Customer Reviews

The New York Times Jewish Cookbook: More than 825 Traditional & Contemporary Recipes from Around the World

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

 

 

The best and worst thing one can say about this book is that it is just a very large collection of ancient and modern recipes whose ingredients and preparation conform to at least conservative Jewish dietary laws. It is very similar to a collection of all English Language published sonnets ranging from Shakespeare to the little old lady in Nebraska who publishes in her local newspaper. Everything has been published and everything follows certain rules, but all connections between the collected items ends there.

This is not an unworthy book. It sort of reminds me of the old Palgraves Golden Treasury of English Poetry, which collected works according to little rhyme or reason, except that the authors were English and wrote in English.

This book has three things going for it.

First is its size. With 825 recipes, someone looking for a recipe to accomplish a particular objective within the kosher rules, they have a good chance of finding one.

Second is the fact that all recipes have been published, but not all have been published in the pages of the New York Times. Some come from recently published books such as Marcus Samuelsons Aquavit. This means that each one has been editorially reviewed by one or more of professional editorial eyes.

Third is the obvious love and care with which the editor(s) have assembled the material. The introductory essays by Mimi Sheraton and Joan Nathan are informative and endearing.

Unfortunately, all sense of cohesiveness stops on the first page of Appetizer recipes. There is no trace of any scholarship which would help sort out the recipes by whether the originating tradition was, for example Ashkanazy or Sephardic.

The Chapters dividing the recipes are:

Appetizers
Soups
Fish
Poultry
Meat
Vegetables
Grains, Legumes, and Pasta
Salads
Light Fare for Brunch and Lunch
Trimmings, Savory and Sweet
Breads, Rolls, Bagels, and Matzohs
Desserts

There is no sense in which Jewish traditional food forms a cuisine in the same sense that Morocco or Turkey or Iran have a distinctive cuisine. Jewish food is an overlay on the existing cuisine of the region.

This is a very worthy book if you have few cookbooks and are in need of a more diverse selection of kosher recipes. It is interesting that there is no statement in the book saying that the validity of the kosher nature of the recipes has not been certified by any rabbinical authority. And note that a kosher recipe can easily be made non-kosher by using non-kosher ingredients. A reasonable price for a lot of recipes. If you want a more measured look at Jewish Cooking, check out Claudia Roden's book on the subject and her book on Middle Eastern food.

I put on 8 lbs. just reading one chapter. Like most endeavors of the NYT, it is both authoritative and encyclopedic in scope. While it sticks maily to traditional Kosher and Jewish dishes, it shows some respect for Israeli cooking, usually given short shrift in "American Kosher" cookbooks.

It's failure, however, is one of overload, both in many of the recipies themselves, and in the number of inclusions. It gives insufficient weight to weight itself!! With so many of its readers and users in the constant battle of the waistline (and tushline), it provides little encouragement to minimalists and moderationists (new word, coined this morning).

Best read during the 2 hour break in services on Yom Kippur

Fabulous, I've tried a number of recipes all have been a hit. I highly recommend this cookbook.

WITH OVER 825 RECIPES FROM AROUND THE WORLD THIS COOK BOOK BROUGHT BACK MANY MEMORIES OF THINGS MY BUBBIE MADE FOR ME AS I WAS GROWING UP IN BROOKLYN N.Y. THE FEW I HAVE TRIED SO FAR WERE LIP SMAKING

I use this book as an instrument of work and it is very helpfull. Is one of the book I own I can trust.

I purchased the book for one recipe - Chicken Fricassee with Meatballs but to my surprise there are many, many great recipes in this book. My mother-in-law had such a great Chicken Fricassee recipe and I was always going to write it down but never did. Now that she is gone my sister-in-law and I are trying to recreate her recipe. I have the consistency and she has the taste so I hope the recipe in the cookbook will help us achieve our goal so that I can pass the recipe on to my daughter.

I just got the book today it has tons of recipes I am just disappointed that there are no pictures in the book. The recipes are great reminding me back to the day of childhood.But I found many other Jewish cook books with these same recipes in them at cheaper price with pictures! Look around for other Jewish cookbooks on amazon. You will find a few. Unfortunately I did that after I bought this expensive book when I found out this has not 1 picture in it. This Cookbook is expensive and for the price it should at least have pictures. I rate it 3 stars but I accidentally hit the 4 star rating.