Israeli cuisine
Encyclopedia
Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes by Jews
native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel
by Jews from the Diaspora
. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel
in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine
has developed.
Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of various styles of Jewish cuisine
, particularly the Mizrahi
, Sephardic
, and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in Middle Eastern
and Mediterranean cuisines, and foods such as falafel
, hummus
, shakshouka
, couscous
, and za'atar
are now thought to be synonymous with Israeli cuisine.
Other influences on cuisine are the availability of foods common to the Mediterranean region, especially certain kinds of fruits and vegetables, dairy products and fish; the distinctive traditional dishes prepared at holiday times; the tradition of keeping kosher, which affects the preparation and availability of specific foods; and food customs
specific to Shabbat
and different Jewish holiday
s, such as challah
, jachnun
, malawach
, gefilte fish
, cholent
(hamin) and sufganiyot
.
New dishes based on agricultural products such as oranges
, avocado
s, dairy products and fish, and others based on world trends have been introduced over the years, and chefs trained abroad have brought in elements of other international cuisines.
During the Second Temple
period (516 BCE to 70 CE), Hellenistic and Roman
culture heavily influenced cuisine, particularly of the priests
and aristocracy of Jerusalem. Elaborate meals were served that included piquant entrées and alcoholic drinks, fish, meat, pickled and fresh vegetables, olives, and tart or sweet fruits.
The food of the ancient Israelites
was based on several products that still play important roles in modern Israeli cuisine. These were known as the seven species
: olives, figs, dates, pomegranates, wheat, barley and grapes. The diet, based on locally grown produce, was enhanced by imported spices, readily available due to the country’s position at the crossroads of east-west trade routes.
After the destruction of the Second Temple and the exile
of the majority of Jews from the land of Israel, Jewish cuisine continued to develop in the many countries where Jewish communities have existed since Late Antiquity
, influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of those countries.
prior to Zionist immigration
that began in 1881 was known as the Old Yishuv
. The cooking style of the community was Sephardi cuisine, which developed among the Jews of Spain
before their expulsion in 1492
, and in the areas to which they migrated thereafter, particularly the Balkans
and Ottoman Empire
. Sephardim also established communities in the Old Yishuv. Particularly in Jerusalem, they continued to develop their culinary style, influenced by Ottoman cuisine
, creating a style that became known as Jerusalem Sephardi cuisine. This cuisine included pies like sambousak
, pastels
and burek
as, vegetable gratin
s and stuffed vegetables, and rice and bulgur
pilaf
s, which are now considered to be Jerusalem classics.
Groups of Hasidic Jews
from Eastern Europe began establishing communities in the late 18th century, and brought with them their traditional Ashkenazi cuisine, developing, however, distinct local variations, notably a peppery, caramelized noodle pudding known as kugel yerushalmi.
Beginning with the First Aliyah
in 1881, Jews began immigrating to Palestine from Eastern Europe in larger numbers, particularly from Poland and Russia. These Zionist
pioneers were motivated both ideologically and by the Mediterranean climate to reject the Ashkenazi cooking styles they had grown up with, and adapt by using local produce, especially vegetables such as zucchini
, pepper
s, eggplant, artichoke
and chickpea
s. The first Hebrew cookbook, written by Erna Meyer, and published in the early 1930s by the Palestine Federation of the Women's International Zionist Organization
(WIZO), exhorted cooks to use Mediterranean herbs and Middle Eastern spices and local vegetables in their cooking. The bread, olives, cheese and raw vegetables they adopted became the basis for the kibbutz breakfast, which in more abundant forms is served in Israeli hotels, and in various forms in most Israeli homes today.
The State of Israel faced enormous military and economic challenges in its early years, and the period from 1948 to 1958 was a time of food rationing and austerity, known as tzena. In this decade, over one million Jewish immigrants, mainly from Arab countries, but also including European Holocaust survivors, inundated the new state. They arrived when only basic foods were available and ethnic dishes had to be modified with a range of mock or simulated foods, such as chopped “liver” from eggplant, and turkey as a substitute for veal schnitzel for Ashkenazim, kubbeh made from frozen fish instead of ground meat for Iraqi Jews, and turkey in place of the lamb kebab
s of the Mizrahi Jews
. These adaptations remain as a legacy of that time.
Substitutes, such as the wheat-based rice substitute, ptitim
, were introduced, and versatile vegetables such as eggplant were used as alternatives to meat. Additional flavor and nutrition was provided from inexpensive canned tomato paste and puree, hummus
, tahina
, and mayonnaise in tubes. Meat was scarce, and it was not until the late 1950s that herds of beef cattle were introduced into the agricultural economy.
Hubeza, a local variety of the mallow
plant, became an important food source during the War of Independence. During the siege of Jerusalem
, when convoys of food could not reach the city, Jerusalemites went out to the fields to pick hubeza leaves, which are high in iron and vitamins. The Jerusalem radio station, Kol Hamagen, broadcast instructions for cooking it that were picked up in Jordan convinced the Arabs that the Jews were dying of starvation and victory was at hand. In the past decade, food writers in Israel have encouraged the population to prepare hubeza on Israel Independence Day. Local chefs have begun to serve hubeza and other wild plants gathered from the fields in upscale restaurants.
, which brought with them a whole range of foods and cooking styles. Immigrants arriving from central Europe brought foods such as schnitzel and strudel
s, while Russian Jews brought borsht and herring.
Ashkenazi dishes include chicken soup
, schnitzel and chopped liver
, gefilte fish
and kugel
. The first Israeli patisseries were opened by Ashkenazi Jews
, who popularized cakes and pastries from central and Eastern Europe, such as yeast cakes (babka), nut spirals (schnecken), chocolate rolls and layered pastries.
After 1948, the greatest impact came from the large migration of Jews from Turkey, Iraq, Kurdistan and Yemen, and Mizrahi Jews from North Africa, particularly Morocco. Typically, the staff of army, schools, hospitals, hotels and restaurant kitchens has consisted of Mizrahi, Kurdish and Yemenite Jews, and this has had an influence on the cooking fashions and ingredients of the country.
Mizrahi cuisine, the cuisine of Jews from North Africa, features grilled meats, sweet and savory puff pastries, rice dishes, stuffed vegetables, pita breads and salads, and shares many similarities with Arab cuisine. Other North African dishes popular in Israel include couscous
, shakshouka
, matbucha
, carrot salad and chraime (slices of fish cooked in a spicy tomato sauce). Sephardic dishes, with Balkan and Turkish influences incorporated in Israeli cuisine include burek
as, yoghurt
and taramosalata
. Yemenite foods include jachnun
, malawach
, skhug
and kubane. Iraqi dishes popular in Israel include amba
, various types of kubbeh, sambusac, sabich
and pickled vegetables (hamutzim).
They also began using "biblical" ingredients such as honey, figs, and pomegranates, and indigenous foods such as prickly pears (tzabar) and chickpeas. Since the late 1970s, there has been an increased interest in international cuisine, cooking with wine and herbs, and vegetarianism
. A more sophisticated food culture in Israel began to develop when cookbooks, such as “From the Kitchen with Love” by Ruth Sirkis, published in 1974, introduced international cooking trends, and together with the opening of restaurants serving cuisines such as Chinese, Italian and French, encouraged more dining out.
The 1980s were a formative decade: the increased optimism after the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, the economic recovery of the mid-1980s and the increasing travel abroad by average citizens were factors contributing to a greater interest in food and wine. In addition, high quality, locally produced ingredients became increasingly available. For example, privately owned dairies began to produce handmade cheeses from goat, sheep and cow’s milk, which quickly became very popular both among chefs and the general public. In 1983, the Golan Heights Winery
was the first of many new Israeli winemakers to help transform tastes with their production of world-class, semi-dry and dry wines. New attention was paid to the making of handmade breads and the production of high quality olive oil. The successful development of aquaculture
ensured a steady supply of fresh fish, and the agricultural revolution in Israel led to an overwhelming choice and quality of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs.
Ethnic heritage cooking, both Sephardic and Ashkenazi, has made a comeback with the growing acceptance of the heterogeneous society. Apart from home cooking, many ethnic foods are now available in street markets, supermarkets and restaurants, or are served at weddings
and bar mitzvahs, and people increasingly eat foods from ethnic backgrounds other than their own. Overlap and combinations of foods from different ethnic groups is becoming standard as a multi-ethnic food culture develops.
The 1990s saw an increasing interest in international cuisines. Sushi
, in particular, has taken hold as a popular style for eating out and as an entrée for events. In restaurants, fusion cuisine
, with the melding of classic cuisines such as French and Japanese with local ingredients has become widespread. In the 2000s, the trend of “eating healthy” with an emphasis on organic
and whole grain
foods has become prominent, and medical research has led many Israelis to re-embrace the Mediterranean diet
, with its touted health benefits.
There are various climatic areas in Israel
and areas it has settled that allow a variety of products to be grown. Citrus trees such as orange, lemon and grapefruit thrive on the coastal plain. Figs, pomegranates and olives also grow in the cooler hill areas. The subtropical climate near the Sea of Galilee and in the Jordan River Valley is suitable for mangoes, kiwis and bananas, while the temperate climate of the mountains of the Galilee and the Golan is suitable for grapes, apples and cherries.
Israeli eating customs also conform to the wider Mediterranean region, with lunch, rather than dinner, being the focal meal of a regular workday. “Kibbutz foods” have been adopted by many Israelis for their light evening meals as well as breakfasts, and may consist of various types of cheeses, both soft and hard, yogurt, labne and sour cream, vegetables and salads, olives, hard-boiled eggs or omelets, pickled and smoked herring, a variety of breads, and fresh orange juice and coffee.
In addition, Jewish holidays influence the cuisine, with the preparation of traditional foods at holiday times, such as various types of challah
(braided bread) for Shabbats and Festivals, jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) for Hanukah, the hamantaschen pastry (oznei haman) for Purim, charoset, a type of fruit paste, for Passover, and dairy foods for Shavuot. The Shabbat dinner, eaten on Friday, and to a lesser extent the Shabbat lunch, is a significant meal in Israeli homes, together with holiday meals.
Although not all Jews in Israel keep kosher, the tradition of kashrut strongly influences the availability of certain foods and their preparation in homes, public institutions and many restaurants, including the separation of milk and meat and avoiding the use of non-kosher foods, especially pork and shellfish. During Passover, bread and other leavened foods are prohibited and matza and leaven-free foods are substituted.
, deep fried balls of seasoned, ground chickpeas. Street vendors throughout Israel sell falafel and it is a favorite "street food".
Vegetable salads are eaten with most meals, including the traditional Israeli breakfast, which will usually include eggs, bread, and dairy products such as yogurt or cottage cheese
. For lunch and dinner, salad may be served a side dish. A light meal of salad, hummus and French fries
served in a pita
is referred to as chipsalat.
Israeli salad
is typically made with finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Variations include the addition of diced red or green bell peppers, grated carrot, finely shredded cabbage or lettuce, sliced radish, fennel, spring onions and chives, chopped parsley, or other herbs and spices such as mint
, za'atar
and sumac
. Although popularized by the kibbutz
im, versions of this mixed salad were brought to Israel from various places. For example, Jews from India
prepare it with finely chopped ginger
and green chili pepper
s, North African Jews may add preserved lemon peel and cayenne pepper
, and Bukharan Jews
chop the vegetables extremely finely and use vinegar, without oil, in the dressing.
A large variety of eggplant salads and dips
are made with roasted eggplants. Baba ghanoush
, called salat ḥatzilim in Israel, is made with tahina
and other seasonings such as garlic, lemon juice, onions, herbs and spices. The eggplant is sometimes grilled over an open flame so that the pulp has a smoky taste. A particularly Israeli variation of the salad is made with mayonnaise
. Eggplant salads are also made with yoghurt, or with feta
cheese, chopped onion and tomato, or in the style of Romanian Jews, with roasted red pepper.
Tahina
is often used as a dressing for falafel, serves as a cooking sauce for meat and fish, and forms the basis of sweets such as halva
.
Hummus is a cornerstone of Israeli cuisine, and consumption in Israel has been compared by food critic Elena Ferretti to "peanut butter in America, Nutella in Europe or Vegemite in Australia". Hummus
in pita is a common lunch for schoolchildren, and is a popular addition to many meals. Supermarkets offer a variety of commercially prepared hummus, and some Israelis will go out of their way for fresh hummus prepared at a hummusia, an establishment devoted exclusively to selling hummus.
Israeli-style avocado
salad, with lemon juice and chopped scallions, was introduced by farmers who planted avocado trees on the coastal plain in the 1920s. Avocados have since become a winter delicacy and are cut into salads as well as being spread on bread.
A meze
of fresh and cooked vegetable salads, pickled cucumbers and other vegetables, hummus and tahina dips, labneh cheese with olive oil, and ikra is served at festive meals and in restaurants. Salads include Turkish salad (a piquant salad of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices), tabbouleh, spicy Moroccan carrot salad, marinated roasted red peppers, deep fried cauliflower florets, matbucha
, and various eggplant salads.
Modern Israeli interpretations of the meze blend traditional and modern, pairing ordinary appetizers with unique combinations such as fennel and pistachio salad, beetroot and pomegranate salad, and celery and kashkaval cheese salad.
Stuffed vegetables, called memula’im, were originally designed to extend cheap ingredients into a meal. They are prepared by cooks in Israel from all ethnic backgrounds and are made with many varying flavors, such as spicy or sweet-and-sour, with ingredients such as peppers
, eggplants and zucchini squash, and stuffing such as meat and rice in Balkan style, bulgur
in Middle Eastern fashion, or with ptitim
, a type of Israeli pasta. The Ottoman Turks
introduced stuffed vine leaves in the 16th century and vine leaves are commonly stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, although other fillings, such as lentil
s, have evolved among the various communities. Artichoke bottoms stuffed with meat are famous as one the grand dishes of the Sephardi Jerusalem cuisine of the Old Yishuv
. Moroccan "cigars" are soft meat filling wrapped in phyllo-dough, and deep fried in oil or oven baked. They are commonly served at weddings and other celebrations.
A variety of soups are enjoyed, particularly in the winter. Chicken soup
has been a mainstay of Jewish cuisine
since medieval times and is popular in Israel. Classic chicken soup is prepared as a simple broth with a few vegetables, such as onion, carrot and celery, and herbs such as dill and parsley. More elaborate versions are prepared by Sephardim with orzo or rice, or the addition of lemon juice or herbs such as mint or coriander
, while Ashkenazim may add noodles. An Israeli adaption of the traditional Ashkenazi soup pasta known as mandlen, called "shkedei marak
" ("soup almonds") in Israel, are commonly served with chicken soup.
Particularly on holidays, dumplings are served with the soup, such as the kneidlach (matzah balls) of the Ashkenazim or the gondi (chickpea dumplings) of Iranian Jews, or kubbeh, a family of dumplings brought to Israel by Middle Eastern Jews. Especially popular are kubbeh prepared from bulgur
and stuffed with ground lamb and pine nuts, and the soft semolina
kubbeh cooked in soup, which Jews of Kurdish
or Iraqi heritage habitually enjoy as a Friday lunchtime meal.
Lentil soup
is prepared in many ways, with additions such as cilantro or meat. Other soups include the harira of the Moroccan Jews, which is a spicy soup of lamb (or chicken), chickpeas, lentils and rice, and Yemenite marrow bone soup known as ftut, which is served on special occasions such as weddings, and is seasoned with the traditional hawaij
spice mix.
Rice
is prepared in numerous ways in Israel, from simple steamed white rice
to festive casseroles. "Green" rice, prepared with a variety of fresh chopped herbs, is a favored by Persian Jews
. Another rice dish is prepared with thin noodles that are first fried and then boiled with the rice. Mujadara is a popular rice and lentil
dish, adopted from Arab cuisine, known in Israel as mejadra.
Couscous
was brought to Israel by Jews from North Africa
. It is still prepared in some restaurants or by traditional cooks by passing semolina through a sieve several times and then cooking it over an aromatic broth in a special steamer pot called a couscoussière. Generally, "instant" couscous is widely used for home cooking. Couscous is used in salads, main courses and even some desserts. As a main course, chicken or lamb, or the vegetables cooked in a soup flavored with saffron
or turmeric
are served on the steamed couscous.
Ptitim
are an Israeli pasta
which now come in many shapes, including pearls, loops, stars and hearts, but were originally shaped like grains of rice, as they originated in the early days of the State of Israel as a wheat-based substitute for rice, when rice, a staple of the Mizrahi Jews, was scarce. Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion
, is reputed to have asked the Osem company
to devise this substitute, and it was thus nicknamed "Ben-Gurion's rice". Ptitim can be boiled like pasta, or prepared pilaf
-style by sautéing and then boiling in water or stock, or baking them in a casserole. Like other pasta, they can be flavored in many ways with spices, herbs and sauces. Once considered primarily a food for children, ptitim are now prepared in restaurants both in Israel and internationally.
(called forel), gilthead seabream (called denisse), St. Peter's fish and other fresh fish are prepared this way. Fish are also eaten baked, with or without vegetables, or fried whole or in slices, or grilled over coals, and served with different sauces.
Fish are also braised
, as in a dish called chraime, in which fish such as grouper
(better known in Israel by its Arabic name lokus) or halibut
is prepared in a sauce with hot pepper and other spices for Rosh Hashanah, Passover and the Sabbath by North African Jews. Everyday versions are prepared with cheaper kinds of fish and are served in market eateries, public kitchens and at home for weekday meals.
Fish, traditionally carp
, but now other firm white fish too, are minced and shaped into loaves or balls and cooked in fish broth
, such as the gefilte fish
of the Ashkenazi Jews, who also brought pickled herring from Eastern Europe. Herring is often served at the kiddush
that follows synagogue services on Shabbat
. In the Russian immigrant community it may be served as a light meal with boiled potatoes, sour cream, dark breads
and schnapps
or vodka
.
is the most widely eaten meat in Israel, followed by turkey. Chicken is prepared in a multitude of ways, from simple oven-roasted chicken to elaborate casseroles with rich sauces. Examples include chicken casserole with couscous, inspired by Moroccan Jewish cooking, chicken with olives, a Mediterranean classic, and chicken albondigas (meat balls) in tomato sauce, from Jerusalem Sephardi cuisine. Albondigas are also prepared from ground meat.
Grilled
and barbecued meat
are common in Israeli cuisine. The country has many small eateries specializing in beef and lamb kebab
and shashlik
. Outdoor barbecuing, known as mangal or al ha-esh (on the fire) is a beloved Israeli pastime. In modern times, Israel Independence Day is frequently celebrated with a picnic or barbecue in parks and forests around the country.
Turkey schnitzel is an Israeli adaptation of veal schnitzel, and is an example of the transformations common in Israeli cooking. The schnitzel was brought to Israel by Jews from Central Europe, but before and during the early years of the State of Israel veal was unobtainable and chicken or turkey was an inexpensive and tasty substitute. Furthermore, a Wiener schnitzel
is cooked in both butter and oil, but in Israel only oil is used, because of kashrut. Today, most cooks buy schnitzel already breaded and serve it with hummus, tahina, and other salads for a quick main meal. Other immigrant groups have added variations from their own backgrounds; Yemenite Jews, for example, flavor it with hawaij
. In addition, vegetarian versions have become popular and the Israeli food company, Tiv′ol, was the first to produce a vegetarian schnitzel from a soya meat-substitute.
Various types of sausage
are part of Sephardi and Mizrahi cuisine in Israel. Jews from Tunisia make a sausage, called osban, with a filling of ground meat or liver, rice, chopped spinach, and a blend of herbs and spices. Jews from Syria
make smaller sausages, called gheh, with a different spice blend while Jews from Iraq make the sausages, called mumbar, with chopped meat and liver, rice, and their traditional mix of spices.
, white cheeses including leben, eshel and yogurts, yellow cheese
s, and salt-brined cheeses typical of the Mediterranean region.
Dairy farming has been a major sector of Israeli agriculture since the founding of the state, and the yield of local milk cows is amongst the highest in the world. Initially, the moshav
im (farming cooperatives) and kibbutz
im produced mainly soft white cheese as it was inexpensive and nutritious. It became an important staple in the years of austerity and gained a popularity that it enjoys until today.
Soft white cheese, gvina levana, is often referred to by its fat content, such as 5% or 9%. It is eaten plain, or mixed with fruit or vegetables, spread on bread or crackers and used in a variety of pies and pastries.
Labneh is a yogurt-based white cheese common throughout the Balkans and the Middle East. It is sold plain, with za'atar, or in olive oil. It is often eaten for breakfast with other cheeses and bread.
Safed cheese, gvina tsfatit, a white cheese in brine, similar to feta
, was first produced by the Meiri dairy
in Safed
in 1837 and is still produced there by descendants of the original cheese makers. The Meiri dairy also became famous for its production of the Balkan-style brinza cheese
, which became known as Bulgarian cheese due to its popularity in the early 1950s among Jewish immigrants from Bulgaria. Other dairies now also produce many varieties of these cheeses. Bulgarian yoghurt, introduced to Israel by Bulgarian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust
, is used to make a traditional yoghurt and cucumber soup
.
In the early 1980s, small privately owned dairies began to produce handmade cheeses from goat and sheep’s milk as well as cow’s milk, resembling traditional cheeses like those made in rural France, Spain and Italy. Many are made with organic
milk. These are now also produced by kibbutzim and the national Tnuva dairy
.
, grapefruit, tangerines and the pomelit, a hybrid of a grapefruit and a pomelo
, developed in Israel. Fruits grown in Israel include avocados, banana
s, apple
s, cherries
, plum
s, nectarines, grape
s, dates
, strawberries
, prickly pear (tzabbar)
, persimmon
, loquat
(shesek) and pomegranate
s, and are eaten on a regular basis: Israelis consume an average of nearly 160 kilograms (352.7 lb) of fruit per person a year.
Fruit is served as a snack or dessert. Fresh-squeezed fruit juices are prepared at street kiosks, and sold bottled in supermarkets. Various fruits are added to chicken or meat dishes and fresh fruit salad and compote
are often served at the end of the meal.
in Israel arising from the years when there were very few bakeries to meet demand. Many professional bakers came to Israel from Central Europe and founded local pastry
shops and bakeries, often called konditoria
, thus shaping local tastes and preferences. There is now a local style with a wide selection of cakes and pastries that includes influences from other cuisines and combines traditional European ingredients with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients, such as halva, phyllo
dough, dates, and rose water.
Examples include citrus-flavored semolina cakes
, moistened with syrup and called basbousa, tishpishti or revani in Sephardic bakeries. The Ashkenazi babka has been adapted to include halva or chocolate spread, in addition to the old-fashioned cinnamon. There are also many varieties of apple cake
. Cookies made with crushed dates (ma'amoul
) are served with coffee or tea, as throughout the Middle East.
Jerusalem kugel
(kugel yerushalmi) is an Israeli version of the traditional noodle pudding, kugel, made with caramelized sugar and spiced with black pepper. It was originally a specialty of the Ashkenazi Jews of the Old Yishuv. It is typically baked in a very low oven overnight and eaten after synagogue services on Sabbath morning.
Burekas are savory pastries brought to Israel by Jews from Turkey
, the Balkans and Salonika
. They are made of a flaky dough in a variety of shapes, frequently topped with sesame seeds, and are filled with cheese, spinach, potatoes or mushrooms. Burekas are sold at kiosks, supermarkets and cafes, and are served at functions and celebrations, as well as being prepared by home cooks. They are often served as a light meal with hardboiled eggs and chopped vegetable salad
.
Ashkenazi Jews from Vienna and Budapest brought sophisticated pastry making traditions to Israel. Sacher torte and Linzer torte
are sold at professional bakeries, but cheesecake
and strudel
are also baked at home.
Jelly donuts (sufganiyot
), traditionally filled with red jelly (jam), but also custard
or dulce de leche
, are eaten as Hanukkah treats.
, bread
was baked at home. Small commercial bakeries were set up in the mid-19th century. One of the earliest, Berman's Bakery
, was established in 1875, and evolved from a cottage industry making home-baked bread and cakes for Christian pilgrims
.
Expert bakers who arrived among the immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe in the 1920s and 30s introduced handmade sourdough breads
. From the 1950s, mass-produced bread replaced these loaves and standard, government subsidized loaves known as leḥem aḥid became mostly available until the 1980s, when specialized bakeries again began producing rich sourdough breads in the European tradition, and breads in a Mediterranean style with accents such as olives, cheese, herbs or sun-dried tomato
es. A large variety of breads is now available from bakeries and cafes.
Challah
bread is widely purchased or prepared for the Sabbath
. Challah is typically an egg-enriched bread, often braided in the Ashkenazi tradition, or round for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
The Sabbath and festival breads of the Yemenite Jews have become popular in Israel and can be bought frozen in supermarkets. Jachnun
is very thinly rolled dough, brushed with oil or fat and baked overnight at a very low heat. It is traditionally served with a crushed or grated tomato dip, hard boiled eggs and skhug
. Malawach
is a thin circle of dough toasted in a frying pan. Kubaneh is a yeast dough baked overnight and traditionally served on Shabbat
morning. Lahoh is a spongy, pancake-like bread made of fermented flour and water, and fried in a pan. Jews from Ethiopia
make a similar bread called injera
from millet
flour.
Pita
bread is a double-layered flat or pocket bread traditional in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. It is baked plain, or with a topping of sesame or nigella seeds or za'atar
. Pita is used in multiple ways, such as stuffed with falafel, salads or various meats as a snack or fast food meal; packed with schnitzel, salad and French fries for lunch; filled with chocolate spread
as a snack for schoolchildren; or broken into pieces for scooping up hummus, eggplant and other dips. A lafa is larger, soft flatbread that is rolled up with a falafel or shawarma filling. Various ethnic groups continue to bake traditional flat breads. Jews from the former Soviet republic of Georgia
make the flatbread, lavash
.
is a nut-filled Turkish phyllo pastry sweetened with syrup served at celebrations in Jewish communities who originated in the Middle East. It is also often served in restaurants as dessert, along with small cups of Turkish coffee.
Halva
is a Turkish sweet, made from tehina and sugar, and is popular in Israel. It is used to make original desserts like halva parfait
.
Sunflower seed
s, called garinim, are eaten everywhere, on outings, at stadiums and at home. They are usually purchased unshelled and are cracked open with the teeth. They can be bought freshly roasted from shops and market stalls that specialize in nuts and seeds as well as packaged in supermarkets, along with the also well-liked pumpkin and watermelon seeds, pistachios, and sugar-coated peanuts
.
Bamba is a soft, peanut-flavored snack food that is a favorite of children, and Bissli
is a crunchy snack in various flavors, including BBQ, pizza, falafel and onion.
Krembo
is a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat sold only in the winter, and is a very popular alternative to ice cream. It comes wrapped in colorful aluminum foil, and consists of a round biscuit
base covered with a dollop of marshmallow
cream coated in chocolate
.
Milky is a popular dairy pudding that comes in chocolate, vanilla and mocha
flavors with a layer of whipped cream on top.
s are prominent in Israeli food, and are based on green or red chili pepper
s. They are served with appetizers, felafel, casseroles and grilled meats, and are blended with hummus and tahina. Although originating primarily from North African and Yemenite immigrants, these hot sauces are now widely consumed.
Skhug
is a spicy chili pepper sauce brought to Israel by Yemenite Jews
, and has become one of Israel's most popular condiments. It is added to falafel and hummus and is also spread over fish, and to white cheese, eggs, salami or avocado sandwiches for extra heat and spice.
Other hot sauces made from chili peppers and garlic are the harissa
of the Tunisian Jewish community, and the filfel chuma
of the Libyan Jewish community in Israel.
Amba
is a pickled mango sauce, introduced by Indian and Iraqi Jews, and commonly used a condiment with shawarma and falafel and vegetable salads.
drinking culture in Israel. Coffee is prepared as instant
(nes), iced, latte
(hafuḥ), Italian-style espresso
, or Turkish coffee, which is sometimes flavored with cardamom
(hel). Jewish writers, artists and musicians who immigrated to Israel before the Second World War introduced the model of the Viennese coffeehouse
with its traditional décor, relaxed atmosphere, coffee and pastries.
Cafés are found everywhere in urban areas and function as meeting places for socializing and conducting business. Almost all serve baked goods and sandwiches and many also serve light meals. There are both chains and privately owned neighborhood cafés. Most have outdoor seating to take advantage of Israel's temperate weather and Tel Aviv
is particularly well-known for its café culture.
Tea
is also served at cafés and drunk at home. Tea is prepared in many ways, from plain brewed Russian-style with sugar, to tea with lemon or milk, and Middle Eastern-style with mint
(nana).
Sahlab
is a drinkable pudding once made of the powdered bulb of the orchid plant but today made with cornstarch. It is usually sold in markets or by street vendors, especially in the winter. It is topped with cinnamon
and chopped pistachio
s.
Malt beer
, known as black beer (בירה שחורה, bira sheḥora), is a non-alcoholic beverage produced in Israel since pre-state times. Goldstar and Maccabi are Israeli beers. Recently, some small boutique breweries began brewing new brands of beer, such as "Dancing Camel", "Negev" and "Cna'an".
Most of the wine produced and consumed from the 1880s was sweet, kosher wine
when the Carmel Winery
was established, until the 1980s, when more dry or semi-dry wines began to be produced and consumed after the introduction of the Golan Heights Winery
’s first vintage. The winery was the first to focus on planting and making wines from Cabernet Sauvignon
, Merlot
, Sauvignon Blanc
, Chardonnay
, Pinot Noir
, white Riesling
and Gewürztraminer
. These wines are kosher and have won silver and gold medals in international competitions. Israeli wine
is now produced by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique wineries to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year, which are also exported worldwide.
Falafel are fried balls or patties of spiced, mashed chickpea
s or fava beans and are a common Middle Eastern street food that have become identified with Israeli cuisine. Falafel
is most often served in a pita, with pickles, tahina, hummus, cut vegetable salad and often, harif, a hot sauce, the type used depending on the origin of the falafel maker. Variations include green falafel, which include parsley and coriander, red falafel made with filfel chuma, yellow falafel made with turmeric
, and falafel coated with sesame seeds.
Shawarma, (from çevirme, meaning "rotating" in Turkish) is usually made in Israel with turkey, with lamb fat added. The shawarma
meat is sliced and marinated and then roasted on a huge rotating skewer. The cooked meat is shaved off and stuffed into a pita, plainly with hummus and tahina, or with additional trimmings such as fresh or fried onion rings, French fries, salads and pickles. More upscale restaurant versions are served on an open flat bread, a lafa, with steak strips, flame roasted eggplant and salads.
Shakshouka, originally a workman’s breakfast popularized by North African Jews in Israel, is made simply of fried eggs in spicy tomato sauce, with other vegetable ingredients or sausage optional. Shakshouka
is typically served in the same frying pan in which it is cooked, with thick slices of white bread to mop up the sauce, and a side of salad. Modern variations include a milder version made with spinach and feta without tomato sauce, and hot chili shakshouka, a version that includes both sweet and hot peppers and coriander.
Jerusalem mixed grill, or me'urav Yerushalmi, consists of mixed grill
of chicken giblets
and lamb with onion, garlic and spices. It is one of Jerusalem’s most popular and profitable street foods.
Jerusalem bagels, unlike the round, boiled and baked bagels popularized by Ashkenazi Jews, are long and oblong-shaped, made from bread dough, covered in za’atar or sesame seeds, and are soft, chewy and sweet. They have become a favorite snack for football match crowds, and are also served in hotels as well as at home.
Malabi is a creamy pudding originating from Turkey prepared with milk or cream and cornstarch. It is sold as a street food from carts or stalls, in disposable cups with thick sweet syrup and various crunchy toppings such as chopped pistachios or coconut. Its popularity has resulted in supermarkets selling it in plastic packages and restaurants serving richer and more sophisticated versions using various toppings and garnishes such as berries and fruit. Sahlab is a similar desert made from the powdered tubers of orchids and milk.
Sabiḥ is a traditional sandwich
that Iraqi immigrants introduced to Israel and is sold at kiosks throughout the country, but especially in Ramat-Gan, where it was first introduced. Sabiḥ
is a pita filled with fried eggplant, hardboiled egg, salad, tehina and pickles.
Tunisian sandwich is usually made from a baguette
with various fillings that may include tuna, egg, pickled lemon, salad, and fried hot green pepper.
Falafel stands or kiosks are common in every neighborhood. Falafel vendors compete to stand apart from their competitors and this leads to the offering of additional special extras like chips, deep fried eggplant, salads and pickles for the price of a single portion of falafel.
Hummusia is an establishment that offers only hummus
with a limited selection of extras such as tahina, hardboiled egg, pickles, lemon and garlic sauce and pita bread.
Misada Mizrahit (literally, "Eastern restaurant") are inexpensively priced restaurants that serve a basic selection of meze
salads followed by grilled meat with a side of French fries and a simple dessert such as chocolate mousse
for dessert.
Steakiyot are restaurants which served a meze of salads, followed by skewered grilled meats, particularly shishlik and kebabs.
Friday night (eve of Sabbath
) dinners are usually family and socially oriented meals. Along with family favorites, and varying to some extent according to ethnic background, traditional dishes are served, such as challah bread, chicken soup, salads, chicken or meat dishes, and cakes or fruits for desert.
Shabbat lunch is also an important social meal. Since antiquity, Jewish communities all over the world devised meat casseroles that begin cooking before the lighting of candles
that marks the commencement of the Sabbath on Friday night, so as to comply with the religious regulations for observing the Sabbath. In modern Israel, this filling dish, in many variations, is still eaten on the Sabbath day, not only in religiously observant households, and is also served in some restaurants during the week.
The basic ingredients are meat and beans or rice simmered overnight on a hotplate or blech
, or placed in a slow oven. Ashkenazi cholent
usually contains meat, potatoes, barley and beans, and sometimes kishke, and seasonings such as pepper and paprika. Sephardi hamin contains chicken or meat, rice, beans, garlic, sweet or regular potatoes, seasonings such as turmeric and cinnamon, and whole eggs in the shell known as haminados. Moroccan Jews prepare variations known as dafina or skhina (or s′hina) with meat, onion, marrow bones, potatoes, chickpeas, eggs and spices such as turmeric, cumin, paprika and pepper. Iraqi Jews prepare tebit, using chicken and rice.
For deserts or informal gatherings on Shabbat, home bakers still bake a wide variety of cakes on Fridays to be enjoyed on the Sabbath, or purchase from bakeries or stores, cakes such as sponge cake, citrus semolina cake, cinnamon or chocolate babkas, and fruit and nut cakes.
) is often served as dessert, accompanied by tea or coffee.
is marked by the consumption of traditional Hanukkah foods fried in oil in commemoration of the miracle in which a small quantity of oil sufficient for one day lasted eight days.
The two most popular Hannukah foods are potato pancakes, levivot, also known by the Yiddish latkes; and jelly doughnuts, known as sufganiyot
in Hebrew, pontshkes
(in Yiddish) or bimuelos (in Ladino
), as these are deep-fried
in oil. Hannukah pancakes are made from a variety of ingredients, from the traditional potato or cheese, to more modern innovations, among them corn, spinach, zucchini and sweet potato.
Bakeries in Israel have popularized many new types of fillings for sufganiyot besides the standard strawberry jelly filling, and these include chocolate, vanilla or cappuccino cream, and others. In recent years downsized, "mini" sufganiyot have also appeared due to concerns about calories.
Tu Bishvat
is a minor Jewish holiday
, usually sometime in late January or early February, that marks the "New Year of the Trees". Customs include planting trees and eating dried fruits and nuts, especially figs
, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds.
Many Israelis, both religious and secular, celebrate with a kabbalistic
-inspired Tu Bishvat seder
that includes a feast of fruits and four cups of wine according to the ceremony presented in special haggadot modeled on the Haggadah of Passover
for this purpose.
celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the plot of Haman to annihilate them in the ancient Persian Empire, as described in the Book of Esther
. It is a day of rejoicing and merriment, on which children, and many adults, wear costumes.It is customary to eat a festive meal, seudat Purim, in the late afternoon, often with wine as the prominent beverage, in keeping with the atmosphere of merry-making.
Many people prepare packages of food that they give to neighbors, friends, family, and colleagues on Purim. These are called mishloach manot
("sending of portions"), and often include wine and baked goods, fruit and nuts, and sweets.
The food most associated with Purim is called oznay Haman ("Haman's ears"). These are three-cornered pastries filled most often with poppy seed, but also other fruit fillings. The triangular shape may have been influenced by old illustrations of Haman, in which he wore a three-cornered hat.
in the spring commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, and in Israel is usually a time for visiting friends and relatives, travelling, and on the first night of Passover, the traditional ritual dinner, known as the Seder
. Foods containing ḥametz
– leaven or yeast – may not be eaten during Passover. This means bread, pastries and certain fermented beverages, such as beer, cannot be consumed. Ashkenazim also do not eat legumes, known as kitniyot
. Over the centuries, Jewish cooks have developed dishes using alternative ingredients and this characterizes Passover food in Israel today.
Chicken soup with matza dumplings (kneidlach) is often a starter for the Seder meal among Israelis of all the ethnic backgrounds. Spring vegetables, such as asparagus
and artichoke
s often accompany the meal.
Restaurants in Israel have come up with creative alternatives to ḥametz ingredients to create pasta, hamburger buns, pizza, and other fast foods in kosher-for-Passover versions by using potato starch
and other non-standard ingredients.
After Passover, the celebration of Mimouna
takes place, a tradition brought to Israel by the Jewish communities of North Africa. In the evening, a feast of fruit, confectionery and pastries is set out for neighbors and visitors to enjoy. Most notably, the first leaven after Passover, a thin crepe called a mofletta
, eaten with honey, syrup or jam, is served. The occasion is celebrated the following day by outdoor picnics at which salads and barbecued meat feature prominently.
is celebrated. Shavuot marks the peak of the new grain harvest and the ripening of the first fruits, and is a time when milk was historically most abundant. To celebrate this holiday, many types of dairy foods are eaten. These include cheeses and yogurts, cheese-based pies and quiches called pashtidot, cheese blintzes, and cheesecake prepared with soft white cheese (gvina levana) or cream cheese.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
by Jews from the Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not being categorized per any one particular cuisine style, and can pertain to innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.-Categories and types:...
has developed.
Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of various styles of Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine
Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
, particularly the Mizrahi
Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews
The cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of The Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Arab countries. Mizrahi Jews have also been known as Oriental Jews . Jews of the Mizrahi communities cook foods that were and are popular in their home...
, Sephardic
Cuisine of the Sephardic Jews
The cuisine of the Sephardi Jews is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean and Arab countries. Mizrahi, who are sometimes called Sephardic Jews, are Jews of origins from countries of the Middle-East, respectively...
, and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in Middle Eastern
Middle Eastern cuisine
Middle-Eastern cuisine, West Asian cuisine, or in some place in the United States, Persian-Mediterranean cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East . The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity...
and Mediterranean cuisines, and foods such as falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
, hummus
Hummus
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
, shakshouka
Shakshouka
Shakshouka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, often spiced with cumin. It is believed to have Algerian and Tunisian origins.-Etymology:...
, couscous
Couscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
, and za'atar
Za'atar
Za'atar is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum , Calamintha , Thymus vulgaris and Satureja . It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb, mixed together with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices...
are now thought to be synonymous with Israeli cuisine.
Other influences on cuisine are the availability of foods common to the Mediterranean region, especially certain kinds of fruits and vegetables, dairy products and fish; the distinctive traditional dishes prepared at holiday times; the tradition of keeping kosher, which affects the preparation and availability of specific foods; and food customs
Minhag
Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...
specific to Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
and different Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
s, such as challah
Challah
Challah also khale ,, berches , barkis , bergis , chałka , vánočka , zopf and kitke , is a special braided bread eaten on...
, jachnun
Jachnun
Jachnun is a traditional Yemenite Jewish dish prepared from rolled dough which is baked on very low heat for about ten hours. The dough is rolled out thinly, brushed with shortening , and rolled up, similar to puff pastry. It turns a dark amber color and has a slightly sweet taste...
, malawach
Malawach
Malawach or malawah is a fried bread that is a staple of the Jews of Yemen.Malawach resembles a thick pancake, and it consists of thin layers of puff pastry brushed with oil or fat and cooked flat in a frying pan...
, gefilte fish
Gefilte fish
Gefilte fish is a poached fish mince stuffed into the fish skin.More common since the Second World War are the Polish patties similar to quenelles or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp or pike...
, cholent
Cholent
Cholent or Hamin is a traditional Jewish stew. It is usually simmered overnight for 12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Shabbat . Cholent was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish religious laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath...
(hamin) and sufganiyot
Sufganiyah
A sufganiyah is a ball-shaped doughnut that is first deep-fried, then pierced and injected with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. It is similar to the German Berliner, the Polish pączki, or the Russian ponchik...
.
New dishes based on agricultural products such as oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s, dairy products and fish, and others based on world trends have been introduced over the years, and chefs trained abroad have brought in elements of other international cuisines.
Origins
Israel’s culinary traditions comprise foods and cooking methods that span three thousand years of history. Over that time, these traditions have been shaped by influences from Asia, Africa and Europe, and religious and ethnic influences have resulted in a culinary melting pot. Biblical and archaeological records provide insight into the culinary life of the region as far back as 968 BCE, in the days of the kings of ancient Israel.During the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
period (516 BCE to 70 CE), Hellenistic and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
culture heavily influenced cuisine, particularly of the priests
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
and aristocracy of Jerusalem. Elaborate meals were served that included piquant entrées and alcoholic drinks, fish, meat, pickled and fresh vegetables, olives, and tart or sweet fruits.
The food of the ancient Israelites
Ancient Israelite cuisine
Ancient Israelite Cuisine refers to the food eaten by the ancient Israelites during a period of over a thousand years, from the beginning of the Israelite presence in the Land of Israel at the beginning of the Iron Age until the Roman period...
was based on several products that still play important roles in modern Israeli cuisine. These were known as the seven species
Seven Species
The Seven Species are seven agricultural products - two grains and five fruits - that are listed in the Hebrew Bible as being special products of the Land of Israel....
: olives, figs, dates, pomegranates, wheat, barley and grapes. The diet, based on locally grown produce, was enhanced by imported spices, readily available due to the country’s position at the crossroads of east-west trade routes.
After the destruction of the Second Temple and the exile
Galut
Galut or Golus , means literally exile. Galut or Golus classically refers to the exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel . There were altogether four such exiles...
of the majority of Jews from the land of Israel, Jewish cuisine continued to develop in the many countries where Jewish communities have existed since Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
, influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of those countries.
Old Yishuv
The Jewish community that lived in the Land of IsraelLand of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
prior to Zionist immigration
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
that began in 1881 was known as the Old Yishuv
Old Yishuv
The Old Yishuv refers to the Jewish community that lived in the Land of Israel from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the First Aliyah in 1881-82, prior to the onset of Zionist immigration....
. The cooking style of the community was Sephardi cuisine, which developed among the Jews of Spain
History of the Jews in Spain
Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before the majority, together with resident Muslims, were forced to convert to Catholicism, be expelled or be killed when Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs...
before their expulsion in 1492
Alhambra decree
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.The edict was formally revoked on 16 December 1968, following the Second...
, and in the areas to which they migrated thereafter, particularly the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Sephardim also established communities in the Old Yishuv. Particularly in Jerusalem, they continued to develop their culinary style, influenced by Ottoman cuisine
Ottoman cuisine
Ottoman cuisine is the cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and its successors in Anatolia, the Balkans, and much of the Middle East.- Description :...
, creating a style that became known as Jerusalem Sephardi cuisine. This cuisine included pies like sambousak
Samosa
A samosa is a stuffed, deep fried,snack that is very popular in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, the Horn of Africa, North Africa and South Africa...
, pastels
Pastel (food)
Pastel is the name given to different typical dishes of many countries of Hispanic or Portuguese origin.-Pastel in Brazil:In Brazil, pastel is a typical fast food Brazilian dish, consisting of thin pastry envelope wrapping with assorted fillings that is deep fried in vegetable oil. The result is a...
and burek
Burek
Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka . It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables...
as, vegetable gratin
Gratin
Gratin is a widespread culinary technique in food preparation in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg and/or butter. Gratin originated in French cuisine and is usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind...
s and stuffed vegetables, and rice and bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
pilaf
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
s, which are now considered to be Jerusalem classics.
Groups of Hasidic Jews
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
from Eastern Europe began establishing communities in the late 18th century, and brought with them their traditional Ashkenazi cuisine, developing, however, distinct local variations, notably a peppery, caramelized noodle pudding known as kugel yerushalmi.
Beginning with the First Aliyah
First Aliyah
The First Aliyah was the first modern widespread wave of Zionist aliyah. Jews who migrated to Palestine in this wave came mostly from Eastern Europe and from Yemen. This wave of aliyah began in 1881–82 and lasted until 1903. An estimated 25,000–35,000 Jews immigrated to Ottoman Syria during the...
in 1881, Jews began immigrating to Palestine from Eastern Europe in larger numbers, particularly from Poland and Russia. These Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
pioneers were motivated both ideologically and by the Mediterranean climate to reject the Ashkenazi cooking styles they had grown up with, and adapt by using local produce, especially vegetables such as zucchini
Zucchini
The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...
, pepper
Bell pepper
Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...
s, eggplant, artichoke
Artichoke
-Plants:* Globe artichoke, a partially edible perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean* Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower with an edible tuber...
and chickpea
Chickpea
The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...
s. The first Hebrew cookbook, written by Erna Meyer, and published in the early 1930s by the Palestine Federation of the Women's International Zionist Organization
Women's International Zionist Organization
The Women's International Zionist Organization , is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora.-History:...
(WIZO), exhorted cooks to use Mediterranean herbs and Middle Eastern spices and local vegetables in their cooking. The bread, olives, cheese and raw vegetables they adopted became the basis for the kibbutz breakfast, which in more abundant forms is served in Israeli hotels, and in various forms in most Israeli homes today.
Early years of the State
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
s of the Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
. These adaptations remain as a legacy of that time.
Substitutes, such as the wheat-based rice substitute, ptitim
Ptitim
Ptitim is an Israeli toasted pasta shaped like rice or little balls. Outside of Israel it is known as Israeli couscous or Jerusalem couscous. -History:...
, were introduced, and versatile vegetables such as eggplant were used as alternatives to meat. Additional flavor and nutrition was provided from inexpensive canned tomato paste and puree, hummus
Hummus
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
, tahina
Tahini
Tahini or sesame paste , is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. North African, Greek and West Asian tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds. The Arabic word tahin simply means flour.Tahini is a major component of hummus and...
, and mayonnaise in tubes. Meat was scarce, and it was not until the late 1950s that herds of beef cattle were introduced into the agricultural economy.
Hubeza, a local variety of the mallow
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
plant, became an important food source during the War of Independence. During the siege of Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (1948)
The Battle for Jerusalem occurred from 30 November 1947 to 11 June 1948 when Jewish and Arab population of Mandatory Palestine and later Israeli and Jordanian armies fought for the control of the city....
, when convoys of food could not reach the city, Jerusalemites went out to the fields to pick hubeza leaves, which are high in iron and vitamins. The Jerusalem radio station, Kol Hamagen, broadcast instructions for cooking it that were picked up in Jordan convinced the Arabs that the Jews were dying of starvation and victory was at hand. In the past decade, food writers in Israel have encouraged the population to prepare hubeza on Israel Independence Day. Local chefs have begun to serve hubeza and other wild plants gathered from the fields in upscale restaurants.
Impact of immigration
Immigrants to Israel have incorporated elements of the cuisines of the cultures and countries from whence they originated. During approximately fifty years before 1948, there were successive waves of Jewish immigrationAliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
, which brought with them a whole range of foods and cooking styles. Immigrants arriving from central Europe brought foods such as schnitzel and strudel
Strudel
A strudel is a type of layered pastry with a — most often sweet — filling inside, often served with cream. It became well known and gained popularity in the 18th century through the Habsburg Empire....
s, while Russian Jews brought borsht and herring.
Ashkenazi dishes include chicken soup
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made by bringing to a boil and then simmering chicken parts and/or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such...
, schnitzel and chopped liver
Chopped liver
Chopped liver is a spread popular in Jewish cuisine.It is often made by sautéeing or broiling liver and onions in schmaltz; adding hard-boiled eggs, salt and pepper, and grinding that mixture...
, gefilte fish
Gefilte fish
Gefilte fish is a poached fish mince stuffed into the fish skin.More common since the Second World War are the Polish patties similar to quenelles or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp or pike...
and kugel
Kugel
Kugel is a baked Ashkenazi Jewish pudding or casserole, similar to a pie, most commonly made from egg noodles or potatoes, though at times made of zucchini, apples, spinach, broccoli, cranberry, or sweet potato...
. The first Israeli patisseries were opened by Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
, who popularized cakes and pastries from central and Eastern Europe, such as yeast cakes (babka), nut spirals (schnecken), chocolate rolls and layered pastries.
After 1948, the greatest impact came from the large migration of Jews from Turkey, Iraq, Kurdistan and Yemen, and Mizrahi Jews from North Africa, particularly Morocco. Typically, the staff of army, schools, hospitals, hotels and restaurant kitchens has consisted of Mizrahi, Kurdish and Yemenite Jews, and this has had an influence on the cooking fashions and ingredients of the country.
Mizrahi cuisine, the cuisine of Jews from North Africa, features grilled meats, sweet and savory puff pastries, rice dishes, stuffed vegetables, pita breads and salads, and shares many similarities with Arab cuisine. Other North African dishes popular in Israel include couscous
Couscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
, shakshouka
Shakshouka
Shakshouka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, often spiced with cumin. It is believed to have Algerian and Tunisian origins.-Etymology:...
, matbucha
Matbucha
right|thumb|250px|MatbuchaMatbucha is a cooked dish of tomatoes and roasted bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili pepper. The name of the dish originates from Arabic and means "cooked [salad]". It is served as an appetizer, often as part of a meze. In Israel it is sometimes referred to as...
, carrot salad and chraime (slices of fish cooked in a spicy tomato sauce). Sephardic dishes, with Balkan and Turkish influences incorporated in Israeli cuisine include burek
Burek
Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka . It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables...
as, yoghurt
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...
and taramosalata
Taramosalata
Taramosalata is a Greek and Turkish meze. It is traditionally made from taramas, the salted and cured roe of the cod or the carp, though blends based on other forms of fish roe, particularly cod, have become more common. The roe is mixed with either bread crumbs or mashed potato, and lemon juice,...
. Yemenite foods include jachnun
Jachnun
Jachnun is a traditional Yemenite Jewish dish prepared from rolled dough which is baked on very low heat for about ten hours. The dough is rolled out thinly, brushed with shortening , and rolled up, similar to puff pastry. It turns a dark amber color and has a slightly sweet taste...
, malawach
Malawach
Malawach or malawah is a fried bread that is a staple of the Jews of Yemen.Malawach resembles a thick pancake, and it consists of thin layers of puff pastry brushed with oil or fat and cooked flat in a frying pan...
, skhug
Skhug
Skhug also spelled zhug, is a hot sauce popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. Originally from Yemen, it's also popular in Israel.Skhug is made from fresh hot peppers seasoned with coriander, garlic and various spices. Skhug adom is made with red peppers and skhug yarok from green peppers...
and kubane. Iraqi dishes popular in Israel include amba
Amba (condiment)
Amba is a tangy mango pickle condiment popular in middle eastern cuisine particularly Iraqi and Israeli cuisines. It is also popular in India, where it originates, and is widely manufactured and bottled for the world market...
, various types of kubbeh, sambusac, sabich
Sabich
Sabich is an Israeli food consisting of pita stuffed with fried eggplant and hard boiled eggs. Local consumption is said to have stemmed from a tradition among Mizrahi Jews, who ate it on Shabbat morning.-Etymology:...
and pickled vegetables (hamutzim).
Modern trends
As Israeli agriculture developed and new kinds of fruits and vegetables appeared on the market, cooks and chefs began to experiment and devise new dishes with them.They also began using "biblical" ingredients such as honey, figs, and pomegranates, and indigenous foods such as prickly pears (tzabar) and chickpeas. Since the late 1970s, there has been an increased interest in international cuisine, cooking with wine and herbs, and vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. A more sophisticated food culture in Israel began to develop when cookbooks, such as “From the Kitchen with Love” by Ruth Sirkis, published in 1974, introduced international cooking trends, and together with the opening of restaurants serving cuisines such as Chinese, Italian and French, encouraged more dining out.
The 1980s were a formative decade: the increased optimism after the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, the economic recovery of the mid-1980s and the increasing travel abroad by average citizens were factors contributing to a greater interest in food and wine. In addition, high quality, locally produced ingredients became increasingly available. For example, privately owned dairies began to produce handmade cheeses from goat, sheep and cow’s milk, which quickly became very popular both among chefs and the general public. In 1983, the Golan Heights Winery
Golan Heights Winery
The Golan Heights Winery is an Israeli winery located in Katzrin, built on the site of an agricultural village from the Mishnaic period in the Golan Heights.-History:...
was the first of many new Israeli winemakers to help transform tastes with their production of world-class, semi-dry and dry wines. New attention was paid to the making of handmade breads and the production of high quality olive oil. The successful development of aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
ensured a steady supply of fresh fish, and the agricultural revolution in Israel led to an overwhelming choice and quality of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs.
Ethnic heritage cooking, both Sephardic and Ashkenazi, has made a comeback with the growing acceptance of the heterogeneous society. Apart from home cooking, many ethnic foods are now available in street markets, supermarkets and restaurants, or are served at weddings
Jewish wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...
and bar mitzvahs, and people increasingly eat foods from ethnic backgrounds other than their own. Overlap and combinations of foods from different ethnic groups is becoming standard as a multi-ethnic food culture develops.
The 1990s saw an increasing interest in international cuisines. Sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
, in particular, has taken hold as a popular style for eating out and as an entrée for events. In restaurants, fusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not being categorized per any one particular cuisine style, and can pertain to innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.-Categories and types:...
, with the melding of classic cuisines such as French and Japanese with local ingredients has become widespread. In the 2000s, the trend of “eating healthy” with an emphasis on organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
and whole grain
Whole grain
Whole grains are cereal grains that contain cereal germ, endosperm, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted while refined grains generally will not sprout. Whole-meal products are made by grinding whole grains in order to make...
foods has become prominent, and medical research has led many Israelis to re-embrace the Mediterranean diet
Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional recommendation inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy, Crete and much of the rest of Greece in the 1960s....
, with its touted health benefits.
Characteristics
Geography has a large influence on Israel cuisine, and foods common in the Mediterranean region, such as olives, wheat, chickpeas, dairy products, fish, and vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini are prominent in Israeli cuisine. Fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful in Israel and are cooked and served in many ways.There are various climatic areas in Israel
Geography of Israel
The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in western Asia...
and areas it has settled that allow a variety of products to be grown. Citrus trees such as orange, lemon and grapefruit thrive on the coastal plain. Figs, pomegranates and olives also grow in the cooler hill areas. The subtropical climate near the Sea of Galilee and in the Jordan River Valley is suitable for mangoes, kiwis and bananas, while the temperate climate of the mountains of the Galilee and the Golan is suitable for grapes, apples and cherries.
Israeli eating customs also conform to the wider Mediterranean region, with lunch, rather than dinner, being the focal meal of a regular workday. “Kibbutz foods” have been adopted by many Israelis for their light evening meals as well as breakfasts, and may consist of various types of cheeses, both soft and hard, yogurt, labne and sour cream, vegetables and salads, olives, hard-boiled eggs or omelets, pickled and smoked herring, a variety of breads, and fresh orange juice and coffee.
In addition, Jewish holidays influence the cuisine, with the preparation of traditional foods at holiday times, such as various types of challah
Challah
Challah also khale ,, berches , barkis , bergis , chałka , vánočka , zopf and kitke , is a special braided bread eaten on...
(braided bread) for Shabbats and Festivals, jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) for Hanukah, the hamantaschen pastry (oznei haman) for Purim, charoset, a type of fruit paste, for Passover, and dairy foods for Shavuot. The Shabbat dinner, eaten on Friday, and to a lesser extent the Shabbat lunch, is a significant meal in Israeli homes, together with holiday meals.
Although not all Jews in Israel keep kosher, the tradition of kashrut strongly influences the availability of certain foods and their preparation in homes, public institutions and many restaurants, including the separation of milk and meat and avoiding the use of non-kosher foods, especially pork and shellfish. During Passover, bread and other leavened foods are prohibited and matza and leaven-free foods are substituted.
Foods
Israel does not have a universally recognized national dish; however, many consider it to be falafelFalafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
, deep fried balls of seasoned, ground chickpeas. Street vendors throughout Israel sell falafel and it is a favorite "street food".
Salads and appetizers
Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from...
. For lunch and dinner, salad may be served a side dish. A light meal of salad, hummus and French fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
served in a pita
Pita
Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...
is referred to as chipsalat.
Israeli salad
Israeli salad
Israeli salad is a chopped salad of finely diced tomato and cucumber. "Distinguished by the tiny diced tomatoes and cucumbers," it is described as the "most well-known national dish of Israel."...
is typically made with finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Variations include the addition of diced red or green bell peppers, grated carrot, finely shredded cabbage or lettuce, sliced radish, fennel, spring onions and chives, chopped parsley, or other herbs and spices such as mint
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
, za'atar
Za'atar
Za'atar is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum , Calamintha , Thymus vulgaris and Satureja . It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb, mixed together with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices...
and sumac
Sumac
Sumac is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America....
. Although popularized by the kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im, versions of this mixed salad were brought to Israel from various places. For example, Jews from India
Indian Jews
The history of the Jews in India reaches back to ancient times.Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India in recorded history. The better-established ancient communities have assimilated a large number of local traditions through...
prepare it with finely chopped ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and green chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
s, North African Jews may add preserved lemon peel and cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper
The cayenne pepper—also known as the Guinea spice,cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper,or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper—is a red, hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes and for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum...
, and Bukharan Jews
Bukharan Jews
Bukharan Jews, also Bukharian Jews or Bukhari Jews, or яҳудиёни Бухоро Yahūdieni Bukhoro , Bukhori Hebrew Script: יהודיאני בוכאראי and יהודיאני בוכארי), also called the Binai Israel, are Jews from Central Asia who speak Bukhori, a dialect of the Tajik-Persian language...
chop the vegetables extremely finely and use vinegar, without oil, in the dressing.
A large variety of eggplant salads and dips
Eggplant salads and appetizers
Many cuisines feature eggplant salads and appetizers.-Mediterranean/Middle East:Baba ghanoush is a popular Levantine dish of eggplant mashed and mixed with various seasonings. Frequently the eggplant is baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky...
are made with roasted eggplants. Baba ghanoush
Baba ghanoush
Baba ghanoush, baba ganush, baba ghannouj or baba ghannoug is a Levantine dish of aubergine mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and various seasonings. A popular preparation method is for the eggplant to be baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a...
, called salat ḥatzilim in Israel, is made with tahina
Tahina
The Tahina Palm is a rare species of gigantic palm that is found only in the Analalava District of northwestern Madagascar...
and other seasonings such as garlic, lemon juice, onions, herbs and spices. The eggplant is sometimes grilled over an open flame so that the pulp has a smoky taste. A particularly Israeli variation of the salad is made with mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
. Eggplant salads are also made with yoghurt, or with feta
Feta
Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...
cheese, chopped onion and tomato, or in the style of Romanian Jews, with roasted red pepper.
Tahini
Tahini or sesame paste , is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. North African, Greek and West Asian tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds. The Arabic word tahin simply means flour.Tahini is a major component of hummus and...
is often used as a dressing for falafel, serves as a cooking sauce for meat and fish, and forms the basis of sweets such as halva
Halva
Halva refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, served across the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Malta and the Jewish world.The term halva ,...
.
Hummus is a cornerstone of Israeli cuisine, and consumption in Israel has been compared by food critic Elena Ferretti to "peanut butter in America, Nutella in Europe or Vegemite in Australia". Hummus
Hummus
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
in pita is a common lunch for schoolchildren, and is a popular addition to many meals. Supermarkets offer a variety of commercially prepared hummus, and some Israelis will go out of their way for fresh hummus prepared at a hummusia, an establishment devoted exclusively to selling hummus.
Israeli-style avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
salad, with lemon juice and chopped scallions, was introduced by farmers who planted avocado trees on the coastal plain in the 1920s. Avocados have since become a winter delicacy and are cut into salads as well as being spread on bread.
A meze
Meze
Meze or mezze is a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as dinner or lunch, with or without drinks. In Levantine cuisines and in the Caucasus region, meze is served at the beginning of all large-scale meals....
of fresh and cooked vegetable salads, pickled cucumbers and other vegetables, hummus and tahina dips, labneh cheese with olive oil, and ikra is served at festive meals and in restaurants. Salads include Turkish salad (a piquant salad of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices), tabbouleh, spicy Moroccan carrot salad, marinated roasted red peppers, deep fried cauliflower florets, matbucha
Matbucha
right|thumb|250px|MatbuchaMatbucha is a cooked dish of tomatoes and roasted bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili pepper. The name of the dish originates from Arabic and means "cooked [salad]". It is served as an appetizer, often as part of a meze. In Israel it is sometimes referred to as...
, and various eggplant salads.
Modern Israeli interpretations of the meze blend traditional and modern, pairing ordinary appetizers with unique combinations such as fennel and pistachio salad, beetroot and pomegranate salad, and celery and kashkaval cheese salad.
Stuffed vegetables, called memula’im, were originally designed to extend cheap ingredients into a meal. They are prepared by cooks in Israel from all ethnic backgrounds and are made with many varying flavors, such as spicy or sweet-and-sour, with ingredients such as peppers
Stuffed peppers
Stuffed peppers is a dish which exists in different names and forms around the world.- India :Stuffed Peppers is one of several stuffed vegetable dishes in Indian cuisine...
, eggplants and zucchini squash, and stuffing such as meat and rice in Balkan style, bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
in Middle Eastern fashion, or with ptitim
Ptitim
Ptitim is an Israeli toasted pasta shaped like rice or little balls. Outside of Israel it is known as Israeli couscous or Jerusalem couscous. -History:...
, a type of Israeli pasta. The Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
introduced stuffed vine leaves in the 16th century and vine leaves are commonly stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, although other fillings, such as lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
s, have evolved among the various communities. Artichoke bottoms stuffed with meat are famous as one the grand dishes of the Sephardi Jerusalem cuisine of the Old Yishuv
Old Yishuv
The Old Yishuv refers to the Jewish community that lived in the Land of Israel from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the First Aliyah in 1881-82, prior to the onset of Zionist immigration....
. Moroccan "cigars" are soft meat filling wrapped in phyllo-dough, and deep fried in oil or oven baked. They are commonly served at weddings and other celebrations.
Soups and dumplings
Chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made by bringing to a boil and then simmering chicken parts and/or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such...
has been a mainstay of Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine
Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
since medieval times and is popular in Israel. Classic chicken soup is prepared as a simple broth with a few vegetables, such as onion, carrot and celery, and herbs such as dill and parsley. More elaborate versions are prepared by Sephardim with orzo or rice, or the addition of lemon juice or herbs such as mint or coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
, while Ashkenazim may add noodles. An Israeli adaption of the traditional Ashkenazi soup pasta known as mandlen, called "shkedei marak
Shkedei Marak
Shkedei marak , known as "soup mandel" in the United States, is an Israeli food product consisting of crisp mini croutons used as a soup accompaniment. Shkedei marak are small yellow squares made from flour and palm oil. As a parve product, they can be used in either meat or cream soups...
" ("soup almonds") in Israel, are commonly served with chicken soup.
Particularly on holidays, dumplings are served with the soup, such as the kneidlach (matzah balls) of the Ashkenazim or the gondi (chickpea dumplings) of Iranian Jews, or kubbeh, a family of dumplings brought to Israel by Middle Eastern Jews. Especially popular are kubbeh prepared from bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
and stuffed with ground lamb and pine nuts, and the soft semolina
Semolina
Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, and also used for breakfast cereals and puddings. Semolina is also used to designate coarse middlings from other varieties of wheat, and from other grains such as rice and corn.-Name:The term semolina derives from...
kubbeh cooked in soup, which Jews of Kurdish
Kurdish Jews
Kurdish Jews or Kurdistani Jews are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities, inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, roughly covering parts of Iran, northern Iraq, Syria and eastern Turkey. Their clothing and culture is similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Christian...
or Iraqi heritage habitually enjoy as a Friday lunchtime meal.
Lentil soup
Lentil soup
Lentil soup, which is usually served hot, may be vegetarian, but can also be made with meat stock or pieces of meat. Red or green lentils may be used. Other ingredients may include vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celery, parsley, and onion. Common added flavorings include garlic, cumin,...
is prepared in many ways, with additions such as cilantro or meat. Other soups include the harira of the Moroccan Jews, which is a spicy soup of lamb (or chicken), chickpeas, lentils and rice, and Yemenite marrow bone soup known as ftut, which is served on special occasions such as weddings, and is seasoned with the traditional hawaij
Hawaij
Hawaij , also spelled Hawayej or Hawayij is the name given to a variety of Yemenite ground spice mixtures used primarily for soups and coffee...
spice mix.
Grains and pasta
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
is prepared in numerous ways in Israel, from simple steamed white rice
White rice
White rice is the name given to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed. This alters the flavour, texture and appearance of the rice and helps prevent spoilage and extend its storage life. After milling, the rice is polished, resulting in a seed with a bright, white, shiny...
to festive casseroles. "Green" rice, prepared with a variety of fresh chopped herbs, is a favored by Persian Jews
Persian Jews
Persian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...
. Another rice dish is prepared with thin noodles that are first fried and then boiled with the rice. Mujadara is a popular rice and lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
dish, adopted from Arab cuisine, known in Israel as mejadra.
Couscous
Couscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
was brought to Israel by Jews from North Africa
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
. It is still prepared in some restaurants or by traditional cooks by passing semolina through a sieve several times and then cooking it over an aromatic broth in a special steamer pot called a couscoussière. Generally, "instant" couscous is widely used for home cooking. Couscous is used in salads, main courses and even some desserts. As a main course, chicken or lamb, or the vegetables cooked in a soup flavored with saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
or turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
are served on the steamed couscous.
Ptitim
Ptitim
Ptitim is an Israeli toasted pasta shaped like rice or little balls. Outside of Israel it is known as Israeli couscous or Jerusalem couscous. -History:...
are an Israeli pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
which now come in many shapes, including pearls, loops, stars and hearts, but were originally shaped like grains of rice, as they originated in the early days of the State of Israel as a wheat-based substitute for rice, when rice, a staple of the Mizrahi Jews, was scarce. Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
, is reputed to have asked the Osem company
Osem (company)
Osem Investments Ltd. is one of the largest food manufacturers and distributors in Israel.The group is majority owned by Nestlé S.A...
to devise this substitute, and it was thus nicknamed "Ben-Gurion's rice". Ptitim can be boiled like pasta, or prepared pilaf
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
-style by sautéing and then boiling in water or stock, or baking them in a casserole. Like other pasta, they can be flavored in many ways with spices, herbs and sauces. Once considered primarily a food for children, ptitim are now prepared in restaurants both in Israel and internationally.
Fish
Fresh fish is readily available, caught off Israel's coast or raised in ponds in the wake of advances in fish farming in Israel. Fresh fish is served whole, in the Mediterranean style, grilled or fried, dressed only with freshly squeezed lemon juice. TroutTrout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
(called forel), gilthead seabream (called denisse), St. Peter's fish and other fresh fish are prepared this way. Fish are also eaten baked, with or without vegetables, or fried whole or in slices, or grilled over coals, and served with different sauces.
Fish are also braised
Braising
Braising , is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour...
, as in a dish called chraime, in which fish such as grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
(better known in Israel by its Arabic name lokus) or halibut
Halibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...
is prepared in a sauce with hot pepper and other spices for Rosh Hashanah, Passover and the Sabbath by North African Jews. Everyday versions are prepared with cheaper kinds of fish and are served in market eateries, public kitchens and at home for weekday meals.
Fish, traditionally carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
, but now other firm white fish too, are minced and shaped into loaves or balls and cooked in fish broth
Broth
Broth is a liquid food preparation, typically consisting of either water or an already flavored stock, in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmered. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce. It can be eaten alone or with garnish...
, such as the gefilte fish
Gefilte fish
Gefilte fish is a poached fish mince stuffed into the fish skin.More common since the Second World War are the Polish patties similar to quenelles or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp or pike...
of the Ashkenazi Jews, who also brought pickled herring from Eastern Europe. Herring is often served at the kiddush
Kiddush
Kiddush , literally, "sanctification," is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays.-Significance:...
that follows synagogue services on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
. In the Russian immigrant community it may be served as a light meal with boiled potatoes, sour cream, dark breads
Rye bread
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
and schnapps
Schnapps
Schnapps is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage. The English word schnapps is derived from the German Schnaps , which can refer to any strong alcoholic drink but particularly those containing at least 32% ABV...
or vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
.
Poultry and meat
ChickenChicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
is the most widely eaten meat in Israel, followed by turkey. Chicken is prepared in a multitude of ways, from simple oven-roasted chicken to elaborate casseroles with rich sauces. Examples include chicken casserole with couscous, inspired by Moroccan Jewish cooking, chicken with olives, a Mediterranean classic, and chicken albondigas (meat balls) in tomato sauce, from Jerusalem Sephardi cuisine. Albondigas are also prepared from ground meat.
Grilled
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
and barbecued meat
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
are common in Israeli cuisine. The country has many small eateries specializing in beef and lamb kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
and shashlik
Shashlik
Shashlyk or Shashlik , is a form of Shish kebab popular throughout Israel, Lithuania, former Soviet Union, Iran, Mongolia, and parts of central Europe. Shashlyk is originally lamb depending on local preferences and religious observances...
. Outdoor barbecuing, known as mangal or al ha-esh (on the fire) is a beloved Israeli pastime. In modern times, Israel Independence Day is frequently celebrated with a picnic or barbecue in parks and forests around the country.
Wiener schnitzel
Schnitzel is a traditional Austrian dish made with boneless meat thinned with a mallet , coated in bread crumbs and fried. It is a popular part of Viennese, Austrian cuisine and German Cuisine...
is cooked in both butter and oil, but in Israel only oil is used, because of kashrut. Today, most cooks buy schnitzel already breaded and serve it with hummus, tahina, and other salads for a quick main meal. Other immigrant groups have added variations from their own backgrounds; Yemenite Jews, for example, flavor it with hawaij
Hawaij
Hawaij , also spelled Hawayej or Hawayij is the name given to a variety of Yemenite ground spice mixtures used primarily for soups and coffee...
. In addition, vegetarian versions have become popular and the Israeli food company, Tiv′ol, was the first to produce a vegetarian schnitzel from a soya meat-substitute.
Various types of sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
are part of Sephardi and Mizrahi cuisine in Israel. Jews from Tunisia make a sausage, called osban, with a filling of ground meat or liver, rice, chopped spinach, and a blend of herbs and spices. Jews from Syria
Syrian Jews
Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: from the Jews who inhabited the region of today's Syria from ancient times Syrian Jews are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern...
make smaller sausages, called gheh, with a different spice blend while Jews from Iraq make the sausages, called mumbar, with chopped meat and liver, rice, and their traditional mix of spices.
Dairy products
Many fresh, high quality dairy products are available, such as cottage cheeseCottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from...
, white cheeses including leben, eshel and yogurts, yellow cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
s, and salt-brined cheeses typical of the Mediterranean region.
Dairy farming has been a major sector of Israeli agriculture since the founding of the state, and the yield of local milk cows is amongst the highest in the world. Initially, the moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
im (farming cooperatives) and kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im produced mainly soft white cheese as it was inexpensive and nutritious. It became an important staple in the years of austerity and gained a popularity that it enjoys until today.
Soft white cheese, gvina levana, is often referred to by its fat content, such as 5% or 9%. It is eaten plain, or mixed with fruit or vegetables, spread on bread or crackers and used in a variety of pies and pastries.
Labneh is a yogurt-based white cheese common throughout the Balkans and the Middle East. It is sold plain, with za'atar, or in olive oil. It is often eaten for breakfast with other cheeses and bread.
Safed cheese, gvina tsfatit, a white cheese in brine, similar to feta
Feta
Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...
, was first produced by the Meiri dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
in Safed
Safed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
in 1837 and is still produced there by descendants of the original cheese makers. The Meiri dairy also became famous for its production of the Balkan-style brinza cheese
Bryndza
Bryndza is a sheep milk cheese made in Central and Eastern Europe. Recipes differ slightly across the countries.-Etymology:Brânză or brînză is the generic word for "cheese" in Romanian, there is no special type of cheese associated with it...
, which became known as Bulgarian cheese due to its popularity in the early 1950s among Jewish immigrants from Bulgaria. Other dairies now also produce many varieties of these cheeses. Bulgarian yoghurt, introduced to Israel by Bulgarian Jewish survivors of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, is used to make a traditional yoghurt and cucumber soup
Tarator
Tarator or Taratur , is a traditional Balkan dish. It is a cold soup , popular in the summertime in Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Armenia and in Cyprus...
.
In the early 1980s, small privately owned dairies began to produce handmade cheeses from goat and sheep’s milk as well as cow’s milk, resembling traditional cheeses like those made in rural France, Spain and Italy. Many are made with organic
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
milk. These are now also produced by kibbutzim and the national Tnuva dairy
Tnuva
Tnuva, or Tenuvah, is a cooperative in Israel specializing in milk and dairy products. The 620 members of the cooperative are made up a large number of kibbutzim and moshavim in Israel...
.
Egg dishes
Shakshuka, a dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, is a national favorite, especially in the winter. It is traditionally served up in a cast iron pan with bread to mop up the sauce.Fruit
Israel is one of the world's leading fresh citrus producers and exporters, and more than forty types of fruit are grown in Israel, including citrus fruits such as orangesOrange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, grapefruit, tangerines and the pomelit, a hybrid of a grapefruit and a pomelo
Pomelo
The pomelo is a citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white flesh and very thick albedo . It is the largest citrus fruit, 15–25 cm in diameter, and usually weighing 1–2 kg...
, developed in Israel. Fruits grown in Israel include avocados, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, cherries
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, nectarines, grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s, dates
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
, strawberries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
, prickly pear (tzabbar)
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
, persimmon
Persimmon
A persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros in the ebony wood family . The word Diospyros means "the fire of Zeus" in ancient Greek. As a tree, it is a perennial plant...
, loquat
Loquat
The loquat , Eriobotrya japonica, is a fruit tree in the family Rosaceae, indigenous to southeastern China. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar...
(shesek) and pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
s, and are eaten on a regular basis: Israelis consume an average of nearly 160 kilograms (352.7 lb) of fruit per person a year.
Fruit is served as a snack or dessert. Fresh-squeezed fruit juices are prepared at street kiosks, and sold bottled in supermarkets. Various fruits are added to chicken or meat dishes and fresh fruit salad and compote
Compote
Compote is a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are immersed in water and with sugar and spices added to the dish, over gentle heat. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder,...
are often served at the end of the meal.
Baked dishes, cookies, pastries
There is a strong tradition of home bakingBaking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
in Israel arising from the years when there were very few bakeries to meet demand. Many professional bakers came to Israel from Central Europe and founded local pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
shops and bakeries, often called konditoria
Konditorei
Konditorei is the German word for a pâtisserie and confectionery shop. A Konditorei typically offers a wide variety of pastries and is like a little café. In Germany and Austria it is a very popular custom to go to a Konditorei to have a cake and some coffee or hot chocolate mid-afternoon...
, thus shaping local tastes and preferences. There is now a local style with a wide selection of cakes and pastries that includes influences from other cuisines and combines traditional European ingredients with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients, such as halva, phyllo
Phyllo
Phyllo, filo, or fillo dough is paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough used for making pastries in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine.-History:An early, thick form of phyllo appears to be of Central Asian Turkic origin...
dough, dates, and rose water.
Examples include citrus-flavored semolina cakes
Basbousa
Basbousa or Hareesa , revani or ravani and revani is a sweet cake made of a semolina or farina soaked in syrup. Coconut is a popular addition...
, moistened with syrup and called basbousa, tishpishti or revani in Sephardic bakeries. The Ashkenazi babka has been adapted to include halva or chocolate spread, in addition to the old-fashioned cinnamon. There are also many varieties of apple cake
Apple cake
Apple cake is a popular dessert produced with the main ingredient of apples. Such a cake is made through the process of slicing this sweet fruit to add fragrance to a plain cake base. Traditional apple cakes go a step further by including various spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon, which give off a...
. Cookies made with crushed dates (ma'amoul
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are small shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios or walnuts . They are popular in Levantine cuisine and in the Gulf countries. They may be in the shape of balls or of domed or flattened cookies...
) are served with coffee or tea, as throughout the Middle East.
Jerusalem kugel
Kugel
Kugel is a baked Ashkenazi Jewish pudding or casserole, similar to a pie, most commonly made from egg noodles or potatoes, though at times made of zucchini, apples, spinach, broccoli, cranberry, or sweet potato...
(kugel yerushalmi) is an Israeli version of the traditional noodle pudding, kugel, made with caramelized sugar and spiced with black pepper. It was originally a specialty of the Ashkenazi Jews of the Old Yishuv. It is typically baked in a very low oven overnight and eaten after synagogue services on Sabbath morning.
Burekas are savory pastries brought to Israel by Jews from Turkey
History of the Jews in Turkey
Turkish Jews The history of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey covers the 2,400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 5th century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed to the...
, the Balkans and Salonika
History of the Jews of Thessaloniki
The history of the Jews of Thessaloniki, Greece, reaches back two thousand years.The city of Thessaloniki housed a major Jewish community, mostly of Sephardic origin, until the middle of the Second World War...
. They are made of a flaky dough in a variety of shapes, frequently topped with sesame seeds, and are filled with cheese, spinach, potatoes or mushrooms. Burekas are sold at kiosks, supermarkets and cafes, and are served at functions and celebrations, as well as being prepared by home cooks. They are often served as a light meal with hardboiled eggs and chopped vegetable salad
Israeli salad
Israeli salad is a chopped salad of finely diced tomato and cucumber. "Distinguished by the tiny diced tomatoes and cucumbers," it is described as the "most well-known national dish of Israel."...
.
Ashkenazi Jews from Vienna and Budapest brought sophisticated pastry making traditions to Israel. Sacher torte and Linzer torte
Linzer Torte
The Linzer Torte is an Austrian torte with a lattice design on top of the pastry. It is named after the city of Linz, Austria....
are sold at professional bakeries, but cheesecake
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit , pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked...
and strudel
Strudel
A strudel is a type of layered pastry with a — most often sweet — filling inside, often served with cream. It became well known and gained popularity in the 18th century through the Habsburg Empire....
are also baked at home.
Jelly donuts (sufganiyot
Sufganiyah
A sufganiyah is a ball-shaped doughnut that is first deep-fried, then pierced and injected with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. It is similar to the German Berliner, the Polish pączki, or the Russian ponchik...
), traditionally filled with red jelly (jam), but also custard
Custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce , to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as...
or dulce de leche
Dulce de leche
Dulce de leche is a thick,creamy, caramel-like milk-based sauce or spread.Literally translated, dulce de leche means "sweet from milk". It is prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from caramelised sugar. It is a popular sweet in Latin America, where...
, are eaten as Hanukkah treats.
Breads and sandwiches
In the Jewish communities of the Old YishuvOld Yishuv
The Old Yishuv refers to the Jewish community that lived in the Land of Israel from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the First Aliyah in 1881-82, prior to the onset of Zionist immigration....
, bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
was baked at home. Small commercial bakeries were set up in the mid-19th century. One of the earliest, Berman's Bakery
Berman's Bakery
Berman's Bakery is the oldest commercial bakery in Israel and the second-largest after Angel Bakeries. Founded in 1875 by Kreshe Berman as a cottage industry in Jerusalem's Old City, the family business was the first to open a Jewish store outside the Old City walls and first to build a flour mill...
, was established in 1875, and evolved from a cottage industry making home-baked bread and cakes for Christian pilgrims
Christian pilgrimage
Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the ministry of Jesus. Surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Jerusalem date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers like Saint Jerome and established by Helena, the mother of...
.
Expert bakers who arrived among the immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe in the 1920s and 30s introduced handmade sourdough breads
Sourdough
Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is one of two principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, along with the use of cultivated forms of yeast . It is of particular importance in baking rye-based breads, where yeast...
. From the 1950s, mass-produced bread replaced these loaves and standard, government subsidized loaves known as leḥem aḥid became mostly available until the 1980s, when specialized bakeries again began producing rich sourdough breads in the European tradition, and breads in a Mediterranean style with accents such as olives, cheese, herbs or sun-dried tomato
Sun-dried tomato
Sun-dried tomatoes are ripe tomatoes which are placed in the sun to remove most of the water content from the tomatoes. Cherry types of tomatoes will lose 88% of their initial weight, whilst larger tomatoes can lose up to 93% during the process...
es. A large variety of breads is now available from bakeries and cafes.
Challah
Challah
Challah also khale ,, berches , barkis , bergis , chałka , vánočka , zopf and kitke , is a special braided bread eaten on...
bread is widely purchased or prepared for the Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
. Challah is typically an egg-enriched bread, often braided in the Ashkenazi tradition, or round for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
The Sabbath and festival breads of the Yemenite Jews have become popular in Israel and can be bought frozen in supermarkets. Jachnun
Jachnun
Jachnun is a traditional Yemenite Jewish dish prepared from rolled dough which is baked on very low heat for about ten hours. The dough is rolled out thinly, brushed with shortening , and rolled up, similar to puff pastry. It turns a dark amber color and has a slightly sweet taste...
is very thinly rolled dough, brushed with oil or fat and baked overnight at a very low heat. It is traditionally served with a crushed or grated tomato dip, hard boiled eggs and skhug
Skhug
Skhug also spelled zhug, is a hot sauce popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. Originally from Yemen, it's also popular in Israel.Skhug is made from fresh hot peppers seasoned with coriander, garlic and various spices. Skhug adom is made with red peppers and skhug yarok from green peppers...
. Malawach
Malawach
Malawach or malawah is a fried bread that is a staple of the Jews of Yemen.Malawach resembles a thick pancake, and it consists of thin layers of puff pastry brushed with oil or fat and cooked flat in a frying pan...
is a thin circle of dough toasted in a frying pan. Kubaneh is a yeast dough baked overnight and traditionally served on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
morning. Lahoh is a spongy, pancake-like bread made of fermented flour and water, and fried in a pan. Jews from Ethiopia
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
make a similar bread called injera
Injera
Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea...
from millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
flour.
Pita
Pita
Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...
bread is a double-layered flat or pocket bread traditional in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. It is baked plain, or with a topping of sesame or nigella seeds or za'atar
Za'atar
Za'atar is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum , Calamintha , Thymus vulgaris and Satureja . It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb, mixed together with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices...
. Pita is used in multiple ways, such as stuffed with falafel, salads or various meats as a snack or fast food meal; packed with schnitzel, salad and French fries for lunch; filled with chocolate spread
Chocolate spread
Chocolate spread is a chocolate-flavoured paste which is eaten mostly spread on breads and toasts or similar pastries such as muffins and pitas.Chocolate spread is a product favored mainly by children and serves as a prevalent spread on their sandwiches....
as a snack for schoolchildren; or broken into pieces for scooping up hummus, eggplant and other dips. A lafa is larger, soft flatbread that is rolled up with a falafel or shawarma filling. Various ethnic groups continue to bake traditional flat breads. Jews from the former Soviet republic of Georgia
Georgian Jews
The Georgian Jews are from the nation of Georgia, in the Caucasus...
make the flatbread, lavash
Lavash
Lavash is a soft, thin flatbread popular in several countries of the northern parts of the Middle-East and the southern parts of the Caucasus.Traditionally the dough is rolled out flat and slapped against the hot walls of a clay oven....
.
Confections, sweets and snack foods
BaklavaBaklava
Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia....
is a nut-filled Turkish phyllo pastry sweetened with syrup served at celebrations in Jewish communities who originated in the Middle East. It is also often served in restaurants as dessert, along with small cups of Turkish coffee.
Halva
Halva
Halva refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, served across the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Malta and the Jewish world.The term halva ,...
is a Turkish sweet, made from tehina and sugar, and is popular in Israel. It is used to make original desserts like halva parfait
Parfait (food)
Parfait is a French word literally meaning "perfect" commonly employed to describe a kind of frozen dessert, beginning in 1894.-France:In France, parfait refers to a frozen dessert made of sugar syrup, egg, and cream....
.
Sunflower seed
Sunflower seed
The sunflower seed is the fruit of the sunflower . The term "sunflower seed" is actually a misnomer when applied to the seed in its pericarp . Botanically speaking, it is more properly referred to as an achene. When dehulled, the edible remainder is called the sunflower kernel.There are three types...
s, called garinim, are eaten everywhere, on outings, at stadiums and at home. They are usually purchased unshelled and are cracked open with the teeth. They can be bought freshly roasted from shops and market stalls that specialize in nuts and seeds as well as packaged in supermarkets, along with the also well-liked pumpkin and watermelon seeds, pistachios, and sugar-coated peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
.
Bamba is a soft, peanut-flavored snack food that is a favorite of children, and Bissli
Bissli
Bissli is an Israeli wheat snack produced by the Osem corporation. Bissli is Osem's leading snack brand after Bamba.Over 4,000 tons of Bissli are produced each year in an array of shapes and flavors. Bissli is a crunchy snack that has been likened to fried pasta...
is a crunchy snack in various flavors, including BBQ, pizza, falafel and onion.
Krembo
Krembo
Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats are produced in different variations around the world, with several countries claiming to have invented it or hailing it as their "national confection." The first chocolate-coated marshmallow treat was created about 200 years ago in Denmark.-Chocolate teacake:In...
is a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat sold only in the winter, and is a very popular alternative to ice cream. It comes wrapped in colorful aluminum foil, and consists of a round biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
base covered with a dollop of marshmallow
Marshmallow
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
cream coated in chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
.
Milky is a popular dairy pudding that comes in chocolate, vanilla and mocha
Cafe Mocha
A caffè mocha or café mochaAs elsewhere in coffee naming, the Italian caffè and French café are commonly found, as are the hyperforeignisms caffé and cafè, which confuse the accents. Also, in Italian, the correct spelling is Moka, used both for the city and the Moka pot. "Mocha", by contrast, is...
flavors with a layer of whipped cream on top.
Sauces and condiments
Chili-based hot sauceHot sauce
Hot sauce, chili sauce or pepper sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients.-Ingredients:There are many recipes for hot sauces - the common ingredient being any kind of peppers. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers...
s are prominent in Israeli food, and are based on green or red chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
s. They are served with appetizers, felafel, casseroles and grilled meats, and are blended with hummus and tahina. Although originating primarily from North African and Yemenite immigrants, these hot sauces are now widely consumed.
Skhug
Skhug
Skhug also spelled zhug, is a hot sauce popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. Originally from Yemen, it's also popular in Israel.Skhug is made from fresh hot peppers seasoned with coriander, garlic and various spices. Skhug adom is made with red peppers and skhug yarok from green peppers...
is a spicy chili pepper sauce brought to Israel by Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
, and has become one of Israel's most popular condiments. It is added to falafel and hummus and is also spread over fish, and to white cheese, eggs, salami or avocado sandwiches for extra heat and spice.
Other hot sauces made from chili peppers and garlic are the harissa
Harissa
Harissa is a Tunisian hot chili sauce commonly eaten in North Africa whose main ingredients are piri piri , serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers and spices such as garlic paste, coriander, red chili powder, caraway as well as some vegetable or olive oil...
of the Tunisian Jewish community, and the filfel chuma
Filfel chuma
Filfel chuma, , also spelled pilpelshuma is the typical hot sauce of Libyan Jewish cuisine. It is made from powdered sweet and hot peppers and crushed garlic...
of the Libyan Jewish community in Israel.
Amba
Amba (condiment)
Amba is a tangy mango pickle condiment popular in middle eastern cuisine particularly Iraqi and Israeli cuisines. It is also popular in India, where it originates, and is widely manufactured and bottled for the world market...
is a pickled mango sauce, introduced by Indian and Iraqi Jews, and commonly used a condiment with shawarma and falafel and vegetable salads.
Drinks
There is a strong coffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
drinking culture in Israel. Coffee is prepared as instant
Instant coffee
Instant coffee, also called soluble coffee and coffee powder, is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans. Instant coffee is commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated...
(nes), iced, latte
Latte
A latte is a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk. Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as masala chai, mate or matcha...
(hafuḥ), Italian-style espresso
Espresso
Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....
, or Turkish coffee, which is sometimes flavored with cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
(hel). Jewish writers, artists and musicians who immigrated to Israel before the Second World War introduced the model of the Viennese coffeehouse
Viennese café
The Viennese Coffee House is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part shaping Viennese culture.Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as "Intangible Cultural Heritage" in the Austrian inventory of the "National Agency for the Intangible Cultural...
with its traditional décor, relaxed atmosphere, coffee and pastries.
Cafés are found everywhere in urban areas and function as meeting places for socializing and conducting business. Almost all serve baked goods and sandwiches and many also serve light meals. There are both chains and privately owned neighborhood cafés. Most have outdoor seating to take advantage of Israel's temperate weather and Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
is particularly well-known for its café culture.
Tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
is also served at cafés and drunk at home. Tea is prepared in many ways, from plain brewed Russian-style with sugar, to tea with lemon or milk, and Middle Eastern-style with mint
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
(nana).
Sahlab
Salep
Salep is a flour made from grinding the dried tubers of the orchid genus Orchis . These tubers contain a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide called glucomannan. Salep flour is consumed today in beverages and desserts, primarily in Turkey and in places that were formerly part of the Ottoman...
is a drinkable pudding once made of the powdered bulb of the orchid plant but today made with cornstarch. It is usually sold in markets or by street vendors, especially in the winter. It is topped with cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
and chopped pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
s.
Malt beer
Malt beer
Malt beer is a beverage made from barley malt syrup, sugar, water, yeast and hops. It is very popular in Israel where it is called "בירה שחורה" . Malt beer has a negligible alcohol content. It is sometimes called Malta or Wheat Soda...
, known as black beer (בירה שחורה, bira sheḥora), is a non-alcoholic beverage produced in Israel since pre-state times. Goldstar and Maccabi are Israeli beers. Recently, some small boutique breweries began brewing new brands of beer, such as "Dancing Camel", "Negev" and "Cna'an".
Wine
The vast majority of Israelis drink wine in moderation, and almost always at meals or social occasions. Israelis drink about 6.5 liters of wine per person per year, which is low compared to other wine-drinking Mediterranean countries, but the per capita amount has been increasing since the 1980s as Israeli production of high quality wine grows to meet demand, especially of semi-dry and dry wines. In addition to Israeli wines, an increasing number of wines are imported from France, Italy, Australia, the US, Chile and Argentina.Most of the wine produced and consumed from the 1880s was sweet, kosher wine
Kosher wine
Kosher wine is grape wine produced according to Judaism's religious law, specifically, Jewish dietary laws .To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must be involved in the entire winemaking process and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher...
when the Carmel Winery
Carmel Winery
Carmel Winery is a vineyard and winery in Israel. Founded in 1882 by Edmond James de Rothschild, its products are exported to over 40 countries.- Overview :...
was established, until the 1980s, when more dry or semi-dry wines began to be produced and consumed after the introduction of the Golan Heights Winery
Golan Heights Winery
The Golan Heights Winery is an Israeli winery located in Katzrin, built on the site of an agricultural village from the Mishnaic period in the Golan Heights.-History:...
’s first vintage. The winery was the first to focus on planting and making wines from Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, white Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
and Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...
. These wines are kosher and have won silver and gold medals in international competitions. Israeli wine
Israeli wine
Israeli wine is produced by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique enterprises to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year. Wine has been produced in the Land of Israel since biblical times. In 2009, Israeli wine exports totaled over $22 million...
is now produced by hundreds of wineries, ranging in size from small boutique wineries to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year, which are also exported worldwide.
Street foods
In Israel, as in many other Middle Eastern cities, "street food" is a kind of fast food that is sometimes literally eaten while standing in the street, while in some cases there are places to sit down. The following are some foods that are usually eaten in this way:Falafel are fried balls or patties of spiced, mashed chickpea
Chickpea
The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...
s or fava beans and are a common Middle Eastern street food that have become identified with Israeli cuisine. Falafel
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...
is most often served in a pita, with pickles, tahina, hummus, cut vegetable salad and often, harif, a hot sauce, the type used depending on the origin of the falafel maker. Variations include green falafel, which include parsley and coriander, red falafel made with filfel chuma, yellow falafel made with turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
, and falafel coated with sesame seeds.
Shawarma, (from çevirme, meaning "rotating" in Turkish) is usually made in Israel with turkey, with lamb fat added. The shawarma
Shawarma
Shawarma is a Levantine Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus,...
meat is sliced and marinated and then roasted on a huge rotating skewer. The cooked meat is shaved off and stuffed into a pita, plainly with hummus and tahina, or with additional trimmings such as fresh or fried onion rings, French fries, salads and pickles. More upscale restaurant versions are served on an open flat bread, a lafa, with steak strips, flame roasted eggplant and salads.
Shakshouka, originally a workman’s breakfast popularized by North African Jews in Israel, is made simply of fried eggs in spicy tomato sauce, with other vegetable ingredients or sausage optional. Shakshouka
Shakshouka
Shakshouka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, often spiced with cumin. It is believed to have Algerian and Tunisian origins.-Etymology:...
is typically served in the same frying pan in which it is cooked, with thick slices of white bread to mop up the sauce, and a side of salad. Modern variations include a milder version made with spinach and feta without tomato sauce, and hot chili shakshouka, a version that includes both sweet and hot peppers and coriander.
Jerusalem mixed grill, or me'urav Yerushalmi, consists of mixed grill
Mixed grill
Many regional cuisines feature a mixed grill, a meal consisting of a traditional assortment of grilled meats. Versions of the mixed grill include:...
of chicken giblets
Giblets
Giblets is a culinary term for the edible offal of a fowl, typically including the heart, gizzard, liver, and other visceral organs.A whole bird from a butcher is often packaged with the giblets...
and lamb with onion, garlic and spices. It is one of Jerusalem’s most popular and profitable street foods.
Jerusalem bagels, unlike the round, boiled and baked bagels popularized by Ashkenazi Jews, are long and oblong-shaped, made from bread dough, covered in za’atar or sesame seeds, and are soft, chewy and sweet. They have become a favorite snack for football match crowds, and are also served in hotels as well as at home.
Malabi is a creamy pudding originating from Turkey prepared with milk or cream and cornstarch. It is sold as a street food from carts or stalls, in disposable cups with thick sweet syrup and various crunchy toppings such as chopped pistachios or coconut. Its popularity has resulted in supermarkets selling it in plastic packages and restaurants serving richer and more sophisticated versions using various toppings and garnishes such as berries and fruit. Sahlab is a similar desert made from the powdered tubers of orchids and milk.
Sabiḥ is a traditional sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
that Iraqi immigrants introduced to Israel and is sold at kiosks throughout the country, but especially in Ramat-Gan, where it was first introduced. Sabiḥ
Sabich
Sabich is an Israeli food consisting of pita stuffed with fried eggplant and hard boiled eggs. Local consumption is said to have stemmed from a tradition among Mizrahi Jews, who ate it on Shabbat morning.-Etymology:...
is a pita filled with fried eggplant, hardboiled egg, salad, tehina and pickles.
Tunisian sandwich is usually made from a baguette
Baguette
A baguette is "a long thin loaf of French bread" that is commonly made from basic lean dough...
with various fillings that may include tuna, egg, pickled lemon, salad, and fried hot green pepper.
Places to eat
There are thousands of restaurants, casual eateries, cafés and bars in Israel, offering a wide array of choices in food and culinary styles. Places to eat out that are distinctly Israeli include the following:Falafel stands or kiosks are common in every neighborhood. Falafel vendors compete to stand apart from their competitors and this leads to the offering of additional special extras like chips, deep fried eggplant, salads and pickles for the price of a single portion of falafel.
Hummusia is an establishment that offers only hummus
Hummus
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...
with a limited selection of extras such as tahina, hardboiled egg, pickles, lemon and garlic sauce and pita bread.
Misada Mizrahit (literally, "Eastern restaurant") are inexpensively priced restaurants that serve a basic selection of meze
Meze
Meze or mezze is a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as dinner or lunch, with or without drinks. In Levantine cuisines and in the Caucasus region, meze is served at the beginning of all large-scale meals....
salads followed by grilled meat with a side of French fries and a simple dessert such as chocolate mousse
Mousse
Mousse is derived from the French word mousse which means "lather" or "foam". A mousse is a prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture...
for dessert.
Steakiyot are restaurants which served a meze of salads, followed by skewered grilled meats, particularly shishlik and kebabs.
Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
) dinners are usually family and socially oriented meals. Along with family favorites, and varying to some extent according to ethnic background, traditional dishes are served, such as challah bread, chicken soup, salads, chicken or meat dishes, and cakes or fruits for desert.
Shabbat lunch is also an important social meal. Since antiquity, Jewish communities all over the world devised meat casseroles that begin cooking before the lighting of candles
Shabbat candles
Shabbat candles are candles lit on Friday nights, 18 minutes before sunset, to usher in the Jewish Sabbath.Lighting Shabbat candles is a rabbinically mandated law. Candlelighting is traditionally done by the woman of the household, but in the absence of a woman, it may be done by man...
that marks the commencement of the Sabbath on Friday night, so as to comply with the religious regulations for observing the Sabbath. In modern Israel, this filling dish, in many variations, is still eaten on the Sabbath day, not only in religiously observant households, and is also served in some restaurants during the week.
The basic ingredients are meat and beans or rice simmered overnight on a hotplate or blech
Blech
A blech is a metal sheet used by many observant Jews to cover stovetop burners on Shabbat , as part of the precautions taken to avoid violating the halachic prohibition against cooking on the Sabbath.- Common use : A blech (from the German by way of Yiddish word for tin or sheet metal) is a metal...
, or placed in a slow oven. Ashkenazi cholent
Cholent
Cholent or Hamin is a traditional Jewish stew. It is usually simmered overnight for 12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Shabbat . Cholent was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish religious laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath...
usually contains meat, potatoes, barley and beans, and sometimes kishke, and seasonings such as pepper and paprika. Sephardi hamin contains chicken or meat, rice, beans, garlic, sweet or regular potatoes, seasonings such as turmeric and cinnamon, and whole eggs in the shell known as haminados. Moroccan Jews prepare variations known as dafina or skhina (or s′hina) with meat, onion, marrow bones, potatoes, chickpeas, eggs and spices such as turmeric, cumin, paprika and pepper. Iraqi Jews prepare tebit, using chicken and rice.
For deserts or informal gatherings on Shabbat, home bakers still bake a wide variety of cakes on Fridays to be enjoyed on the Sabbath, or purchase from bakeries or stores, cakes such as sponge cake, citrus semolina cake, cinnamon or chocolate babkas, and fruit and nut cakes.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is widely celebrated with festive family meals and symbolic foods. Sweetness is the main theme and the Rosh Hashana dinners typically begin with apples dipped in honey, and end with honey cake. The challah is usually round, often studded with raisins and drizzled with honey, and other symbolic fruits and vegetables are eaten as an entree, such as pomegranates, carrots, leeks and beets.Fish dishes, symbolizing abundance, are served; for example, gefilte fish is traditional for Ashkenazim, while Moroccan Jews prepare the spicy fish dish, chraime. Honey cake (lekachLekach
Lekach or Jewish honey cake is a honey-sweetened cake, one of many symbolically significant foods traditionally eaten by Ashkenazi Jews at the holiday of Rosh Hashana, in hopes of ensuring a sweet New Year.Recipes vary widely...
) is often served as dessert, accompanied by tea or coffee.
Hanukkah
The holiday of HanukkahHanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
is marked by the consumption of traditional Hanukkah foods fried in oil in commemoration of the miracle in which a small quantity of oil sufficient for one day lasted eight days.
The two most popular Hannukah foods are potato pancakes, levivot, also known by the Yiddish latkes; and jelly doughnuts, known as sufganiyot
Sufganiyah
A sufganiyah is a ball-shaped doughnut that is first deep-fried, then pierced and injected with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. It is similar to the German Berliner, the Polish pączki, or the Russian ponchik...
in Hebrew, pontshkes
Paczki
Pączki are pastries traditional to Polish cuisine . Pączki is the plural form of the Polish word pączek , though many English speakers use paczki as singular and paczkis as plural. In English, the common pronunciation imitates the Polish pronunciation, but some speakers pronounce the word or...
(in Yiddish) or bimuelos (in Ladino
Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish , in Israel commonly referred to as Ladino, and known locally as Judezmo, Djudeo-Espanyol, Djudezmo, Djudeo-Kasteyano, Spaniolit and other names, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish...
), as these are deep-fried
Frying
Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called oils by custom, e.g...
in oil. Hannukah pancakes are made from a variety of ingredients, from the traditional potato or cheese, to more modern innovations, among them corn, spinach, zucchini and sweet potato.
Bakeries in Israel have popularized many new types of fillings for sufganiyot besides the standard strawberry jelly filling, and these include chocolate, vanilla or cappuccino cream, and others. In recent years downsized, "mini" sufganiyot have also appeared due to concerns about calories.
Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat or Tu B'Shevat is a minor Jewish holiday, occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat . It is also called "The New Year of the Trees" or...
is a minor Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
, usually sometime in late January or early February, that marks the "New Year of the Trees". Customs include planting trees and eating dried fruits and nuts, especially figs
FIGS
FIGS is an acronym for French, Italian, German, Spanish. These are usually the first four languages chosen to localize products into when a company enters the European market....
, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds.
Many Israelis, both religious and secular, celebrate with a kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
-inspired Tu Bishvat seder
Tu Bishvat seder
A Tu Bishvat seder is a festive meal featuring fruits in honor of the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat.During the Middle Ages or possibly a little before that, this day started to be celebrated with a minor ceremony of eating fruits, since the Mishnah called it "Rosh Hashanah" , and that was later...
that includes a feast of fruits and four cups of wine according to the ceremony presented in special haggadot modeled on the Haggadah of Passover
Haggadah of Pesach
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah...
for this purpose.
Purim
The festival of PurimPurim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the plot of Haman to annihilate them in the ancient Persian Empire, as described in the Book of Esther
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim , the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and is part of the Christian Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
. It is a day of rejoicing and merriment, on which children, and many adults, wear costumes.It is customary to eat a festive meal, seudat Purim, in the late afternoon, often with wine as the prominent beverage, in keeping with the atmosphere of merry-making.
Many people prepare packages of food that they give to neighbors, friends, family, and colleagues on Purim. These are called mishloach manot
Mishloach manot
Mishloach manot , and also called a Purim basket, are gifts of food or drink that are sent to friends, relatives, neighbors, teachers, business associates, and any other acquaintances on Purim day. The mitzvah of giving mishloach manot derives from the Book of Esther...
("sending of portions"), and often include wine and baked goods, fruit and nuts, and sweets.
The food most associated with Purim is called oznay Haman ("Haman's ears"). These are three-cornered pastries filled most often with poppy seed, but also other fruit fillings. The triangular shape may have been influenced by old illustrations of Haman, in which he wore a three-cornered hat.
Passover
The week-long holiday of PassoverPassover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
in the spring commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, and in Israel is usually a time for visiting friends and relatives, travelling, and on the first night of Passover, the traditional ritual dinner, known as the Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
. Foods containing ḥametz
Chametz
Chametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...
– leaven or yeast – may not be eaten during Passover. This means bread, pastries and certain fermented beverages, such as beer, cannot be consumed. Ashkenazim also do not eat legumes, known as kitniyot
Kitniyot
Kitniyot, qit'niyyoth are a category of foods which are defined by Jewish law and tradition that Ashkenazi Jews avoid eating during the Biblical festival of Passover....
. Over the centuries, Jewish cooks have developed dishes using alternative ingredients and this characterizes Passover food in Israel today.
Chicken soup with matza dumplings (kneidlach) is often a starter for the Seder meal among Israelis of all the ethnic backgrounds. Spring vegetables, such as asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
and artichoke
Artichoke
-Plants:* Globe artichoke, a partially edible perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean* Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower with an edible tuber...
s often accompany the meal.
Restaurants in Israel have come up with creative alternatives to ḥametz ingredients to create pasta, hamburger buns, pizza, and other fast foods in kosher-for-Passover versions by using potato starch
Potato starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain starch grains . To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed; the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells...
and other non-standard ingredients.
After Passover, the celebration of Mimouna
Mimouna
Mimouna is a colorful traditional North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover. It marks the start of spring and the return to eating chametz, i.e., leavened bread and bread by-products, which are forbidden throughout the week of Passover....
takes place, a tradition brought to Israel by the Jewish communities of North Africa. In the evening, a feast of fruit, confectionery and pastries is set out for neighbors and visitors to enjoy. Most notably, the first leaven after Passover, a thin crepe called a mofletta
Mofletta
Mofletta is a North African-Jewish pancake traditionally eaten during the Mimouna celebration, the day after Passover.Mofletta is a thin crepe made from water, flour and oil. The dough is rolled out thinly and cooked in a greased frying pan until it is yellow-brown in color...
, eaten with honey, syrup or jam, is served. The occasion is celebrated the following day by outdoor picnics at which salads and barbecued meat feature prominently.
Shavuot
In the early summer, the Jewish harvest festival of ShavuotShavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
is celebrated. Shavuot marks the peak of the new grain harvest and the ripening of the first fruits, and is a time when milk was historically most abundant. To celebrate this holiday, many types of dairy foods are eaten. These include cheeses and yogurts, cheese-based pies and quiches called pashtidot, cheese blintzes, and cheesecake prepared with soft white cheese (gvina levana) or cream cheese.
See also
- Jewish cuisineJewish cuisineJewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
- Cuisine of the Sephardic JewsCuisine of the Sephardic JewsThe cuisine of the Sephardi Jews is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean and Arab countries. Mizrahi, who are sometimes called Sephardic Jews, are Jews of origins from countries of the Middle-East, respectively...
- Cuisine of the Mizrahi JewsCuisine of the Mizrahi JewsThe cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of The Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Arab countries. Mizrahi Jews have also been known as Oriental Jews . Jews of the Mizrahi communities cook foods that were and are popular in their home...
- Mediterranean dietMediterranean dietThe Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional recommendation inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy, Crete and much of the rest of Greece in the 1960s....
External links
- Israel Food Guide – information and recipes
- Overview: Israeli Food – articles and recipes
- Israeli Food & Restaurant Directory – Israeli & Kosher Restaurants & markets in the U.S, Canada, UK, & Israel.
- Israeli Foods – articles and recipes
- Israeli Kitchen – food, wine and bread from the heart of Israel
- The Treasure Box Project – preserving Jewish ethnic cuisines in Israel