Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
andassuchwasbasedoncaloricproducts—itsmain
ingredientswerecereal,freshfish(especiallyherringor
freshwaterfish),beefandpoultryaswellaslocalseasonal
veggies(onion,carrot,cabbage,cucumbers,beetroots
andpotatoes)andfruit(apples,pears,plums,blueber-
ries).Preparingfoodwasalongprocess,anditwasmainly
servedhot,towarmpeopleuponcolddays.Sephardi
cuisineandthecuisineofOrientalJews,ontheotherhand,
werelinkedtothewarmclimateandaplethoraoffresh
fruitandvegetables.Themainingredientswereoliveoil,
veal,poultry,rice,chickpeas,lentils,yoghurtanddates.
SimilartoothercuisinesoftheMiddleandFarEast,itis
characterisedbyanabundanceofspicesandfreshand
driedherbs.Thediversityofculinarycultureinthediaspora
isalsolinkedtodiferentregionalinterpretationsofreligious
law:theAshkenaziminhag[Hebr:custom]difersfromthe
Sephardione—forexample,whiletheAshkenazicustom
forbidstheconsumptionofcereals,legumes,cornandrice
duringPesach(so-calledkitniyot),intheSepharditradition
theseproductsarebyallmeansallowed.
Thepre-modernhistoryofJewishculinarycultureisalso
ahistoryofcross-culturalexchangeandmigration.One
suchsignificantshiftthatinfluencedJewishculinaryculture
intheMiddleAgeswastheshiftofthecentreofJewish
settlementfromthewesttotheeastaroundthethir-
teenth-fifteenthcenturies,wherebytheAshkenaziculinary
traditiondevelopedinmedievalGermanyandFrance—
includingchallah,chulent,stufedfish—wasenriched
withnewflavoursanddishessuchasborscht,kreplakh,
blintses,bagelsandpickles.Anotherimportanthistorical
eventresultinginculinarymigrationswastheexpulsion
ofSephardiJewsfromSpainandPortugaltowardsthe
endofthefifteenthcentury.HavingsettledinotherEuro-
peancountries(especiallyItalyandtheNetherlands)and
intheMiddleEast,theSephardiJewstransferredtheir
culinaryhabitsthere.Throughmigrations,Jewsmediated
inthetransmissionofculinarytraditionsalsowithinthe
non-Jewishworld,playingtheroleofalinkbetweenthe
ArabandChristianworlds,e.g.intheIberianPeninsula
theyintroducedeggplants(laterreferredtoinEnglishas
“Jewishapple”)ormarzipanintoChristiancuisine.
Thethirdsectionoftheexhibiiton,Modernity,isdedicated
totheyetanotherphaseoftransformationofJewish
culinaryculture—thephaseinwhichitstepsbeyond
religion,localismandcustom.Wepresentreinterpre-
tations,modificationsandattimesalsocontestingthe
culinarytraditionaswellasitssubsequentmigrationsand
fusionswhichweretakingplacefromthebeginningof
thenineteenthcentury.Theexpositiontellsthestoryof
transformationofJewishculinarycultureinthenineteenth
andtwentiethcenturiesalsothroughtheselectedJew-
ishcookbooks,suchastheimmenselypopularKosher
Kitchen:TextbookforEveryJewishHomeOferingAllSorts
ofMethodsofCookingandBakingAlongwithDetailed
MenuandHintsonHowtoOrganiseandRunaJewish
HouseholdbyRebekkaWolf,firstpublishedinGermanin
1855,thePolishversionpublishedin1877.
ThebookbyRebekkaWolfisanexampleofacookbook
writtenundertheinfluenceoftheHaskalah,namelythe
JewishEnlightenment—itstrovetoreconcilereligionwith
socialandcivicengagement.Suchbookscontainedrecipes
whichcompliedwiththerulesofkashrut,yettheygenerally
departedfromtraditionalJewishcuisine,promotingmod-
erndisheswidelyknownamongthenon-Jewishsegment
ofsociety.Meanwhile,TheSettlementCookBook,pub-
lishedin1901,wasthefruitofthemassmigrationofJews
totheUnitedStates.Inadditiontorecipes,itcontained
adescriptionoftheAmericanlifestyle,housekeepingand
theuseofmoderncookingtechniques,intendedtohelp
newimmigrantsadapttonewconditionswithoutgiving
upontheirtraditions.ThebookbyErnaMeyertitledEkh
levashelba-aretsIsrael,publishedin1936,wasaddressed
toimmigrantsinPalestinewhowantedtobuildanew
Jewishstatethere.Theinfluenceofnewtrendsinhygiene,
dieteticsandlifestyleisreflectedinanumberofother
volumes,includingthepioneeringfirstkoshervegetarian
cookbookinPolishandYiddishwrittenbyFaniaLewando
inVilniusin1938.
Inthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcenturymodernityalso
meantnewsituationsandcontextsinwhichculinarycul-
turebegantofunction.Ascafésandrestaurantssprangup
asanexpressionofmetropolitanlifestyle,foodenteredthe
publicspherecarryingnewmeanings—what,whereand
withwhomdoweeat.Newtimesbroughtwiththemnew
challengesposedbyemergingideologiesthatcontested
tradition,transformedlifestylesand,consequently,food
