Customer Reviews

The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking: 200 Seasonal Holiday Recipes and Their Traditions

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

`The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking' by Phyllis Glazer and Miryam Glazer and `The New Jewish Holiday Cookbook' by Gloria Kauler Greene are two leading representatives of a great cookbook subgenre which may be unique among all cookbook flavors in that they represent that extraordinary relation between Judaism and food. Like the exceptional `Jewish Holiday Cookbook' by Joan Nathan and unlike the encyclopedic `New York Times Cookbook of Jewish Recipes', both books spend much space and words on the practice of kashrut or keeping kosher. But this is not the whole story. There are numerous Jewish culinary traditions which are not directly related to kashrut, such as the traditions surrounding the number of challah loaves baked for the Shabbat or the number of bumps on the challah loaves (The magic number here is 12, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, so the tradition is to have 12 loaves. More practical is the tradition to have two loaves each with 6 bumps created by the braiding of the bread before baking.)

There is one major difference among these three books which is evident in their titles. Ms. Glazer's book deals with `festival' cooking while Nathan and Greene deal with `Holiday' cooking. The subtle difference here is that the festival book does not cover Shabbat and the two `holiday' books do.

To a non-Jew, my guess is that since there are 52 shabbats in a year, while there are at most seven or eight major `festivals', it is much more important to have a book covering Shabbat as well as the yearly holidays. Between Greene and the Glazers, I find at least one other big difference in that Ms. Greene gives far more coverage to the creation of challah, which may be the single most important Jewish holiday recipe in any of these books, as it seems to be the one food which tradition calls for at every Shabbat. In fact, even though Joan Nathan's book combines two books, one of which is on Jewish holiday baking, Ms. Greene's treatment of challah, at least in the details she give for braiding several different numbers of dough strands is the most extensive. Among the recipes from the three books, the amateur bread baker in me prefers Ms. Nathan's recipe, as it uses the least (1 packet) yeast and calls for the longest raising time. She (and Ms. Greene) also use my preferred `active dry yeast' rather than the `rapid rise' yeast.

All three books deal in depth with Jewish holiday traditions, although Ms. Glazer and Ms. Greene seem to have better rabbinical sources and seem to be more dedicated to the details of the traditions. Of the three, Ms. Greene seems to touch me more effectively in her discussion of these traditions than the other two.

All three writers are primarily from the Ashkenazy tradition, although all three also give fair treatment to Sephardic dishes and menus. If you are really interested in Sephardic menus primarily, Ms. Nathan spends much of her space on Sephardic menus.

If you are willing to take a recommendation from a goyem, I recommend Ms. Greene's book most highly, followed by Ms. Nathan's book for her many baking recipes; however, all three are quality books.

Organized by season and offering large dollops of tradition and history along with 200 international recipes for celebrating the Jewish calendar, this is an amazingly complete book.

The Glazer sisters introduce each festival with the history of the foods incorporated into the menu and their spiritual connections. The recipes, which follow, are each accompanied by notes on its roots, historical and familial - which foster a sense of connection and camaraderie as well as providing serving suggestions.

And the recipes! For Rosh Hashanah there's Cornish Hens Stuffed with Bulgur, Raisins and Caraway, Bulgarian Leek Patties, Quince in Spiced Muscat Wine. For Shavuot (Spring Harvest time) there's Pistachio-Coriander Cheese Balls, Classic Cheese Blintzes, Whole Wheatberry Tabbouleh with Biblical (clarified) Butter. And more, lots more.

Whether you're Jewish or not, this is a cookbook to enjoy for its rich heritage as well as its sumptuous, healthful recipes.

Where did the tradition of eating Kreplach on the Purim originate? Why were pomegranates, of all fruit, adopted for the Shehecheyanu on the second day of Rosh Hashana? You'll find all of this information in this cookbook.

Some holiday foods, say the Glazers, have rabbinic sources. For other foods it is a question of putting your prayers where your mouth is, like the Rosh Hashana honey cake for a sweet year. Other foods have become part of the tradition by word association. Carrots, say the Glazers, are associated with Rosh Hashana because the Hebrew word "gezer" is reminiscent of "gzar din" - we should be judged for a good year.

These and many other bits of Jewish food lore make this cookbook not only a treasure of Jewish traditions and a collection of great recipes, but a truly great read. The recipes are conveniently organized in menus and the ingredients are highlighted in red print. Each dish is gender-coded "M" for meat, "D"and "P" in the menu.

Like the Jewish year, The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking starts with Pesach. There is a treasure of 31 Pesach recipes in 40 pages.

The Glazers quote liberally from their mama's Ashkenazi kitchen, but Sephardic folk traditions are not neglected. Maimonides, we are told, suggesting sipping honey water as a 12th century Viagra. Find this tip in the Tu B'Av chapter, the holiday of love.

The foods of the holidays, say the Glazers, are closely entwined with the agricultural growth cycle in the Land of Israel. The fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices that abound in Israel at the time of year were integrated into the lore of the holiday. During the exile from Israel our food traditions continued to be linked to the land of Israel. This is a nice thesis, but I am not so sure about some of her examples.

This Jewish tradition foodbook/cookbook is a book that you'll use in the kitchen or you'll read curled up with on the couch and discover a thing or two about Jewish food traditions.

Only for Jewish Festivals, one of the reviewers said???
Trust me -- once you make the gorgeous & fabulously savory Spinach-Feta Quiche with Fresh Basil; the Melt-in-your Mouth Breakfast Scones,the super-easy, berautiful-to-look-at Chicken with Dates & Twelve Garlic Cloves, the Persian roasted chicken in saffron & lime juice, the Frangelico and hazelnut truffles, honey brownies, brioche French toast, fresh corn casserole --or even the salad of goat cheese & figs, avocados in fresh beet salad, basmatic rice with tree spices & dried fruit -- I could go on and on -- you won't save these recipes just for the festivals. I'm the co-author, and I make the recipes all year round, some for special occasions, some just 'cause I feel like it (and actually, I make the quiche with variations every time I go to a pot-luck!).

This is a truly global-ethnic-healthy Jewish cookbook, influenced as much by our years in Israel (Phyllis is a celebrity culinary writer & consultant in Israel) --as by our own remarkable family heritage. You won't find any calls for margarine, or chemically-created "non-dairy creamer" here -- just incredibly delicious, sensuously pleasing foods in a book that is so rich with lore, you can read it just for the sheer and joyous adventure of it.

I have now tried almost every recipe in this collection. Every one has been absolutely delicious ... Instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the commentaries are wonderful. It is now my favorite present -- my non-Jewish friends who have eaten dinners chez moi with recipes from this collection have also ordered the book!

This is a great book with loads of information.Recipes are easy to follow and have staight forward directions.
I have tried a number of the recipes and they are very good.

As an avid cookbook reader who tends to like reading cookbooks more than actually using them in my kitchen, I can already sense that my life has been subtly changed by this book (a gift from a friend). It's recipes are very simple, using pure & healthy ingredients -- and absolutely delicious. The food actually feels good to eat, and the writing is both sophisticated and accessible. In fact, I've used it every day since it found me! Too often these days, it seems chefs sacrifice something profound when updating traditional recipes and mixing flavors from different cultures. Not so with Phyllis Glazer. The recipes, and the cultures they come from, are really harmonious,a nd in some sense that seems to be what the cookbook is about -- a very grounded spiritual harmony that sees food as a central way of honoring our lives and our traditions. The information about the festivals is new to me, and though I'm not observant, and thought I would skip over much of it, the truth is that the information has really enriched my experience of cooking. The food has meaning. I've spoken with other friends who are more observant, and found that my newfound information has been new to them as well.
My favorite recipe so far has been the Moshe B'Teyvah -- the little marzipan Moses baby in a cradle made out of date w/ pistachios, which I thought I would practice before bringing to a seder. I didn't need to practice at all! They were so easy, and absolutely charming (delicious, too). I also made the champagne-melon-mint soup w/ feta (meant for Tu B'Av) that was ridiculously easy and mouthwatering.

Kudos to the Glazer sisters. They're welcome at my house any time!