Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited (Hardcover)

by Arthur Schwartz (Author), Ben Fink (Photographer)
Key Phrases: sour cream pastry, first clear flour, pickled lox, Meat Main Courses, Lower East Side, Side Dishes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Schwartz (Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food) breathes life into Yiddish cooking traditions now missing from most cities' main streets as well as many Jewish tables. His colorful stories are so distinctive and charming that even someone who has never heard Schwartz's radio show or seen him on TV will feel his warm personality and love for food radiating from the page. Oddly, even the shorter anecdotes often run longer than the actual recipes; anyone intending to cook from the book should have some kitchen experience or risk frustration at the often brief instructions. Dishes run the gamut from beloved appetizers like gefilte fish to classic meat and dairy main items (cholent, blintzes), plus less familiar items like onion cookies and Hungarian shlishkas (light potato dumplings). Schwartz intersperses engaging commentary on everything from farfel and matzo to Romanian steakhouses and why Jews like Chinese food. Those with Westernized palates may recoil at the thought of gelled calf's feet, but Schwartz shows how stereotypically heavy Ashkenazi food can be improved and made at least somewhat lighter when prepared properly. Cooks and readers from Schwartz's generation and earlier, who know firsthand what he's talking about, will appreciate this delightful new book for the world it evokes as much as for the recipes. (Apr.)
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From Booklist
Although the first Jewish immigrants to New York were Sephardic Jews from Spain, they were doomed to be overwhelmed by waves of Ashkenazi Jews fleeing Eastern European pogroms. So many Jews took refuge in New York City that the metropolitan area became the world’s center of Jewish cooking, at least till the founding of Israel. Schwartz covers the basics of this influential cuisine, from schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) and dill pickles through brisket and cholent (Sabbath stew). The remarkable intersection in America of Jewish and Chinese cultures finds celebration in a recipe for chow mein. Passover dishes, which must follow strict injunctions, earn their own chapter. Photographs, not just of food but also of New York’s people and restaurants, and diverting sidebars contribute further vibrancy to the text. A glossary of Yiddish food words enhances the book’s reference value. Schwartz’s well-earned reputation as a Jewish cookery maven will increase demand for this title. --Mark Knoblauch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580088988
• ISBN-13: 978-1580088985
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #55,379 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great recipes, and tasty photos also. a must for mavens, March 11, 2008

By	Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The fact that the author is the foodmaven.com comes across clearly, since he adds so much rich information on Jewish food history with each recipe. It is a pleasure to read. And then there are the photos. As he writes in the intro, food is a connection to the Jewish past and our faith. Sure, more Jews eat pizza than chopped liver, more eat sushi and salad nicoise than chopped herring and gefilte fish, but those classic foods are in our Jungian collective unconscious. And now for the recipes.

Appetizers (Forshpeiz) include recipes for arbes, chopped eggs and onions, chopped herring salad, schmaltz, black radish (ritach, as in ritach mit tzibeleh), vegetarian chopped liver (2 recipes), romanian eggplant salad, 2nd Avenue Deli's health salad/slaw, pitcha, chrain, and gefilte fish (mit carrots).

Some SOUPS are Chicken w/ knaidlach, kreplach, mushroom barley (did u know that mushrooms were free and plentiful in the woods of Lithuania), borscht (3 kinds), and Schav. Some SIDES include three, count 'em, 3 kugels, latkes, shlishkas, kishkas, dermas, tzimmes, and cabbage and noodles (u know.. that mouse in rataouille should have made cabbage and noodles for the critic) (hint... salt the cabbage first)

Some MEATS are cholent, flanken, brisket, stuffed cabbage, potted meatballs, (a history of romanian steakhouses; an essay on why Jews like chinese), karnatzlach (little sausage), salami and eggs, chow mein, and pepper steak. Not to mix meat and milk in the same paragraph, but some DAIRY recipes included are: Ratner's brown gravy, blintzes, lox fliegles, pickled lox; lox,eggs & onions; and whitefish salad.

There is a whole chapter for passover dishes, including an apple cake and matzo buttercrunch and ingberlach (matzo farfal ginger candy).
Speaking of Passover, some BREAD recipes include one for tzibeleh kuchen. Did you know that Jewish corn bread is actually a sourdough ryte? DESSERT recipes include rugelach (kipfel), babka, and hamantaschen.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another outstanding Cookbook from the Food Maven, March 19, 2008

By	Dr. Marion Russo "Psychotherapist" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Arthur Schwartz has once again written an outstanding collection of recipes that are far more then just great recipes--this book, like his Naples at Table (also highly recommended) and his others, is a history of the food of a people--historically accurate, informative, and great cooking--he really teaches you how to cook, why to cook it the way he does, and how to enjoy it best. His personable manner, writing talent, and enthusiasm make this a great book to cook from, learn from, and enjoy! Buy a copy for yourself and one for a friend--it will make a terrific gift.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings back wonderful memories, April 8, 2008

By	Sidney Mark (Queens, N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews

From the moment I received this cookbook, it started to bring back memories of the 50's and 60's when families spent the holiday's together. All the recipes were from a different time, foods that you don't get today. A lot of the recipes were buried with my grandmother and aunts. I found them again in this book, same recipes, just modernized a little.
Looking at them I pictured the recipes being prepared by my grandmother, mother and aunts. I can smell the delicious aromas and almost taste the foods.
Anyone looking to bring back their memories of growing up should purchase this book.