Influences on Jewish cuisine Jewish cuisine

coarse salt kashering meat

the laws of keeping kosher (kashrut) have influenced jewish cooking prescribing foods permitted , how food must prepared. word kosher translated proper.

certain foods, notably pork , shellfish, forbidden; meat , dairy may not combined, , meat must ritually slaughtered , salted remove traces of blood.

observant jews eat meat or poultry certified kosher. meat must have been slaughtered shochet (ritual slaughterer) in accordance jewish law , entirely drained of blood. before cooked, soaked in water half hour, placed on perforated board, sprinkled coarse salt (which draws out blood), , left sit 1 hour. @ end of time, salt washed off , meat ready cooking. today, kosher meats purchased butcher or supermarket kashered described above, , no additional soaking or salting required.

according kashrut, meat , poultry may not combined dairy products, nor may touch plates or utensils have been touched dairy products. therefore, jews strictly observe kashrut divide kitchens different sections meat , dairy, separate ovens, plates, , utensils (or as reasonable, given financial , space constraints; there procedures kasher utensils have touched dairy allow use meat).

as result, butter, milk , cream not used in preparing dishes made meat or intended served meat. oil, pareve margarine, rendered chicken fat (often called schmaltz in ashkenazi tradition), or non-dairy cream substitutes used instead.

despite religious prohibitions, foods not considered kosher have made way traditional jewish cuisine; sturgeon, consumed european jews @ least far 19th century, 1 example.

geographical dispersion

pescaíto frito, originating 16th century andalusian jews of spain , portugal

the hearty cuisine of ashkenazi jews based on centuries of living in cold climate of central , eastern europe, whereas lighter, sunnier cuisine of sephardic jews affected life in mediterranean region.

each jewish community has traditional dishes, revolving around specialties home country. in spain , portugal, olives common ingredient, , many foods fried in oil. idea of frying fish in stereotypically british fish , chips, example, introduced britain sephardic jewish immigrants. in germany, stews popular. jews of netherlands specialized in pickles, herring, butter cakes , bolas (jamrolls). in poland, jews made various kinds of stuffed , stewed fish along kneidl (matzo ball) soup or lokshen (noodles). in north africa, jews eat couscous , tagine.

thus, traditional shabbat meal ashkenazi jews might include roast beef, pot roast, or chicken, carrots tzimmes, , potatoes. traditional shabbat meal sephardi jews focus more on salads, stuffed vine leaves, couscous , other middle eastern specialties.