Israeli Food vs. Jewish American Food: They Are Not the Same Thing

When non-Jewish Americans think of Jewish food, they often think of hummus, falafel, and shakshuka. When American Jews think of Jewish food, they often think of matzah ball soup, brisket, and babka. Both groups are right, and both are describing something different. The cuisine most American Jews call Jewish food is largely Ashkenazi — the food of Jews from Central and Eastern Europe who came to the United States between 1880 and 1924. Brisket slow-braised with onions. Matzah ball soup. Gefilte fish. Kugel. Latkes. Challah. These foods were shaped by what was available in the shtetl: chickens, potatoes, carp, root vegetables that kept through winter. The fat of choice was schmaltz — rendered chicken fat — because pork was forbidden and butter could not be used with meat. Israeli cuisine is a synthesis that emerged from many Jewish communities who came to Israel from across the world — Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East, Sephardic Jews from the Mediterranean, and the Arab Palestinian population whose food traditions were already there. Hummus, falafel, shakshuka, sabich — Israeli food is fundamentally Mediterranean: olive oil, eggplant, chickpeas, fresh herbs, tahini, pomegranate, lamb. The Jewish American deli has no Israeli equivalent. It serves cured meats — pastrami, corned beef, tongue — on rye bread. The pastrami sandwich is an American creation. So is the bagel with lox and cream cheese, which combined the Eastern European bagel with the Scandinavian tradition of smoked salmon in the context of American abundance. Both traditions are worth knowing. Both are worth eating.