Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  The original oranges were bitter oranges, also called sour oranges and Seville oranges. By the thirteenth century, groves of bitter oranges covered the region from Seville to Granada as well as parts of Portugal. Bitter orange trees tend to be more decorative and fragrant than other orange trees. Bitter oranges were initially used in marinades for meat and fish or merely as an ornamental crop. It was only after Arabs spread sugarcane westward to Syria, North Africa, and Spain that bitter oranges began to make an impact on cooking. Today, these varieties, rarely available fresh in the United States, are processed into preserves, confections, orange-blossom water, perfumes, and liqueurs. About 90 percent of Spain's bitter orange crop is still shipped to England to make marmalade.

  The earliest verifiable record of a sweet orange dates from the early twelfth century CE in China, and these fruits were mentioned in India by the early fourteenth century. Sweet oranges were first introduced to Europe in 1529 by Portuguese traders, who found them in China. In 1635, an even sweeter variety of orange reached Lisbon from China and sweet oranges quickly supplanted the bitter ones. Consequently, in many languages, sweet oranges are named after Portugal, such as the Ladino portokal and Arabic bortugal.

  Blood oranges, or pigmented oranges, are small, generally seedless oranges with a deeper flavor and redder color than other sweet oranges. Full blood oranges have red skin and red flesh; semi-blood oranges have orange skin and red flesh. The degree of redness depends on the variety and climate; with hotter climates producing deeper colors and sweeter flavor. Blood oranges have long been sought after in the Mediterranean, where they comprise one-third of all oranges grown and consumed. However, they have not developed a similar popularity among American growers due to their uneven bearing abilities and the unpredictability of the pulp's coloration.

  Early on, oranges emerged as a distinctive feature of Sephardic cuisine, particularly in baked goods, such as torta de los reyes (orange-almond cake) and torta de portokal. Oranges are also boiled to make preserves, poached in sugar syrup, cooked with chicken and cinnamon, and used to make custard. Some Sephardim chop up a whole orange in their Passover charoset.

  In the seventh century, the Arabs introduced the bitter orange to Israel and much later the sweet orange arrived; the common variety of the latter is called baladi in Arabic and Hebrew. Around 1844, a mutation of a baladi occurred somewhere near the city of Jaffa. The new type of orange, called the Shamouti, was a medium-large, oval, aromatic variety that became renowned for its juiciness, sweetness, and extraordinary shipping abilities. Within a few decades, this newcomer had become the predominant orange of the Levant and had become better known as the Jaffa orange, named after the main port through which it passed for export. The first to use the brand name "Jaffa orange" was Sarona, a Christian agricultural colony founded by the German-based Temple Society in 1871. Around 1880, a small shipment of Jaffa oranges was first sent to England by Jewish businessmen as a commercial proposition, and citriculture subsequently became the main source of income for Jewish settlers and, for much of the twentieth century, for Israel. Jaffa became synonymous with the fruit.

  In 1855, Sir Moses Montefiore purchased about twenty-five acres of orange trees near Jaffa from the Ottoman sultan and selected thirty-five families from Safed to operate it. This was the first Jewish orange orchard in the country. In 1878, a small group of Orthodox Jews from Jerusalem, desiring to escape the city's cramped conditions, purchased 767 acres of mostly swampland northeast of Jaffa along the Yarkon River, founding the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement, Petach Tikvah (Gateway of Hope). Due to the ravages of malaria, the project was abandoned, but in 1883, with financial backing from Baron Edmond de Rothschild, a few of the founders, along with a new group of religious immigrants, cleared the swamps and planted vines and orange trees. Petach Tikvah is now a city of some one hundred seventy thousand and the second-largest industrial center in Israel.

  Following the departure of the Ottomans at the end of World War I, agriculture in the Holy Land flourished, led by orange production. Orange groves covered the dunes and plains around Jaffa and along the ancient Via Maris road leading north from Egypt to Syria. The Jaffa orange became a symbol of the accomplishments of the new state of Israel. At their peak in the early 1970s, orange orchards expanded to 105,000 acres. Then toward the end of the twentieth century, due to trade agreements among European Union members (they do not pay tariffs) and competition from other countries with cheaper labor, Israeli oranges experienced a decline. In their place, some farmers turned to various exotics, such as Sharon fruit, pitaya (a juicy cactus fruit, also called "dragon fruit"), kumquats, and other new citrus hybrids. Still, in 2008, Israel devoted sixty-two thousand acres to oranges, yielding one million tons of fruit, and the orange continues to be immensely popular among the Israeli people.

  (See also Citrus and Etrog (Citron))

  Orange-Blossom Water

  In 800 CE, the Arab scholar Jabir ibn Hayyan invented an improved still. About two centuries later, the Bukharan-born physician ibn Sina (980—1037), latinized as Avicenna, discovered how to use the still to extract essential oils from flower petals to produce distilled floral waters, particularly rose water (ma wared) and orange-blossom water (ma zaher). Initially developed as a means of administering drugs, the distilled waters were soon appropriated for perfumes and cooking. The distillation process for making orange-blossom water, also called orange-flower water, has changed little over the centuries, and some families continue to make their own in basements and garages throughout the Middle East. Kilos of petals from bitter oranges, also called Seville oranges, are placed in a large copper still and covered with plain water. After the lid is secured, the still is placed over a fire and left to boil. The vapor passes through a tube, where it condenses at the other end and drips into bottles.

  Middle Easterners frequently use these aromatic distilled waters to flavor and perfume baked goods, confections, puddings, salads, fruit dishes, rice dishes, and poultry and lamb dishes. A popular use is as a flavoring for sugar syrups that are drizzled over pastries and fruit. Several drops of orange-blossom water are added to cups of hot water to create cahve blanco (white coffee). Orange-blossom water is very concentrated, so it is used sparingly, adding just a hint of fragrance and an intriguing flavor.

  Oublie

  Oublie is a round wafer cooked between two heated pieces of metal.

  Origin: France

  From the early twelfth century through the succeeding five hundred years, the most popular treat of France was the oublie, a thin, crisp, wafer-like pastry made on iron molds heated over a flame.

  The concept of wafers dates back to antiquity. Ancient Egyptians, upon the annual decrease in the water level of the Nile, offered emmer wafers as well as large bread loaves to Osiris, originally the god of grains and later of the dead. The Bible described the manna as "tzeepeechat [a loose batter dropped on a hot griddle, from the root "to spread out"] made with honey." Both the words wafer and waffle derive from the same source, the Middle Dutch wafel (honeycomb). The difference is that waffles, containing a leavening agent, are lighter.

  According to Larousse Gastronomique, the ancient Greeks made thin wafer cakes—called obleios, probably because they were sold for an obol (a Greek coin)—by pressing some thick batter between two heated metal plates. This Greek innovation of cooking both sides of the batter was the next step in the culinary evolution from the earlier practice of cooking very thin breads on one side on a heated earthenware griddle. Others contend that the name derived from the Eucharist, called oblate in German and oublie in French, from the medieval Latin oblatus (offered). In any case, the wafer technique was not invented solely for the Eucharist, but was adopted by the church from existing technology.

  Basic medieval European wafers, which consisted of unleavened disks made from flour and water, were prepared in the same manner as the obleios—cooked on heated irons. Also like the Greek wafers, the early medieval ones were unsweetened, although they
were sometimes served with honey. The wafer batter, like that of early medieval cakes, was generally made from bread crumbs rather than flour.

  Toward the end of the eleventh century, Crusaders returning from the Levant brought back with them numerous culinary concepts, one of which resulted in a variation of the oublie in which honey and sometimes orange-blossom water were added to the crumb-based batter. Subsequently, the residents of northern and central France had two forms of oublie: the plain ones used by the church and the sweetened nonsectarian ones. Both types were cooked in the same manner: between two flat iron paddles. Many paddles had an imprinted ornamentation, such as a landscape, coat of arms, or, the most common, honeycomb. When the paddles were opened, the thin wafer was peeled off. The oublie could be left flat or, while still warm, could be rolled into a cylinder or cone shape. Some wafers were enjoyed as thin cookies, while others were used as a base for various bar cookies, such as lebkuchen. The wafer protected the upper portion from the ashes of the oven during baking. Only a very wealthy home or professional oublie maker (oubloyeur) possessed a set of the expensive metal wafer irons, so oublie was not a homemade treat. Oubloyeurs or oublieurs, who formed their own guild in 1270 and controlled the quality of wafers, peddled their wares at markets, at fairs, and along the street. Also in the thirteenth century, craftsmen fashioned a metal mold to produce a thicker pastry, called gaufre (Old French for "honeycomb"), which became the waffle. Dutch Jews adopted waffles as a holiday treat and later introduced them to English Jews.

  In the thirteenth century, metal workers began fashioning the wafer irons as a pair of hinged metal plates embossed with crisscross patterns called waufres/gaufres. The iron plates were attached to long wooden handles, allowing the "baker" to easily and safely heat and manipulate the irons. Toward the end of the medieval period, flour replaced bread crumbs and, as sugar became more prominent in Europe, it was increasingly added to wafer batter.

  Early Ashkenazic rabbinic literature contains nu- merous mentions of the term oublie and obleit, as this wafer was also the most popular early western Ashkenazic treat. Many Jews enjoyed the wafers on a weekly basis. German, and later Polish, Jews never shared their French brethren's affection for oublies. By the end of the seventeenth century, French pastry had begun to evolve and the oublie declined in popularity, although various wafers and waffles endure.

  P

  Padhar

  Padhar is a coconut-filled crepe.

  Origin: India

  Other names: petar, sweet puri.

  Among the Bene Israel of India, every holiday was associated with at least one sweet. Two or three days before Yom Kippur, the women gathered in groups to prepare padhar to be enjoyed after the fast. Actually, the fast was broken with a drink of sherbet, a raisin beverage made by boiling black raisins in water, then squashing them and straining the liquid; this drink was followed by fruit, in particular bananas, and then the padhar. Plenty were made in order to also give them as gifts to friends, both Jews and non-Jews. Originally, padhar were made from deep-fried unleavened flatbreads called puris, but more recently cooks have substituted crepes made with coconut milk. The crepes are spread with a sweetened coconut mixture—the coconut may be either raw or toasted—then rolled up like a cigar. Sometimes the crepes and filling are stacked in seven layers to make a version called saath padhar (Hindi meaning "together").

  Indian Coconut Crepes (Padhar)

  about twenty 5-inch or sixteen 6-inch cigars

  [DAIRY or PAREVE]

  1½ cups coconut milk

  1 large egg, lightly beaten

  2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), melted butter, or coconut oil

  1 tablespoon jaggery or sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1/8 teaspoon table salt or ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

  1½ cups (7.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

  Ghee, butter, or vegetable oil for cooking the crepes

  Filling:

  1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) jaggery or sugar

  ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water

  3¾ cups (10 ounces) grated coconut, fresh or frozen

  Pinch of ground cardamom (optional)

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, egg, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Gradually whisk in the flour to make a smooth, thin batter with the consistency of heavy cream. Strain if there are any lumps. Or process all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

  2. Heat a 5-, 6-, or 8-inch heavy skillet (cast-iron or nonstick is best) over medium heat. Brush lightly with the ghee.

  3. Pour in about 2 tablespoons batter for a 5- to 6-inch pan or 3 tablespoons for an 8-inch pan, tilting the pan until the batter just coats the bottom. Cook until the edges begin to brown, about 45 seconds. Turn the crepe over and cook until golden, about 30 seconds. Flip onto a plate lined with wax paper. Repeat with the remaining batter. Stack the crepes between pieces of wax paper, foil, or dampened paper towels.

  4. To make the filling: In a medium saucepan, stir the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut and, if using, cardamom. Let cool.

  5. Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons filling over each crepe, leaving a ½-inch border. Roll up jelly-roll style.

  Palacsinta

  Palacsinta is a crepe as well as a filled crepe.

  Origin: Romania, Hungary

  Other names: Austria and eastern Europe: palatschinke; Czech: palacinka; French: crêpe; German: krepp, palatschinke, pfannkuchen; Polish: nalesnik; Romania: clatita; Slovakia: palacinka; Ukranian; blyntsi, mlynets, nalysnyky; Yiddish: blintze.

  Pancakes are among humankind's earliest foods. For much of history, they were rather crude, consisting of porridges cooked on heated flat rocks (the early French word for pancake, galette, comes from the word meaning "flat stone") and later on clay and then metal griddles. The ancient Roman placenta (from the Greek thin bread cooked on a griddle, plakous) was a flat rudimentary cake made of soft cheese, flour, and honey and cooked in a pan over the embers of a fire. Medieval Romanians called tarts filled with cheese and sometimes other savory fillings (including cabbage, meat, and spinach) by the name placinta.

  Beginning in the fourteenth century, the Turks, who had absorbed both Persian and Byzantine cuisines, conquered the Balkans, introducing numerous culinary advances, including phyllo dough, and very thin pancakes made from semolina flour and eggs that were cooked in a shallow skillet, then topped with feta cheese or other fillings, and rolled up. A favorite Romanian way to use phyllo was in a strudel-like borek, which was somewhat similar in appearance to the thicker, filled, new-style pancakes. Consequently, both the cheese-filled phyllo and the thin pancakes were initially called placinta. The pancakes eventually traveled to Hungary and, since the Hungarian language does not have initial consonant clusters, the pla was transformed to pala and the word for the thin pancakes became palacsinta. (Afterwards in Romania, to differentiate the thin pancake from the popular strudel and the tart, most Romanians referred to it by the generic word for pancake and fritter, clatita, while both the strudel and tart retained the name placinta.) Gradually, the thin pancakes spread throughout central and eastern Europe. In the middle of the nineteenth century, when fine wheat flour became increasingly available in Europe, the various crepes became widespread. The primary difference between palacsinta and the modern French crepe and the blintz is that the latter two typically contain some fat and more eggs in the batter.

  For generations, most Hungarian have kept a well- seasoned heavy pan—many Jewish housewives had one for dairy and one for meat—for making palacsinta. Many Hungarians insist on only frying the palacsinta in butter, contending that the melding of the browning butter with the browning batter is necessary to create the characteristic flavor. For meat meals, however, schmaltz or oil is substituted. Some Hungarians prefer their palacsinta very eggy, while others feel that a little carbonated water, a nineteenth-c
entury innovation, makes them lighter and more tender. The pancakes should be moist and slightly pale yellow—the color is a sign that sufficient eggs have been used. Some Romanians and Hungarians still make the batter using semolina, but most opt for regular flour. A few recipes, particularly those from the nineteenth century, include a little yeast, yielding a slightly fluffier palacsinta without the need for carbonated beverages; crepes leavened with yeast are called erjed palacsinta.

  In particular, the characteristic Hungarian fillings and toppings, many adopted by neighbors in Romania and Austria, are what make palacsinta distinctive from the crepes of western Europe and the blintzes of eastern Europe. For appetizers and side dishes, Hungarians fill palacsinta with savory mixtures, such as ground beef, but their favorites are those with sweet fillings. The most common way of enjoying palacsinta is to spread the warm crepes with apricot lekvar that has been slightly thinned with a little wine, liqueur, or water; roll up the crepes; and sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar—in Romania, this dish is called clatite cu dulceata. Palacsinta with sweetened cheese (túró) is a popular Hungarian Shavuot dish. The gundel palacsinta is particularly beloved all over Hungary; in this version, introduced around 1910 by Budapest restaurateur Károly Gundel, crepes are spread with a ground walnut, raisin, and lemon zest filling; folded; flambéed in rum; and topped with a warm chocolate sauce (csokoládé öntettel). Chocolate sauce is also a favorite topping for other types of palacsinta besides those filled with ground walnuts, including sweetened chestnut cream, almond paste, chocolate-hazelnut spread, cheese, pastry cream, or cinnamon-sugar.