Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

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This book, Gil Marks' fifth, takes Jewish cookbook writing to a whole new level.
Marks ventures out of the genre of recipes peppered with anecdotes and cultural observations (the hallmarks of virtually all Jewish and general cookbooks with which I'm familiar) and presents us with a resource book for everything we want to know about Jewish food. The book has information about a whole range of "Jewish foods" from the Biblical (e.g., matza), to the rabbinic/traditional (e.g., charoset), to the cultural (e.g., bagels, blintzes, seltzer, etc.), even to items where Jews had major commercial impact, though not normally thought of Jewish in the culinary or cultural sense (e.g., bananas, yogurt). We are also given a historical sweep of how basic universal foods (e.g., bread, meat, cheese) were prepared and appreciated from biblical times to the present.
Where appropriate, etymologies for the names of the foods are given, religious significance or symbolism is explained (supported by a range of references including the Bible, Talmud, responsa, and related literature), and the cultural and culinary context are made clear. Historical factors play a very large role in the explanations; Marks uses his understanding of both general Jewish history as well as the history of the various foods to explain how various Jewish foods developed (or disappeared) for reasons relating to geography and time. For example, raisin wine took the place of 'regular' wine where fresh grapes were unavailable, and horseradish replaced fresh greens for the Passover bitter herb for similar reasons. Conversely, when herring and hamantaschen (or its German antecedent) entered the orbit of Ashkenazic Jews, they readily became part of the Jewish story. And, despite these examples, the book is far from ashkenaz-centric. Moroccan, Persian, Ethiopian, Greek and Syrian (etc., etc.) food traditions all become part of the corpus of Jewish food and find their appropriate home in this magisterial volume.
Besides living up to its name as an encyclopedia, this is still a cookbook, too. Many recipes are included (350, I believe), though not as many as you'd expect in a 600+ page book. That's because what you're really getting here is not the standard cooking manual. You're getting a window into Jewish life as defined by food (such a huge part of an culture, but of Jewish life in particular, I believe), along with clear and easy-to-follow recipes you can use in your own cooking.

It's not often that the same book can illuminate cultural and culinary history, weave religious laws and mores with historical events spanning millennia, offer up great recipes from communities all over the world and even settle food trivia bets authoritatively. Gil Marks' latest book is just such a rarity and I can only surmise that it must have been as much fun to research and write as it is to read and learn from.

It includes entries on both prepared dishes (from the requisite - and secular - bagels to religiously resonant preparations like the seder night's charoset), and the "back story" of individual ingredients (e.g. cinnamon and coconuts) from a global, Jewish perspective. The explanations of Jewish dietary laws (such as forbidden animal fats) are also well done and equally informative.

This book is a joy to read and was a very well-received gift for two extremely discerning readers and discriminating cooks (my mother and mother-in-law). Highly recommended.

I spoke with Gil Marks at Kosherfest, asked if he remembered me from Hillel UW. I catered their Hillelfest fundraiser which featured Gil Marks after the release of his vegetarian cookbook. He remembered the 20 dobos tortes (original 7 layer cake) I had made for the event. The entire menu that evening was gleaned from cookbooks he's penned.

All that aside, I'm glad I brought an empty suitcase for the return trip home from NYC. This encyclopedia is incredible; and I would encourage some entreprenuer out there to create a Jewish Food Trivia game in conjunction with Gil. Kudos Gil for writing this masterpiece....we can all take it off our to-do lists. An attempt by anyone else at this point would be like a Hoboken Talmud. Purchase this book, study a tractate and we'll have a siyum in about 10 years.

Gil Marks is a Jewish Food Maven who shares his encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish food from around the globe. In his Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, he presents ingredients and recipes both obscure and currently available, giving a historical overview to the culture of Jewish culinary arts. Entries are clear, complete and concise. This volume would make a nice wedding shower gift. It is coffee-table quality. I would have preferred to see colorful photos of some dishes mentioned, but the black and white photos do justice to this masterpiece. I am the proud owner of four of Gil Marks' cookbooks and highly recommend this addition to your culinary library. I'm quite pleased that my order was promptly shipped and arrived in excellent condition. I'll do business with Amazon again.

I expected another cookbook with recipes from different countries. What I got is a real encyclopaedia with food name headings, explanations and histories, biblical references, sociological and national information and recipes. There are recipes that I've never heard of from unusual cuisines, explanations about what makes something Jewish food, and more.The book is thick and heavy like an encyclopaedia should be. It is full of fascinating, scholarly and well researched information- a good read. The recipes are the bonus. It has already been picked up and browsed by many vistors to my home and everyone finds it fascinating. It is worth 6 stars, but since that is not an option I give it all five.

My mom showed me this book last week at her house. She got it from the library. We started looking up foods in it and before we realized, it had turned into a history lesson of the Middle East and then we had to get out the Bible to research the first time manna was mentioned and that ended with her ordering one of these cookbooks for each of us from Amazon. We were hooked. First of all, thank you Mom! Second, if you like cookbooks and have any interest in where food originated (and this goes for 'real' food, not junk food), then this is the book for you. It is a history lesson, cookbook and food encyclopedia all rolled into one giant wonderful book. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into this and read it like a book before trying any of the recipes.

Encyclopedia of Jewish Food is a highly enjoyable read, especially for people who love anecdotes and trivia. Jewish foods from eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa are well-represented, but I was surprised and pleased to discover many entries on, for example, Indian and Ethiopian foods as well. Marks often includes recipes within an entry, which is another plus. My singular complaint is that this 636-page work is sourced by a one-page bibliography, and a one-page listing of cookbooks for further consideration. There are few in-text and no end-of-article citations. Accordingly, I don't recommend that Encyclopedia of Jewish Food be added as a reference book, but I do recommend it be added to all circulating library collections.
Daniel Scheide

If you are interested in cooking, Jewish food and history or customs, this book should be on your shelf. It is great fun to just pick up and read here and there, but it is also a great reference. It is also a very impressive piece of research and scholarship. Highly recommended.

AN OUTSTANDING AND EASILY READIBLE BOOK. CONTAINS EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT JEWISH FOOD AND EVEN BETTER ANSWERS QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED AND KNOWN ABOUT JEWISH FOOD.