Q: I recently went to a Jewish Deli and found that it was not a Kosher. It was Kosher style, which means the restaurant does not follow the laws of Kashrut nor is it supervised by rabbis. The style of food is that of the Ashkenazi Jews. A Pew study of Jews in America indicates that many Jews’ only connection to their Jewish background is through Jewish food. While I love the nostalgia of that because delhi is the food I grew up with, I now realize that there are many other Jewish communities besides the eastern European Jewish ones. I would love to learn about them through food because I am a secular Jew, and I love food and food history. How would I go about doing that?
A: Not surprisingly, if you check AI, most of the delis are in large cities that have large Jewish Populations. New York and Los Angeles have the greatest concentration. Since Jews are spread all over America, many Jews do not have even the opportunity for a gastronomic link to Jewish culture.
What we do find across this country is The Great American Bagel, which makes no reference to its Jewish background and many other bagel places, which serve smoked salmon on a bagel, not calling the fish lox or nova as Ashkenazi Jews of the past century did. Thus, the link to Jewish history is even thinner than the one you mention. This is fascinating as pizza is still clearly identified with Italians even though its ingredients have greatly expanded in gourmet restaurants. And Chinese food is clearly identified as Chinese, though it too has some new Americanized recipes. Both pizza and Chinese food are ubiquitous throughout the country. While brisket is served in many BBQ restaurants, it is not often cooked in the Jewish style.
On the other hand, while kosher restaurants are declining, what is expanding is the variety of Jewish cookbooks. Pick a county which once had a Jewish population and you will find cookbooks from that tradition
There is also a growing library of books with recipes from multiple Jewish communities.
No longer is Jewish food limited to kugel and matzo ball soup. Cooking in the home has expanded. Many people are expanding their traditional holiday meals with delicacies from other Jewish communities.
In Boston, the Jewish Art collaborative sponsored for several years a gastronomic event, in which all the prominent restauranteurs were asked to prepare a particular Jewish specialty in their own style of cooking. My favorite was the Chinese ginger borscht. This event attracted hundreds of people from all different backgrounds. Not a bad way to introduce people to the common humanity of the Jewish people. In New Hampshire, there is a huge fundraiser involving the sale of Jewish food. Volunteers from both Jewish and secular groups cook and freeze for months in preparation for the sale. Then, on the days of the sale, people drive from all over to purchase the food. Another NH temple, Temple Beth Abraham holds an annual dinner in which a particular Jewish culture is researched and food from that culture is cooked and served by volunteers from the membership. Information is shared about the food and its history/tradition. Thus the event is educational as well as delicious.The Hadassah Brandeis institute has supported many scholars as they research and write about the histories and cultures of their particular communities
My niece, who is in her late 20’s, was raised Jewish, had a Bat mitzvah and identifies as Jewish. Like the many other young unaffiliated Jews, she has no involvement with a temple or organized religion. However, she always hosts a Rosh Hashanah dinner and a Passover seder. She cooks brisket and challah and matzo ball soup. She sees the food as a way of bringing together her Jewish friends and celebrating their culture and traditions. The food was the entry point, but not the end of the story. It brought her to celebrate two holidays.
Another young couple invited a Sephardic Jew to their seder. The guest brought Iranian Charoset and told stories of her seders which includes beating each other with scallions during the Dayanu chorus. Both customs have become staples of their subsequent seders..
Food is an easy way of helping people expand their knowledge of the Jewish culture. You don’t need to wait for an organized group to invite your friends or colleagues to your home and create a Jewish food event. Invite the neighbors, your colleagues, your friends. You can prepare foods from particular Jewish community or ask each person to prepare a specialty of the Jewish community of your or their choosing. Or ask each guest to research the food and history of a community they would like to explore. Since we often socialize over food, it can expand connections. Goodness knows we need all the methods available right now to portray the complexity and humanness of the Jews. If you feel overwhelmed by fighting antisemitism you can begin by sharing your gastronomic background and those of Jews around the world.