toddy palm, still grows wild in northern India, the Indus Valley may very well be its home. In any case, long before the advent of the first civilization, nomads spread dates westward, especially at oases and wells. Most of these early plantings occurred accidentally as travelers pausing to rest at water holes spit out the seeds from dried dates, one of the few portable and nonperishable foods of the ancient Middle East. Later, various traders, particularly those from Israel's northern neighbor Phoenicia, whose name means "land of the palms" in Greek, intentionally sowed the date palm throughout much of the Mediterranean region. The Talmud frequently employed a synonym for the date palm—dekel, related to the Greek dactylon (finger/toe), which is a reference to the fruit's shape and is also the source of the English word date.

  Dates are one of, if not the oldest, cultivated fruit. They are still a beloved part of Jewish cuisine.

  Palms do not have branches like most trees, but rather leaf-like expansions similar to a fern called fronds, kapot in Hebrew. A lulav is a closed frond. The feather-like fronds consist of a thick midrib (shedrah in Hebrew) covered with long, slender leaves (aileem) that are folded in half lengthwise. The gray-green palm fronds sprout in a group from a spot at the center of the top of the tree, called the lev (heart), from which they draw their sustenance. Lev is the source of the word lulav. To the Kabbalists, the lulav is viewed as an instrument for channeling spiritual energy into our hearts. Thus the lulav represents the Torah, the lev of Israel. The mature fronds form a crown on the top of the palm tree; the arching configuration of this canopy is called a kippah, and this is the source of the modern Hebrew word for a skullcap.

  Green buds begin to appear on date palms in March and shortly thereafter the flowers emerge. Pollination occurs in a brief interval between mid-March and April, around the month of Nisan (Aviv), and the dates then take about two hundred days to reach full maturation. About a month after pollination, small green berries begin to develop in clusters on stalks. They mature in August or early September. Dates, which contain a single slender pit, vary in size, texture, color, and sweetness depending on the variety and environmental conditions.

  In the ancient Middle East, fresh dates were strung on lines made from goat's hair and hung to individually dry in the sun. In addition, like figs and raisins, they were pressed into blocks in baskets to completely dry, then the tough fruit was used throughout the year, especially in cooking and as food for travelers. Much of the date harvest was boiled into a thick, long-lasting syrup called devash (honey) in the Bible. When the Bible talks about "a land flowing with milk and honey," it is referring to dates.

  In the arid, nonhumid sections of the Middle East, where it grew best, the date was sometimes the only plant-based food available and, therefore, a primary component of the diet. Dates were commonly eaten with dairy products or, when available, fish or lamb. In Sumeria as well as Egypt, dates were also used to flavor beer, the primary beverage. The original arak, now an anise-flavored liquor, was made from fermented date juice and is considered by some to be the Biblical shekar (strong drink). Lesser-quality dates along with the husks were fed to animals. In addition to food, date palms provided shade, fuel, roofing material, utensils, mats, baskets, and ropes. The palm's lumber was of particular importance in Egypt, which, due to a scarcity of rainfall, lacked forests and timber trees. An ancient Babylonian poem claimed that there were 360 uses for this invaluable tree.

  Of all the plants mentioned in the Bible, only the date palm is included in both the Sheva Minim (Seven Species) with which the land was praised, and the Arbah Minim (Four Species) constituting the Sukkot ritual. Nonetheless, the date palm, despite its obvious attributes, was less important to the diet and economy of ancient Israel than the other six members of the Seven Species because those plants thrived in almost every part of the country and most farmers could grow their own.

  Palms, on the other hand, require specialized conditions to bear fruit in general and high-quality dates in particular. The area suitable for growing dates in Israel lies primarily in the Rift Valley running from Jericho (called "the city of date palms") north to the Sea of Galilee and to Lake Hula in the north; this stretch of land two thousand years ago was carpeted with palms. In Roman times, Jericho dates were considered the best in the world. Palm trees grow well in the coastal areas of Israel too, although the humidity there tends to hinder fruit production. Date palms can grow in Jerusalem, although these trees generally produce poor-quality fruit or no fruit.

  The Romans during their Judean wars in 135 CE intentionally destroyed the Judean date cultivars of Jerusalem and other Israeli locales, and the unique Judean palm went extinct. For the ensuing two thousand years, few date trees grew in the country. In 1909, Kibbutz Degania, on the south shore of the Galilee, reintroduced the date palm to that region and today these graceful trees once again thrive in the land. Popular Israeli lyric poet Rachel Bluwstein (1890—1931), who lived in Kvutzat Kinneret on the Sea of Galilee, wrote in her 1926 poem "Kinneret":

  There on the shore of the sea is a low-hanging palm [dekel], Disheveled is the palm's hair like that of a mischievous child, Who has slid down and in the waters of the Kinneret, Splashes his feet.

  In the 1970s, an excavation at Herod's palace on Masada unearthed a jar containing some two-thousand-year-old Judean palm seeds. The seeds sat for four decades until Dr. Elaine Solowey of the Arava Institute treated and planted three of them on the festival of Tu b'Shevat in January 2005. One of them sprouted, making it the oldest known seed to germinate. As of 2010, the tree was nearly six feet tall with ten fronds. If it turns out to be female, the tree, nicknamed Methuselah, could bear the first Judean dates in nearly two millennia, resurrecting an extinct species.

  The date palm and fruit naturally play a prominent role in Jewish lore and ritual. The palm tree is the backbone of the Sukkot ritual of th
e Four Species. It was under a date palm that Deborah judged the nation. Psalms declares, "The righteous person will flourish like a date palm." The motif of the beautiful palm has long been popular in Jewish art and eventually emerged as a national emblem of the state of Israel. Notably, images of date palms adorned the walls of the Temple. The Maccabees used the tree as a symbol of their military success, its towering stature and sword-shaped fronds connoting victory. Several bronze and silver coins minted by Bar Kokhba in 132 CE bear a picture of the date palm, as do Roman coins issued by Vespasian celebrating the fall of Jerusalem, which depict a weeping woman sitting beneath a date palm. The Talmud noted that "seeing a lulav in one's dream connotes that a person is serving God wholeheartedly." Hence the palm is a symbol of Israel's devotion to God.

  In Talmudic times, some people saved the lulav after Sukkot and used the dried leaves for searching for the chametz before Passover (later a feather took on this role), then burned it with the chametz. The fruit of the date palm also served as the basis for the original form of charoset at the Passover Seder, a role it retains in many communities. Dates are also traditionally served at holidys such as Rosh Hashanah and Tu b'Shevat.

  (See also Charoset and Date Honey (Devash))

  Date Honey (Devash)

  Date Honey is a syrup made from dates.

  Origin: Middle East

  Other names: Arabic: dibs; Hebrew: silan; Iraq: halek, hullake.

  Throughout most of history, much of the Middle Eastern date harvest was boiled into a thick, long-lasting syrup called devash (honey) in Hebrew. Date honey could be stored for much longer than other forms of date and was more useful, imparting a touch of sweetness to everything from stews to desserts. It was also more plentiful and safer to collect than bee honey. A large apparatus dating back twenty-five hundred years for boiling fruit into honey was uncovered in excavations at Lachish (thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem). Among the ruins of Qumran, best known for its Dead Sea scrolls, was a two-thousand-year-old date-honey press. The descriptive biblical denotation of the Promised Land as "flowing with milk and honey" referred to date syrup.

  Unlike bee honey, which requires relatively little effort beyond risking a few stings and perhaps climbing a tree, date honey entails a labor-intensive process. Unlike most fruits, the solids in dates are too concentrated for the juice to be pressed out in any sizable amount. Therefore, water is necessary to dissolve the soluble solids before the nonsoluble solids can be removed. First the dates are crushed or chopped. Then the pulp is mixed with cold water, usually in a one-to-one ratio, and allowed to stand for several hours or overnight. Afterwards, it is boiled for about an hour and a half. The juice is then strained through a basket or pressed through filter bags into containers. The material in the basket is reboiled several more times to extract as much juice as possible. Any remnants of pulp are fed to the animals. The combined juice is filtered again, then boiled down, the amount of time depending on the desired degree of thickness and intensity of flavor, into a thick honey-like syrup.

  Traditionally, a piece of the date stalk was placed in the pot to prevent the syrupy mixture from burning. The long-established test of the syrup's readiness was to sprinkle a few drops onto sand; if they formed tiny balls, the honey was done. The final honey output was about half the weight of the dates used. The entire process took about a total of twelve hours divided over two days.

  Since date honey lasts for several years, this laborious task was generally performed only once a year, shortly after the harvest. Iraqi Jews, as well as their descendants in India, still prepare date honey. Eventually, commercial enterprises began producing it. Today date honey is common on the shelves of Israeli groceries.

  Although today fruit honeys are little known outside of the Middle East, they were once an essential component of cooking and remained a principal food in Judea throughout the First and Second Commonwealth. Date honey is spread on bread, pancakes, and, on Passover, matza. It is mixed with tahini (sesame seed paste) for a breakfast dip for bread. It is also stirred into water or goat yogurt for a beverage and used to flavor beer and wine. Mixed with chopped walnuts or almonds, date honey yields the original form of charoset, which is still popular in some Middle Eastern communities.

  (See also Charoset and Honey)

  Deckel

  The German word deckel, meaning "little covering/lid," is confusingly used to denote four distinct cuts of beef. One of these cuts is from the shoulder blade near the neck (technically the chuck deckel). Some delis use this cut to make pastrami, which is more usually made from the plate. Another deckel (rib-eye deckel) is a highly marbled strip of muscle from the top of the ribs, which is also called the calotte or cap. Deckel can also refer to the muscle and fat, weighing about two pounds, between the bones of the rib cage and the main muscle and flat section of the brisket (on the opposite side from the point cut). In addition, the word deckel (technically the breast deckel) is also used for the top section of a second-cut brisket; this is a triangular three-inch-thick piece of meat covered with a cap of fat, which is also called the point cut. Good Jewish delis include the point cut in their corned beef as part of the whole brisket, while in homes it is also a favorite for cholent (Sabbath stew) and tzimmes.

  Delicatessen

  The 1962 play A Thousand Clowns by Herb Gardner contains the memorable line, "People fall into two distinct categories, Miss Markowitz; people who like delicatessen, and people who don't like delicatessen. A man who is not touched by the earthy lyricism of hot pastrami, the pungent fantasy of corned-beef, pickles, frankfurters, the great lusty impertinence of good mustard—is a man of stone and without heart."

  The Jewish delicatessen is a uniquely American innovation. Its roots come from medieval French cheese making and Alsatian charcuterie—the preparation of meat products, including curing, brining, smoking, and poaching. Centuries ago, the French created an adjective to encompass these cold meats, cheeses, and other choice prepared foods—délicatesse (delicious things). In Germany, shops selling these prepared foods, many of them imports, became known by the German plural of the French word, Delikatessen. (The word was not, contrary to a widespread misconception, connected to the German word essen, "to eat.")

  German immigrants in America, who arrived in a great wave beginning in the 1840s, opened similar small grocery stores offering canned goods along with homemade prepared foods. Many of the then-alien foods offered by the German shops eventually became standards of American cuisine, including Frankfurt sausages (hot dogs), Hamburg steaks (hamburgers), cold cuts, potato salad, Muenster cheese, pumpernickel bread, and kaiser rolls. Later from the American German delicatessen also came commercial mayonnaise.

  Jews were among the millions of German immigrants seeking economic prospects and religious freedom. Around the same time the Germans were opening the first American delikatessens, some German Jewish immigrants in the New York area began offering prepared foods and canned goods, initially selling them from their tenement apartments, to other recent Jewish arrivals, many of them homesick and culinarily inept single men. Later, some of the more successful operations moved to commercial spaces outside of the home; a typical shop was a narrow storefront with room for a long counter and perhaps a very few small tables and chairs.

  In 1872, shortly after the Civil War, Isaac Gellis (d. 1906) transferred his kosher sausage business from Berlin to Essex Street on New York's Lower East Side. He found a strong market for his kosher delicatessen meats among the shops catering to the growing number of Jewish immigrants. Gellis initially offered a selection of German wursts, but eventually added emerging American favorites, including salami and hot dogs. In the nineteenth century, preserved meats and fish—such as corned beef, pickled tongue, pickled herring, and, with the advent of the mechanical meat grinder in the 1860s, sausages—were much cheaper than fresh meat and, therefore, it became the norm for shops to sell these items sliced by the pound. To further stretch resources, the proprietors served the thinly carved meat on t
hick slices of Jewish rye bread, which also acted to soak up excess fat and render the dish more transportable. The inevitable accompaniment was Jewish dill pickles provided by the numerous neighborhood pickle makers. The Jewish market owners used an Americanized Yiddish version of the German name for their meat-centered businesses—delicatessen. The term was first recorded in the United States around 1889, using the American Yiddish and not the German spelling.

  Like the German establishments, the Jewish shops were at first typical nineteenth century groceries, offering an array of canned goods as well as pickled and smoked meats and fish and some prepared salads. Unlike German delikatessens, Jewish ones, even the few nonkosher ones, rarely sold pork products, but rather concentrated on beef. By the time masses of eastern European Jews began flooding into New York City toward the end of the nineteenth century, German Jews and a few earlier-arriving eastern Europeans had already established a number of kosher delicatessens, as well as a few nonkosher Jewish-style delicatessens. Many individual stores began to cater to specific Jewish communities beyond the Germans, some stressing Romanian fare, and others Polish or Russian; the result was an array of diverse shops. Much of the merchandise offered by these delicatessens was not the food the immigrants had consumed in their home countries, but rather a synthesis of old and new; this fare was a step toward assimilating into the wider American society.

  The patrons developed a liking and in some instances a passion for this hearty, flavorful fare. For the millions of bewildered and sometimes overwhelmed immigrants, however, Jewish delicatessens proved more than a place to purchase some kosher and filling foods. Patrons not only came for takeout, but also stayed to schmooze. Delicatessens were akin to the country store in rural America—they were a place where people could socialize and connect in a welcoming, familiar atmosphere. Besides the synagogue, these stores offered a singular haven where one could feel a sense of community and connection. Consequently, the fare offered in the delicatessens became comfort foods, producing a sense of security and well-being. It became the American Jewish soul food.