Dining in Israel - Food That Reflects Jewish History

Israel is not your average homogeneous country and Israel’s cuisine is not your average homogeneous cuisine. Israel is nation of “olim” (the Hebrew term for Jewish immigrants to Israel) from over 80 countries around the world, and its remarkable ethnic variety is reflected in its colorful cuisine. There are however, a couple of major categories of Israeli cuisine. We can basically categorize it into Ashkenazi food and Sephardic food. Ashkenazi Jews are those of Eastern and Western European stock, and Sephardic basically refers to “oriental” Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.

One of the ubiquitous foods from Sephardic lands is of course falafel, which is one of the most basic culinary experiences in Israel. Falafel, in the variety eaten in most Middle Eastern countries including Israel, are bean balls made of ground chickpeas with spices that are deep fried. They are commonly put into pita bread along with salad and houmos or tehina sauce. It is eaten either as a fast food meal, or as an appetizer in a multicourse meal. It is nearly impossible to avoid falafel in Israel, as you will find it on nearly every street you decide to stroll down.

Possibly even more of a staple than even falafel is homous, a bean paste made from chickpeas, with olive oil or spices on top (commonly zatar, which is a combination of sesame and thyme). It is usually eaten by dipping pita bread into the homous, and is a cherished staple food all over the Middle East. I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that every home in Israel has a container of homous in the fridge.

Another common sephardic food is couscous, originally from the Maghreb countries of North Africa, such as Morrocco and Algeria. Couscous is made up of tiny balls rolled from semolina wheat that are then covered with wheat flour. Similarly to rice, it is utilized as the basis for a wide variety of dishes, with flavour coming from vegetables, meat, sauces, or spices.

One of my personal favorite Israeli snacks is malawach, which was brought to Israel by Yemenite immigrants. It is made of thin pastry layers piled on top of each other, giving it a very dense texture. It is thick and dense texture combined with its soft puffiness make it very chewy, similar to Indian Nan bread but perhaps a little tougher. It is usually drenched in butter or margarine, and is often served with a spicy tomato salsa.

Also very popular is Burekas, a Jewish variation of the Turkish pastry “burak”, filled with cheese, potato, meat, spinach or eggplant.

Like Sephardic dishes, Ashkenazi cuisine often overlaps with non-Jewish cuisine in its country of origin. One of the most basic Ashkenazi dishes is stuffed cabbage, a common meal in Eastern Europe. The cabbages are filled with minced onions and ground meat, and baked in tomato sauce. The Jewish variation of this dish obviously avoids pork in favor of beef and other meats, and brown sugar with lemon juice is added to the tomato sauce to create a sweet and sour flavour.

Another extremely common food from the Ashekenazi tradition is challa. Challa is the special bread eaten on the Sabbath. It is a twisted bread made with eggs and no milk (kosher dietary laws forbid the mixing of milk and meat). This type of challa Sabbath bread originated in Eastern Europe in the 15th century. This is one of the most cherished Jewish foods, and is therefore a ubiquitous part of life in Israel.

There are several other factors affecting the Israeli diet, including the tendency to emphasize lunch as the main meal rather than dinner (this is the norm in much of the Mediterranean region). And of course the Kosher laws of Judaism steer Israeli food away from pork products, from the combining of dairy products and meat, from shellfish, and other violations of kosher laws. And of course Israel is not a brand new country anymore, so there has naturally been a fusion of different traditions to create new dishes that are uniquely Israeli, or new variations that are uniquely Israeli. Israeli food is as dynamic as the nation of Israel, and the Jewish people themselves.

Dining in Israel - Food That Reflects Jewish History