The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York [Hardcover]

Claudia Roden, author of The Book of Jewish Food, has done more than simply compile a cookbook of Jewish recipes--she has produced a history of the Jewish diaspora, told through its cuisine. The book's 800 recipes reflect many cultures and regions of the world, from the Jewish quarter of Cairo where Roden spent her childhood to the kitchens of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Both Ashkenazi and Sepharidic cooking are well represented here: hallah bread, bagels, blintzes, and kugels give way to tabbouleh, falafel, and succulent lamb with prunes, which are, in turn, succeeded by such fare as Ftut (Yemeni wedding soup) and Kahk (savory bracelets).

Interwoven throughout the text are Roden's charming asides--the history of certain foods, definitions (Kaimak, for instance, is the cream that rises to the top when buffalo milk is simmered), and ways of preparing everything from an eggplant to a quince. In addition, Roden tells you everything you've ever wanted to know about Jewish dietary laws, what the ancient Hebrews ate, and the various holidays and festivals on the Jewish calendar. Detailed sections on Jewish history are beautifully illustrated with archival photographs of families, towns, and, of course, food. The Book of Jewish Food is one that any serious cook--Jewish and non-Jewish alike--would gladly have (and use often) in the kitchen.

As the biblical echo of the title indicates, this collection is as instructive and comprehensive as a textbook. Roden (Mediterranean Cookery, etc.) divides the territory in two parts: "The Ashkenazi World" and "The Sephardi World." She chronicles the lives of Jews all over the world in short segments on unusual Jewish communities past and present, such as those of Salonika, Greece, and China. These sections, and the many other notes on subjects ranging from the New York Deli to salt herring are gems. Recipes are numerous and diverse: Yellow Split Pea Soup with Frankfurters, Pumpkin Tzimmes, Small Red Kidney Beans with Sour Plum Sauce, Cold Stuffed Vine Leaves, and Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce. Some highlights include the chapter on Sephardic breads (Algerian Anise Bread, North African Sweet Breads with Nuts and Raisins) and the one on Ashkenazic desserts (Mandelbrot, Hanukah Jam Doughnuts). All of this can be a little overwhelming at times (and, as Roden acknowledges in the introduction, many Jewish foods simply reflected the cuisines of the places where Jews were living rather than their own specific culture). Yet with few omissions (e.g., the instructions for making pasta specify rolling out the dough "as thin as possible" but don't explain how), Roden proves a practiced, reliable guide.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Roden (Good Food of Italy, LJ 10/15/90) is an authority on Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. Her exhaustively researched and impressive new book is obviously a labor of love. Born in Egypt, she offers a wide-ranging exploration of Jewish culture and food, with more than 800 recipes from Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews all over the world. She begins with an extensive introductory section on Jewish identity, kosher laws, biblical history, and holy and holidays, then deals separately with Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Faced with dozens of versions of both traditional and unusual dishes from different communities, she sought to present the best, whether from a scholar in the Middle East or from a housewife in London; for some dishes, however, she gives more than one recipe, along with variations. The text is packed with sidebars and boxes on cultural history, culinary anthropology, and other relevant topics. Other good books on Jewish cooking that appeared recently include Gil Mark's The World of Jewish Cooking (LJ 9/96) and Robert Sternberg's The Sephardic Kitchen (LJ 9/96), but Roden's is a far more ambitious work, invaluable as both a cookbook and a reference. Essential.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"The Bible of Jewish Food" could serve equally well as a title for this masterful historical, sociological, religious, and culinary compendium of Jewish eating habits across the millennia. Claudia Roden has already proved her abilities with her dissertations on Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and regional Italian cookery, but this volume may well prove her magnum opus. Roden's ambition to make Jewish food understandable and accessible to Gentile readers is evident in the book's subtitle. Her discourse on cholent, the traditional Sabbath food left to cook overnight so that prohibitions against Sabbath work might not be violated, demonstrates both her erudition and her kitchen skills. She recounts cholent's similarities to French cassoulet and is uncompromising in her insistence on cholesterol-laden marrow bones as essential to the dish's characteristic richness. Roden's established mastery of Middle Eastern cooking lends authority to her exposition of Sephardic Jewish cooking's variant approach to the concept of kosher. As always, Roden's recipes are clear, her cooking instructions easy to follow. Very highly recommended. Mark Knoblauch

A monumental work--the story of the Jewish people told through the story of Jewish cooking--The Book of Jewish Food traces the development of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish communities and their cuisine over the centuries. The 800 magnificent recipes, many never before documented, represent treasures garnered bu Roden through nearly 15 years of traveling around the world. 50 photos & illustrations.