The Jewish Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Around the World

In this wonderfully picturesque and well-written collection of kosher recipes and reminiscences from years gone by, Hyman recreates not only recipes, but also the stories and people behind them. Soups like Cafe Scheherazade Borscht and meat dishes such as Green Masala Chicken Curry evoke memories from Jewish communities around the world and represent the diversity of tradition and food among Diaspora Jews. Mouth-watering pictures of Pineapple Fritters a la Celestine and Ma'amoul, a Middle Eastern pastry, face pictures of modern Jews in a Jerusalem market and old Jewish shoemakers in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, a juxtaposition that emphasizes the connections between each community and its unique tastes. Hyman (Cucina Siciliana) explains that Jewish cooking""is also a portable concept, a statement of identity that journeys in mental baggage across continents, war-zones and social upheaval, through good times and bad, emigration and re-settlement, into exile and back--a place of refuge in times of trouble. Sometimes that baggage takes physical form--the heavy iron casserole dish or brass mortar and pestle transported to a new life in a new land. Mostly it is an expression of family values, an assertion of stability in a world of chaos."" (Hyman also includes a brief but valuable introduction that succinctly explains kashrut, the Sabbath, and the motifs of the various Jewish holidays.) This delightful cookbook will enhance any kitchen, kosher or not, and will take the reader on a turbulent but rewarding ride through Jewish history.