List of Jewish cuisine dishes

Last updated August 14, 2024

Below is a list of dishes found in Jewish cuisine .

Traditional Ashkenazi dishes

Ashkenazi Jews are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland in the west of Germany.^[1] Ashkenazim or Ashkenazi Jews are literally referring to "German Jews." Many Ashkenazi Jews later migrated, largely eastward, forming communities in non German-speaking areas, including Bohemia (Czech Republic), Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Belarus, and elsewhere between the 10th and 19th centuries. As many of these countries share similar dishes, and were occupied by the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires until the end of World War I, the place where the dish originated is uncertain.

Name	Origin	Description
Babka	Eastern Europe	Cinnamon and chopped nuts or Chocolate swirled into a challah (egg) bread/cake.
Bagel	Poland	Circle of boiled and baked yeast bread
Bialy	Poland	Similar to the bagel, but without the hole, filled with onions and other ingredients before baking
Blintz	Russia, Ukraine, Hungary	Thin egg pancake wrapped around a sweet mixture of farmer's cheese, potato, or fruit pie filling, similar to a crêpe, but with the ends tucked in and fried again in butter; often served with sour cream.
Brisket	Central and Eastern Europe	Braised meat from the chest area of a cow
Bublitchki	Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania	Mini hard bagel-shaped sweet breads, commonly eaten with tea or coffee.
Challah	Southern Germany	Braided egg bread
Charoset		Apple and nut dish generally served at Passover
Chicken soup		A traditional soup for the Sabbath evening dinner, usually spiced with parsley and/or dill, and served with kneidlach or kreplach and vegetables.
Cholent/Chamin		A slow-cooked stew of meat, potatoes, beans and barley often served on the Sabbath
Chopped liver		Chopped or minced roasted beef or chicken liver, mixed with hard boiled eggs, onions, and spices.
Chrain	Europe	Pickled chopped horseradish, sometimes with beets.
Eyerlekh		Unlaid eggs found inside just-slaughtered chickens, typically cooked in soup
Farfel		Small pellet-shaped egg pasta. A Passover version made from matzo is called matzo farfel.
Gedempte fleisch		Ashkenazic pot roast, traditionally made with beef, various vegetables, tomato paste, and spices.
Gefilte fish	Central and Eastern Europe	Originally a stuffed fish, filled with a mixture of chopped fish, eggs, onions, matzo meal or crumbs, and spices. Nowadays, it usually refers to poached fish cakes or a fish loaf, sometimes made with matzo meal
Goulash	Hungary	Spicy meat stew
Gribenes		Chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions, a kosher food somewhat similar to pork rinds. A byproduct of the preparation of schmaltz by rendering chicken or goose fat.
Hamantashen		Triangular pastry filled with poppy seed or prune paste, or fruit jams, eaten during Purim
Helzel		Stuffed poultry neck skin. Stuffing typically includes flour, semolina, matzo meal or bread crumbs, schmaltz, fried onions and spices.
Holishkes Huluptzes	Europe	Stuffed cabbage or cabbage roll: cabbage leaves rolled around a mixture of rice and meat, baked with tomatoes
Kasha	Russia, Ukraine	Buckwheat groats cooked in water (like rice) and mixed with oil and sometimes fried onions and mushrooms
Kasha varnishkas	Russia, Ukraine	A combined dish of kasha with noodles, typically farfalle.
Kichel		A cookie commonly made with egg and sugar rolled out flat and cut into large diamond shapes. Although sweet they are typically eaten with a savoury dip or topping.
Kishke		Beef intestines, stuffed with a mixture of matzah meal, spices and shmaltz, and boiled (like a sausage).
Kneidlach, matzah ball	Pale of Settlement	Dumpling made of matzah meal, eggs, and traditionally schmaltz, generally boiled and served in a chicken soup stock.
Knish	Pale of Settlement	A kind of turnover, filled with one or more of the following: mashed potato, ground meat, sauerkraut, onions, kasha (buckwheat groats) or cheese, and baked or deep fried.
Kreplach		Boiled dumpling similar to pierogi or gyoza, filled with meat or mashed potatoes and served in chicken broth
Kremzalech	Holland	A potato and shredded chicken pattie fried in oil, typically made for Passover
Kugel		Baked sweet or savory casserole made of noodles or potatoes with vegetables, fruits, fresh cheese, or other items
Latkes (Potato pancake)		Fried potato pancakes, usually eaten at Hanukkah with sour cream or apple sauce.
Lekach Honey cake		Sponge cake with honey, cinnamon and tea.
Lokshen kugel	Poland	A sweet baked noodle dish often made with egg noodles, curd cheese, raisins, egg, salt, cinnamon, sugar, sour cream, and butter. Other versions are made without dairy ingredients and with other fruits such as apples.
Lox		Thin slices of cured salmon fillet
Macaroons		Sweet egg and almond/coconut cookies usually made Kosher for Passover.
Mandelbrot (cookie)	Russia, Ukraine	Hard, baked almond bread like Italian biscotti. (Also called mandel bread.)
Mandlach		Home-made "soup almonds" (soup mandel, soup nuts)
Matzah brei		A Passover breakfast dish made of roughly broken pieces of matzah soaked in beaten eggs and fried.
Miltz		Spleen, often stuffed with matzah meal, onions, and spices.
Onion rolls (Pletzlach)		Flattened rolls of bread strewn with poppy seeds and chopped onion and kosher salt.
Pastrami	Romania	Smoked spiced deli meat used in sandwiches, e.g. "pastrami on rye".
Pickled herring (Silodka)	Russia, Ukraine	Pickled deboned herring with onions; also mixed with sour cream.
Pletzel		Unrisen flatbread with sparse savoury toppings like onion
P'tcha (Galareta)	Turkey	Calves foot jelly
Rugelach	Poland	Flaky pastry spread with cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips or jam, rolled, and baked.
Shlishkes	Hungary	A twisted dumpling made with a potato dough (similar to gnocchi but for the shape) and covered with butter and breadcrumbs.
Schmaltz		Rendered goose or chicken fat (grease)
Schnitzel	Austria	Pounded cutlets of meat dipped in egg and crumbs or matzo meal and fried. Traditionally made with veal, it is nowadays usually made with boneless chicken breast.
Sorrel soup	Eastern Europe	Also known as shchav, green borscht or green shchi, it is made from broth or water, sorrel leaves, and salt. Varieties of the same soup include spinach, garden orache, chard, nettle, and occasionally dandelion, goutweed or ramsons, together with or instead of sorrel. It may include further ingredients such as egg yolks or whole eggs, potatoes, carrots, parsley root, and rice.
Soup mandel		See also mandelach
Sufganiot		Fried doughnuts, generally eaten at Hanukkah in Israel
Teiglach	Lithuania	Small sweet boiled pastries
Tzimmes		Sweet stew of carrots and yams, sometimes with raisins or other dried fruit such as prunes or apricots. It is usually vegetarian but can also be made with beef.
Vareniki	Ukraine
Vorschmack	Russia, Ukraine	Also known as gehakte herring, chopped herring or herring butter. Strong tasting creamy herring spread, served on crackers or bread. Commonly used as a spread.
Yapchik	Hungary, Poland	Yapchik is a potato-based Ashkenazi Jewish meat dish similar to both cholent and kugel, and of Hungarian Jewish and Polish Jewish origin. It is considered a comfort food, and yapchik has increased in popularity over the past decade, especially among members of the Orthodox Jewish community in North America.

Sephardi and Mizrahi dishes

This section makes reference to the cuisine of the Jews from the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Sephardim are a subgroup of Jews originating in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). After being expelled from Spain and Portugal, they resettled in the Mediterranean basin, most prominently in Turkey, Greece, Morocco and Algeria.

Mizrahim is an umbrella term for the Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Persian speaking Jewish communities from the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Although Mizrahi Jews are not descended from the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula, they are also called Sephardi to contrast them to the Ashkenazi culture and religious rites.

As in the case of Ashkenazi cuisine, the place of birth of the recipes of the Sephardi and Mizrahi cuisine is generally uncertain.

Name	Origin	Description
Adafina	Spain	a version of hamin popular among Spanish Jews
Baba ghanoush	The Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Middle East, Jordan)	Broiled eggplant mixed with garlic, lemon, tahini, and spices. Israeli Baba Ganouj is made with mayonnaise instead of tahini and is sometimes called salat hatzilim (eggplant salad).
Baklava	Turkey	Sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts, drizzled with syrup or honey
Bourekas	Turkey, Greece, Algeria, Tunisia	Small parcels of flakey pastry, filled with either cheese, potatoes, mushrooms or spinach, then baked or fried
Carciofi alla giudia	Italy	a deeply fried artichoke
Couscous	Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia	Crushed durum wheat semolina, steamed and served with vegetable or meat soup or stew
Falafel	Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon ^[2]^[3]	Deep fried chickpea balls.
Fazuelos	Morocco	Pastries of thin fried dough.
Gondi	(Iran, Azerbaijan & Dagestan)	Ground chickpea and chicken ball, seasoned with cardamom, cooked and served as a traditional Persian and a Caucasian soup.
Hamin		a Sephardi or Israeli version of cholent
Hummus	Egypt, the Levant and Turkey	Dip made of mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and paprika
Israeli salad	Arab salad (mostly popular in the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Middle East, Jordan)	Chopped cucumber and tomato cold dish, often served for breakfast
Jachnun	Yemen	Thinly rolled out dough, brushed with butter, oil, or margarine, rolled up like strudel and baked
Jerusalem mixed grill	Israel	It consists of chicken hearts, spleens and liver mixed with bits of lamb cooked on a flat grill, seasoned with onion, garlic, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, olive oil and coriander.^[4]
Kubba	Iraq	Round or oval savory croquettes made of semolina or bulghur [cracked wheat] dough, filled with minced onions and spicy minced lean meat (beef, lamb, goat or camel meat) and served raw, fried or cooked in savory sauce.
Kubba Bamia	Iraq	A stew made of semolina kubba, okra cooked in tomato sauce.
Kubba Shwandar	Iraq	A stew of semolina kubba cooked with beet
Kubba Matfuniya	Iraq	Ball-shaped kubba
Kubba Hamusta	Iraq	A stew of semolina kubba cooked in sour sauce
Mafrum	Libya	A stuffed vegetable dish made from root vegetables, typically potatoes, filled with ground meat and then fried and simmered in a tomato-based sauce.
Ma'amoul	The Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Middle East, Jordan	Date filled cookies
Malawach	Yemen	A flaky fried bread, similar to puff pastry, made by folding multiple layers of thin dough with butter, then cooking in a hot skillet.
Mofletta	Morocco	A thin crêpe made from water, flour and oil, traditionally eaten during the Mimouna celebration, the day after Passover. Mofletta is usually served with honey syrup
Oshi sabo/Oshi savo	Uzbekistan	the hamin of Bukharan Jews
Pita	Middle East	is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas.
Ravikos	Turkey, Italy	Slow-braised spinach stems, cooked in broth or water.
Sabich	Iraq	A sandwich of spiced eggplant with hard boiled egg and pickles.
Sambusac	The Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Middle East, Jordan), Turkey, Egypt	Savory fried pastries made from flakey dough, similar to samosas, usually filled with chickpea paste or meat.
Shakshuka	Algeria, Libya, Tunisia	Eggs sauteed in a spicy tomato sauce
Tabouleh	Lebanon	Bulghur wheat mixed with parsley and other vegetables in a cold salad.
Tebit	Iraq	the hamin of Iraqi Jews

Related Research Articles

SephardicJews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the Iberian Peninsula. The term, which is derived from the Hebrew Sepharad, can also refer to the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa, who were also heavily influenced by Sephardic law and customs. Many Iberian Jewish exiled families also later sought refuge in those Jewish communities, resulting in ethnic and cultural integration with those communities over the span of many centuries. The majority of Sephardim live in Israel.

Mizrahi Jews, also known as Mizrahim (מִזְרָחִים) or Mizrachi (מִזְרָחִי) and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or Edot HaMizrach, are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jewish communities that lived in the Muslim world. Mizrahi is a political sociological term that was coined with the creation of the State of Israel. It translates as "Easterner" in Hebrew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schmaltz</span> Rendered chicken or goose fat

Schmaltz is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, latkes, matzah brei, chopped liver, matzah balls, fried chicken, and many others, as a cooking fat, spread, or flavor enhancer.

Kugel is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbos and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it for Thanksgiving dinner.

Jewish ethnic divisions refer to many distinctive communities within the world's Jewish population. Although considered a self-identifying ethnicity, there are distinct ethnic subdivisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the result of geographic branching from an originating Israelite population, mixing with local communities, and subsequent independent evolutions.

Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions centred around Shabbat. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the entire world.

Cholent or Schalet is a traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew in Jewish cuisine that was developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and later Germany, and is first mentioned in the 12th century. It is related to and is thought to have been derived from hamin, a similar Sabbath stew that emerged in Spain among Sephardic Jews and made its way to France by way of Provence.

Italian Jews or Roman Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the Italian liturgy as distinct from those Jewish communities in Italy dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardic liturgy or the Nusach Ashkenaz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amba (condiment)</span> Mango pickle condiment

Amba or anba is a tangy mango pickle condiment of Baghdadi Jewish origin. It is typically made of pickled green mangoes, vinegar, salt, turmeric, chilies, and fenugreek. It is somewhat similar to savoury mango chutneys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bourekas</span> Filled pastry in Sephardic Jewish cuisine

Bourekas or burekas are a popular baked pastry in Sephardic Jewish cuisine and Israeli cuisine. A variation of the burek, a popular pastry throughout southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East, Israeli bourekas are made in a wide variety of shapes and a vast selection of fillings, and are typically made with either puff pastry, filo dough, or brik pastry, depending on the origin of the baker.

Sephardic Jewish cuisine, belonging to the Sephardic Jews—descendants of the Jewish population of the Iberian Peninsula until their expulsion in 1492—encompassing traditional dishes developed as they resettled in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and the Mediterranean, including Jewish communities in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Syria, as well as the Sephardic community in the Land of Israel. It may also refer to the culinary traditions of the Western Sephardim, who settled in Holland, England, and from these places elsewhere. The cuisine of Jerusalem, in particular, is considered predominantly Sephardic.

Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine. It also blends together the culinary traditions of the various diaspora groups, namely those of Middle Eastern Jews with roots in Southwest Asia and North Africa, Sephardi Jews from Iberia, and Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe.

Mizrahi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Mizrahi Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Influenced by the diverse local culinary practices of countries such as Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and Syria, Mizrahi cuisine prominently features rice, legumes, meats, and an array of spices such as cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Signature dishes include kubbeh (dumplings), pilafs, grilled meats, and stews like hamin.

Syrian Jewish cuisine is the cuisine of Syrian Jews. Although almost all Jews left Syria by 2016, their cuisine has been preserved in books and family recipes.

American Jewish cuisine comprises the food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews. It was heavily influenced by the cuisine of Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th century. It was further developed in unique ways by the immigrants and their descendants, especially in New York City and other large metropolitan areas of the northeastern U.S.

Ethiopian Jewish cuisine is the cuisine of the Beta Israel. The cuisine of the Ethiopian Jews is similar to the cuisine of other Ethiopians, with some variations.

Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Central, Eastern, Northwestern and Northern Europe, and their descendants, particularly in the United States and other Western countries.

Pilpelchuma, also spelled pilpelshuma, is a chilli-garlic paste similar to a hot sauce originating from the Libyan Jews and commonly used in Israeli cuisine.

Lokshen, also known as Itriyot, locshen, lockshen, or Jewish egg noodles, is the common name of a range of Ashkenazi Jewish egg noodles that are commonly used in a variety of Jewish dishes including chicken soup, kugel, kasha varnishkes, lokshen mit kaese, and as a side dish to Jewish brisket, sweet and sour meat balls, apricot chicken, and many other dishes. They may also be served with melted butter or a simple tomato sauce. In the United States, lokshen are also used as the basis for various casseroles and baked dishes including tuna noodle casserole, and both sweet and savory lokshen kugels.

References

↑ Mosk, Carl (2013). Nationalism and economic development in modern Eurasia. New York: Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 9780415605182. In general the Ashkenazi originally came out of the Holy Roman Empire, speaking a version of German that incorporates Hebrew and Slavic words, Yiddish.
↑ McDonaldization: The Reader p.387
↑ Guttman, Vered (April 24, 2012). "No Matter Where It Originated, Falafel Is Still Israel's National Food". Haaretz. Retrieved February 17, 2023. Israelis who argue falafel is their own face strong objections from Egyptians, Palestinians and Lebanese, who themselves claim to be the sole owners of these fried chickpea balls.
↑ Daniel Rogov (2007-03-22). "Dining Out / Mixed Jerusalem grill in Tel Aviv". Haaretz. Retrieved 2013-03-20.

External links

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[Mosk-1] Mosk, Carl (2013). Nationalism and economic development in modern Eurasia. New York: Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 9780415605182. In general the Ashkenazi originally came out of the Holy Roman Empire, speaking a version of German that incorporates Hebrew and Slavic words, Yiddish.

[2] McDonaldization: The Reader p.387

[3] Guttman, Vered (April 24, 2012). "No Matter Where It Originated, Falafel Is Still Israel's National Food". Haaretz. Retrieved February 17, 2023. Israelis who argue falafel is their own face strong objections from Egyptians, Palestinians and Lebanese, who themselves claim to be the sole owners of these fried chickpea balls.

[haaretz1-4] Daniel Rogov (2007-03-22). "Dining Out / Mixed Jerusalem grill in Tel Aviv". Haaretz. Retrieved 2013-03-20.

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