As she reached across the empty seat between us, her sleeve inched
up her forearm. There, tattooed in black were a series of numbers from a time long ago, a
time without latkes.
As we departed the plane, I said, "When I get home I'll make your latkes Esther."
"Kaddishel, Bob," she responded, "Kaddishel."
I was to learn later that a Jewish son is affectionately referred to as "my Kaddish," the one
who will say Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, for me.
- Robert Golling Jr., "A World Without Latkes"
Most of us don't have a very clear concept of the meaning of the phrase, "kosher". We are
pretty sure it has to do with the fact that some observant Jews don't eat bacon, but
aside from that, our understanding is a little fuzzy. It is actually very complicated. For
someone who observes a kosher diet, kosher dietary laws or kashruth affect every
aspect of his or her relationship with food - what kind of food is eaten, how it is prepared,
when it is prepared, when it is eaten and even the relationship between different
types of food.
Jewish dietary laws can be very complex, but basically center around two main issues: what
types of foods are forbidden or treif (usually some variety of meat) and the
separation of meat and dairy products.
Kosher Jews follow guidelines for what types of meat they can eat that come from the Old
Testament books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, which lists 42 types of animal that are
forbidden. They are allowed to eat any four legged animal that has a split or cloven
hoof AND chews a cud - so cows, for instance are all right, at least in theory (there are
several levels of complexity to this), but pigs are not; their hooves are split, but they don't
chew a cud. Creatures that crawl, like snakes, lizards and mice are forbidden (though why
that should even be an issue is anybody's guess - yuck). Birds are fine, so long as they are
not birds of prey or scavengers, so chickens and ducks can be kosher, but owls and
vultures can't. "Fish" - and this phrase seems to apply to any animal that lives in water -
are fine, so long as they have both fins and scales - herring is fine; catfish and lobster are
not.
In addition, the animal to be eaten has to be slaughtered in a particular ritual way. The
animal has to be killed as gently as possible according to very specific guidelines, by having
its throat cut in a single stroke. The animal can not have any wounds or blemishes of any
sort, so this eliminates any type of wild game, which can not be taken completely
unharmed. (There IS such a thing as kosher venison, by the way. It comes from deer that
have been raised domestically on kosher deer farms.)
Kosher guidelines were drawn up in the Middle-East several thousand years ago and can
sometimes be tricky to apply to modern diets. Very few of us for instance, will ever be
confronted with the possibility of eating a weasel, which is forbidden, while the Old
Testament is frustratingly vague on the subject of microwave chicken nuggets. There is
some controversy right now for instance, regarding the status of ostrich meat. It comes
from a bird (good) but one that eats small animals like mice and lizards from time to time,
and so might be considered a bird of prey (bad). "It can get VERY complicated," says
Paul Gordon, Interim Rabbi of Congregation Ahavas Achim in Keene. "In theory, a
giraffe is kosher, but you'd have to find a way to talk it into coming to the butcher with you
willingly and then find a rabbi who could cut its throat in the proper ritual manner while
standing on a stepladder."
The other main tenant of kosher law is one that forbids the mixing of meat and dairy
products. In the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, Moses warned the Jewish people not
to "seethe a kid in its mother's milk". Over the centuries, this has come to mean a complete
separation of meat and dairy. Many kosher kitchens are divided in half, with separate
facilities and utensils - one half used for the preparation of meat (flayshik) and one
half for the preparation of foods involving dairy (milchik). Meat and dairy may not
be consumed at the same meal. They can't even be mixed in a person's belly; a diner must
wait a certain period of time between meals. Fortunately, many foods are neither
milchik or flayshik. Grains, beans, vegetables - in fact, most foods - are
considered pareveh or dietetically neutral.
Kashruth has been described as the most elaborate system of dietary regulation ever
worked out by any group of human beings. But even ordinary standards of
kashruth pale in complexity beside the rigors of Passover cooking. Passover - the
Jewish holiday that celebrates the emancipation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt - is the
most important holiday in the Jewish calendar, and calls for an additional, very rigid set of
kosher rules. This is what the phrase "Kosher For Passover" means.
Passover Kashruth centers around one passage in Exodus (12:15) that states,
"Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out
of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh
day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel." Kosher law calls for observant Jews to clean
their kitchens from top to bottom on the first day of Passover, eliminating any bread
product, or any flour or grain that might conceivably be used to make leavened bread -
flour, grains, corn, beans, rice, etc... The only permissible bread product during the 8 days
of Passover is an unleavened product called matzo. It is made in particular kosher
factories under very stringent conditions - among other things, the baker (who is usually a
rabbi) has only 18 minutes from the moment he starts mixing the dough to complete the
baking; anything that hasn't completed baking by 18:01 has to be thrown out. "This
restriction is taken with great seriousness," says Gordon. "All the machinery needs to be
broken down, cleaned and re-blessed before they can bake another batch of matzo. It
takes months to produce the matzo that will be used during Passover week."
Passover is a very important feast and calls for very special, festive foods, but at the same
time, many of the staples of normal cooking are denied to kosher cooks at this time. They
have been forced to become very inventive over the centuries. Matzo - the only kosher
bread product available - is used in almost every dish in some form, either whole, crushed
or ground into baking "flour". Eggs are used extensively. They give richness to foods and
are used as a substitute for leavening in baked goods. "When you whip egg whites," says
Gordon, "you're not actually leavening the food - there is no yeast involved - you're just
adding air." Egg whites fluff up and add volume to the food, while egg yolks add
substance and richness.
Here are four traditional Passover dishes:
Potato-Matzo Kugel
At the most general level kugel is a pudding made of starch smoothed out with fat and
seasoned with spices and - usually - onions At Pesach(Passover) it was natural for
cooks to add matzo to the starch component of kugels.
2 to 2 1/2 lbs potatoes, peeled
2 onions, peeled
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup matzo meal
1/2 cup vegetable oil, shmaltz(chicken fat), or margarine
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil the inside of a 2-quart gratin or other baking dish.
Grate the potatoes and onions in a processor in batches, and as each batch is done, place in
a strainer set over a bowl. Squeeze as much moisture as you can from the potatoes and
onions, then put the vegetables in a mixing bowl. Pour off the liquid in the bowl, being
careful to keep the thick starch sticking to the bottom. add this starch to the potatoes and
onions along with the eggs, matzo meal, oil (or shmaltz or margarine), and salt and pepper.
Stir well. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until the
kugel is browned and bubbling. Makes 8 servings.
- From The Jewish-American Kitchen, by Raymond Sokolov
Cheese Latkes
4 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
8 ounces farmer cheese (1 cup)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup matzo meal
Vegetable oil, butter, or margarine for frying
Cinnamon
Beat the eggs and sugar for a few minutes, until pale and increased somewhat in volume.
Beat in the farmer cheese. Add the butter, vanilla extract, and salt. slowly stir in enough
matzo meal to make a batter that holds together.
In a heavy skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil (or butter or margarine). Drop the batter by
tablespoonfuls into the hot oil. Flatten the pancakes slightly with the back of a spoon. Fry
for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side; flip and fry the second side for about 3 minutes. Don't
crowd the pan and add more fat to the skillet as needed. Drain the latkes on paper towels
and serve sprinkled with cinnamon. Pass sour cream and/or jam separately. Makes 18 to
20 latkes.
- From The Jewish-American Kitchen, by Raymond Sokolov
Matzo Balls (Knoedel)
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup melted shortening
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
1 cup matzo meal
Combine eggs with water, melted shortening, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add matzo meal
and stir thoroughly. Let stand 20 minutes. Form into balls and drop into soup, or into 1
1/2 quarts boiling water to which 1 tablespoon salt has been added. Cook 20 minutes.
serves 6.
Variations: Chopped parsley, chopped liver, chopped nuts, or marrow may be added to
the mixture.
- From The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook by Anne London and Bertha Kahn
Bishov
Jewish cooking is not known for it's lightness, and at Passover, when food is made to be as
rich as possible, watch out! Lovers of rich deserts will adore the following cake, if they
aren't immediately stricken dead by cholesterol poisoning:
Sponge Cake (12 eggs)
1 cup cake (matzo) meal
1/4 cup potato starch
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 (Yes, 1 dozen! -jf) eggs, separated
1 lemon rind
1/2 glass orange juice
Sift together cake meal and potato starch. Add sugar to well beaten yolks. Add grated
lemon rind and orange juice. Fold in sifted meal. Mix well. Fold in stiffly beaten egg
whites. Bake 1 hour in slow oven (325 degrees).
- From The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook by Anne London and Bertha Kahn
Bishov
