09 Aug
Latest, Zoominars

Let’s Get “Nosh-talgic” with Rachel Packer

Jewish traditions and food have always gone hand-in-hand. From celebrating the holidays to mourning the passing of a loved one, food not only provides nourishment but comforts us as well. Join Rachel Packer, founder of MatzoBall Fitness, for a conversation about the love language of Jewish food and food as an expression of the Jewish soul. She also discusses “poverty cuisine” and how many of the traditional dishes we enjoy today were created out of the meager staples available to Jews at the time.

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23 Sep
Culture, Food, History

Jane Ziegelman on Food and the American Story

97 Orchard, by Jane Ziegelman, tells the story of five immigrant families living on Manhattan's Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century. The stories of these Irish, Italian, German and Jewish families emerge through the food they cooked and the struggles they faced. Ziegelman chatted with Moment about American food, Jewish food and the place of immigrants in the American story. What was the inspiration for 97 Orchard? The inspiration was the tenement itself. A while back, when I was a graduate student at NYU studying urban anthropology, I heard that this new museum was opening on the Lower East Side devoted to America’s urban pioneers, immigrants who settled in tenement districts on the Lower East Side. I worked as a volunteer collecting oral histories from former tenement dwellers. They needed people to go...

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22 Jun
Culture

Stay Salty, Smoked Salmon

by Theodore Samets Growing up, I was scared of lox. Well, at least I thought it was lox. Turned out, the slimy, pinkish orange, cold fish I abhorred—but have come to love—wasn’t lox at all, as my parents called it. It was nova. As I grew older, I fell in love with the stuff. But in rural Vermont, where I grew up, it can be hard to find anything but pre-packaged “smoked Atlantic salmon,” $5.99 for a four-ounce package. Then, a few weeks before my bar mitzvah, friends of my parents brought some fresh lox back from Montreal. It looked the same as smoked salmon, but boy was it different. I was a man; it was time to give up kids’ fish and move to the grownup version. I had been introduced to belly lox, and life would never be...

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22 Dec
Culture, Latest

Montreal Bagels Do It Better

by Lily Hoffman Simon The Mile End neighborhood in Montreal was the heart of the Canadian Jewish immigrant community. The region brought bagels and smoked meat to Canada and beyond, giving new life to Jewish food. The legacy of this Montreal Jewish community is now hitting New York, with the opening of Mile End, a delicatessen in Brooklyn based on the renowned Jewish cuisine of Montreal. The opening of this deli is more than just a tribute to Jewish Canadian roots, however—it also reflects the tendency to turn elements of Diaspora culture into trendy, consumable commodities. Mile End, the restaurant, is a hot topic among North American Jewry, inspiring mentions in Tablet magazine and The New York Times, among other publications. The Montreal community is excited as well, claiming that the restaurant’s opening marks the validation of...

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30 Nov
Culture, Latest, Moment Magazine

Recipe: Bumuelos In Red Wine Sauce

Here's another great Hanukkah recipe.  Jews of Spanish origin developed bumuelos or buñuelos—fritters or pancakes fried in olive oil and dipped in honey or sugar syrup or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar—as sweet Hanukkah treats.  Here's a modern take on the Sephardi classic! BUMUELOS IN RED WINE  SAUCE Makes about 14-15 (Serve 2-3 per portion) For the Bumuelos: 1 cup water ½ cup butter Pinch salt 2 teaspoons sugar 1 ½ cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour 4 eggs Canola oil for frying For the Red Wine Sauce: 2 cups sugar ⅔ cup dry red wine 2 cinnamon sticks 4 whole cloves Prepare the Red Wine sauce first: Mix the ingredients together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the syrup thickens to the consistency of honey. Keep warm....

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