Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  The word lokshen meant more to eastern European Jews than simply another food. Lokshen permeated Yiddish life. The Yiddish phrase langer loksh (long noodle) connotes a tall, thin person. Calling a person simply a lokshen, however, is no compliment, as it connotes a limp, bland personality. This inspired the modern Hebrew expression "hu chataf loksh," literally meaning "he caught a noodle," but figuratively meaning "he caught hell." Lokshen has seeped into the culture in modern Israel, where noodles are usually called itriyot. In Hebrew, a loksh means a "pay slip," because until recently this consisted of a thin strip torn off the bottom of a large sheet of paper. Also in modern Hebrew, lokshim developed the sense of "lies," as in "al taachli oti lokshim" (literally "don't feed me noodles," but meaning "don't tell me lies") and "stop eating lokshen" (meaning "stop believing the lies").

  (See also Chremsel, Dumpling, Farfel, Frimsel, Kasha Varnishkes, Kreplach/Krepl, Kugel, Pasta, Pirog, Quadrucci, and Varenik/Varenikes)

  Egg Noodle Dough

  about 1 pound dough

  [PAREVE]

  About 2¼ cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

  3 large eggs, at room temperature

  ½ teaspoon table salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt (optional)

  1. Onto a pasta board or another flat surface, sift the flour and make a well in the center. Place the eggs and, if using, salt into the well. Using the tips of your fingers or tines of a fork, lightly beat the eggs. Gradually work the flour into the eggs, always working from the sides of the flour, until the mixture holds together, about 3 minutes.

  2. Bring any remaining flour over the dough to cover it and form the dough into a ball. Lightly flour the surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes by hand, or 2 minutes if using a food processor. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

  3. To roll the dough: Divide the dough into 2 to 4 pieces and dust lightly with flour. Cover the other pieces with plastic wrap and set aside. Flatten 1 piece of dough into a ¼-inch-thick square. Place on a lightly floured surface and press with the palm of your hand to flatten. Roll out the dough by using a rolling pin to push it away from you, rather than pressing it down, until it is as thin as possible. Repeat with the remaining dough.

  4. To shape the noodles: Let the dough sheets stand until they begin to feel dry but are still supple, about 5 minutes. Lightly dust the sheets with flour. Starting from a short side, roll up jelly-roll style. Cut crosswise into 1/8-inch (thin) to ½-inch (wide) strips. Unroll the dough strips and let stand until dry, at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

  5. To cook: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rapid boil. Add the noodles and stir with a fork to separate the pasta. Cook until al dente (tender but still firm), 5 to 10 minutes. Drain.

  Variation

  Ashkenazic Fried Thimble Noodles (Oofhalaifers/Fingerhuetchen):

  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness, fold the dough sheets in half, and using a floured thimble, cut the dough into rounds. Arrange in a single layer, cover, and let dry for about 30 minutes. In a large pot, heat at least 1 inch vegetable oil over medium heat. In batches, deep-fry the pasta until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve these pasta puffs as a soup garnish.

  Loof

  In the late 1940s, the Israeli Defense Forces developed a kosher form of the British "bully beef" named Loof (shortened from meat loaf), which was packaged in round cans. Loof constituted part of the soldier's battle food ration (manot krav), along with chocolate spread, halva, canned corn, and canned pilchei (grapefruit slices). Many Israeli soldiers insist that Loof utilizes all the parts of the cow that the hot dog manufacturers will not accept, but no one outside of the manufacturer and kosher supervisors actually know what is inside. The most common way of consuming this canned processed meat is the "Loof field sandwich." First, both the top and bottom of the can are removed, and the very solid pink "meat" is gradually pressed through one open end. Then, using the bottom of the can, slices are cut directly onto a slice of bread, then sandwiched between a second slice. Loof is also fried like schnitzel and scrambled with eggs.

  (See also Corned Beef)

  Loquat

  Loquat, also called Japanese medlar, is native to southeastern China. The average loquat tree bears small, elongated apricot-like fruit with pale orange skin, which, depending on the variety, can be smooth or slightly fuzzy like a peach. The soft, somewhat succulent, orange-colored flesh surrounds three to five large, shiny seeds. The mildly astringent fruit has a combination mango-peach flavor; the degree of acidity and sweetness differs with the variety and degree of ripeness.

  The loquat first arrived in Europe in 1784 and gradually spread to parts of the Mediterranean. In 1960, the loquat (called shesek in Hebrew) arrived in Israel and subsequently became widespread. It is now grown commercially and is also very popular in home gardens. Today, Israel follows only Japan, which has been cultivating the fruit for more than a millennium, in loquat production. Because of the time of year that it ripens, it has become a popular Passover fruit. In Israel, the fruit is overwhelmingly consumed fresh, but is also used in pies, jams, chutneys, and ice cream, and poached in light syrup.

  Lox

  A northern European method of preserving salmon was to coat fillets of the fish with salt and let it stand for a few days; the fish could then be stored for an extended period. Initially, Americans called this cured salmon. However, in many places, in order to conserve the scarce resource of salt, the fish was smoked, which is not as effective in warding off harmful bacteria. Later, techniques were developed in which the fish was smoked in conjunction with a light brining, combining the best properties of both methods.

  Throughout the nineteenth century, Germans and Scandinavians brought their curing traditions and predilections with them to America. Beginning in 1835, some opened smokehouses in the Northeast, concentrating on the more available salmon from Nova Scotia. Some also brined and smoked species of fish from the Great Lakes, including whitefish and chub, both of which turn golden in color during curing. Within decades of the emergence of German smokehouses in eastern America, the advent of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 opened new vistas of trade, including massive amounts of Pacific Northwest salmon, which was always packed into barrels and layered with salt to preserve it for the long journey.

  During the early 1930s, cured salmon fillet became known as lox, which is the Americanized spelling of the Yiddish laks (salmon), itself from the German lachs (salmon), which is similar to the Swedish gravlax (cured salmon). Originally, lox was a geographic term, emerging to distinguish salmon from the Pacific Northwest, which was at the time always salted, from the Atlantic salmon, which was called Nova. Although Nova referred to Nova Scotia, Canada, a primary supplier of salmon to New York, it came to mean Atlantic salmon from the entire Eastern Seaboard and northern Europe. Initially, Nova could be either smoked or salted. Later, as less salmon came from the Atlantic and shipping and refrigeration methods changed, these geographic terms took on different meanings.

  In the twentieth century, the spread of refrigeration and later refrigerated railroad cars eventually removed the need to preserve salmon in an intense brine. Instead, it could be lightly salted, producing a smoother, milder fish. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Jews in America developed their own form of smoked salmon, soaking it in light brine or occasionally dry curing it with salt and sometimes brown sugar, then cold-smoking it. Cold-smoked fillets are smoked over wood chips at a temperature of 72°F to 80°F, which does not cook the fish and results in a delicate, silky, yet dense texture and mild smoke flavor. In the Pacific Northwest, salmon is typically hot-smoked at a higher temperature, which actually cooks the flesh as well as producing a more pronounced smoke flavor.

  Jewish immigrants in England developed the "London cure," dry-salting s
almon fillets for a day (dry-curing produces a drier, more flavorful fish than brining), then cold-smoking it for another day. "Scottish salmon" refers to fillets dry-cured in a mixture of salt and spice, then cold-smoked.

  Subsequently, the terms lox and Nova applied to the two predominant forms of curing: Lox, also called belly lox, is wet-brined with no additional smoking or cooking. Nova, also known as Nova lox and smoked salmon, is cured in a mild brine of salt, water, and sometimes brown sugar, then lightly cold-smoked for six to twenty-four hours. Lox, the saltier of the two, is usually less expensive because it is easier to prepare.

  After World War II, the older generation tended to retain a preference for the saltier flavor of the unsmoked lox, which holds up better when placed between a bagel and schmear of cream cheese, while younger Americans increasingly began to favor the less salty cold-smoked Nova. In response, the large New York smokehouses began to increasingly produce Nova and, consequently, today the terms are often used interchangeably and most of the "lox" sold in America is actually Nova-style smoked salmon.

  Another major change was, beginning in the 1980s, the widespread substitution of farm-raised salmon, identifiable by wide stripes of whitish fat, for wild fish. Today, there is no longer any appreciable Atlantic wild salmon in the market and the amount of Pacific wild salmon is greatly reduced and expensive. Farm- raised salmon grow to be gray in color, but they are typically fed a special feed with dyes to achieve a reddish hue. However, one thing that cannot be masked is the weaker flavor of farmed-raised salmon, which has dramatically altered the taste of much of the contemporary lox and Nova. The label "organic" does not indicate whether the fish is wild or farm-raised.

  At the beginning of the twentieth century, eastern European immigrants in America preferred the familiar pickled herring to the brined salmon, but since the latter was rather inexpensive at the time, Jews began to increasingly add it to their diet. The discarded belly flaps and other trimmings, called fliegel or figgle (Yiddish for "wings")—the thin sections of the fillets inappropriate for lox—were cooked by frying, poaching, or grilling. As American Jews, initially Germans and later eastern Europeans, moved into the fish business, Brooklyn became the fish-smoking capital of the United States and factory owners brought in salmon from both the Atlantic and Pacific. After Harry Brownstein arrived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan from Russia in the early 1900s, he took a job in a smoked fish factory, before eventually opening his own company in Brooklyn, Acme Smoked Fish Corporation. His business became the largest producer of Nova-style lox and smoked fish in the country, and today it is run by the fourth generation of the family. At the turn of the twenty-first century, besides Acme, Brooklyn was home to five other major smokehouses, which produced an estimated ten tons of smoked fish a year. In addition, a few specialty stores procured smoke boxes to prepare their own Nova; most, however, order from one of the large smokehouses.

  Cured fish has long maintained a prominent place in the Ashkenazic pantry; besides being pareve and convenient, it requires no cooking. Initially, Jews in America ate lox in the manner of salted fish in the Old Country, thinly sliced and served with dark bread, or cut into chunks and mixed with sour cream. Sometimes it was accompanied with iced vodka. Adding lox to an already widespread dish, scrambled eggs with onions, produced the very popular eier mit laks.

  Lox's main and enduring claim to fame, however, came when partnered with bagels and cream cheese, the mildness of the cheese idyllically countering the saltiness of the fish. Slices of another Ashkenazic staple, onion, are also frequently added, contributing a pleasing pungency. Yet despite the current celebrity of this classic combination, in Europe, cured salmon never touched a bagel or cream cheese. This practice actually began in New York during the 1930s, when many Jews abstained from eating the then-stylish but decidedly unkosher American Sunday brunch classic eggs Benedict. Instead, they substituted a bagel for the English muffin, a schmear of cream cheese for the hollandaise sauce, and lox slices for the ham. Thus was born an American classic. Today, in America and Israel, lox remains a common sight at most life-cycle events featuring dairy meals, such as brits and baby namings, as well as Sunday brunches.

  (See also Bagel and Fish)

  Lungen

  Lungen, from the German meaning "the light organ," is the German and Yiddish word for lung, which is sometimes called lights in England. In most societies, lung and other offal were held in low esteem. On the contrary, among the impoverished masses in the shtetlach of the Russian Pale, this organ was a favorite. In accordance with the Jewish dietary laws, the lungs, which are the organs most susceptible to disease, were always carefully inspected immediately after slaughter, and any serious defect or sign of illness rendered the entire animal unkosher.

  Beef or calf lung, alone or with chopped chicken liver, was also enjoyed as a pastry filling. For a more elaborate dish, lungen was mixed with chopped broiled beef liver, about two parts lung for one part liver, spread between lower and upper layers of unfilled blintzes, and baked for about an hour and served in the manner of a kugel. Frequently to stretch the dish, the lungs were cooked with the miltz (spleen) or some cubed beef. North Africans make a similar stew from lamb lung. The predominant Ashkenazic way to prepare this was in a simple rustic stew, with plenty of onions sautéed in schmaltz, which helped to flavor and thicken the gravy. In Europe, lungen was generally reserved for special occasions, but in America it was prepared when someone wanted a taste of the Old Country. The stew was typically served with mashed or boiled potatoes.

  Immigrants brought lungen stew to America, where it was quite common through the first half of the twentieth century and recalled by many with nostalgic fondness and others with less enthusiasm. In his masterpiece "Howl," the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, remembering his mother's lungen, included the line, "who cooked rotten animals lung heart feet tail borscht & tortillas dreaming of the pure vegetable kingdom." In any case, lung is currently impossible to obtain in many places. In 1971, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) outlawed it in America for human consumption, and the organs instead primarily end up in pet food. Consequently, few people today are able to make up their own minds about it.

  M

  Ma'amoul

  Ma'amoul is a small shortbread cookie filled with chopped nuts or dried fruit.

  Origin: Levant

  Other names: Egypt: menenas; Iran: ghotab, klaitcha; Iraq: klaicha; Kurdistan: kasmay.

  Ma'amoul, which means "filled" in Arabic, is the Levantine version of one of the most ancient pastries. Syrian ras-ib-adjway are ma'amoul filled with a date and walnut mixture. Syrian krabeej are ma'amoul topped with naatiffe (a white fluff made from eggs whites, sugar, and soapwort), but today commercially prepared marshmallow cream is usually substituted.

  As is typical of Middle Eastern baked goods, the original type of ma'amoul dough contains no eggs or sugar, but rather depends on the butter in the dough for richness and relies on the filling and dusting of sugar for sweetness and extra flavor. The dough most commonly consists of part semolina and part flour, but there are many different ratios and some cooks use all flour. Semolina makes a crunchier, crumblier, and more flavorful pastry. Sometimes a little yeast or baking powder is added to the dough for a lighter cookie, but many prefer the firmness of unleavened shortbread. Nut is the most common filling, particularly walnut. Pistachio is generally reserved for holidays and other special occasions. The nuts for the fillings are crushed—they are generally not ground into a paste, but left with a little texture—and seasoned with orange-blossom or rose water and spices. Dates are also traditional, alone or mixed with nuts. Modern cooks sometimes use apricots, quince jam, and figs.

  Middle Easterners consider the preparation of ma'amoul to be a fine art and serious cooks use a tabi (a special hand-carved concave wooden mold with handles) to impress ornate designs on the surface of the cookies. The mold is then slammed against a flat surface to firmly imprint the design on top, while releasing the cookie. Ma'amoul can also
be formed by hand without a mold. A light dusting of confectioners' sugar helps to accentuate the cookie's designs. North Africans like to simmer the cookies in a sugar syrup for a few minutes. Ma'amoul are extremely popular in Israel and the molds are sold in many markets.

  Making ma'amoul was once a time-consuming process of making the firm semolina dough, rolling out little balls of dough, encasing the filling, impressing a design on top, and carrying the cookies on large copper trays to the large public oven for baking. So most home cooks generally prepared it only a few times a year, usually in large batches. Many families prepared three large trays, one for each of the three types of fillings. On the day before many holidays, the streets would be filled with adults and children schlepping their copper trays to the bakery. Quick, proficient ma'amoul making requires years of practice under the supervision of mothers and grandmothers. Today, there are machines to mass-produce ma'amoul, which can be found even in certain American bakeries and markets, but some cooks insist that these products are not as good as homemade and continue to bake their own. Some modern versions roll out the dough, spread it with filling, roll it up jelly-roll style, then cut the rolls into slices.