Syrian Jewish cuisine is the cuisine of the Syrian Jews. Although almost all Jews had left Syria by 2016, their cuisine has been preserved in books and family recipes. [1]
Since biblical times there have been Jews in the area comprising modern-day Syria. [2] Syrian Jewish cuisine is distinct from Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine foods like gefilte fish, knish, or other dishes more familiar as Jewish in the United States, whose Jewish community was overwhelmingly Ashkenazi. [3] In fact, in the diaspora Syrian Jewish dishes often differ from those of other Jews because they contain rice and dried fruits and other seasonings not found in other regional Jewish foodway. [2] Because Jews are prohibited to mix meat and dairy, Syrian Jewish cuisine differed from standard Syrian cuisine because it used oil instead of butter or lamb fat in fried foods. [2] After 1492 when the Sephardim were expelled from Spain, many Sephardic Jews came to Syria and brought a few dishes with Spanish names like bastel. Some immigrants from Italy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (the so-called Francos) brought with them Italian dishes such as calsone (a sort of cheese ravioli). These foods were intermixed with the local Syrian Mizrahi and Musta'arabi Jewish cuisine creating new flavors and styles. Syrian Jews also improved versions of Syrian dishes, by emphasizing fruit and sweet-sour flavors. The Syrian Jews of Aleppo also made heavy use of tamarind. [2] In fact tamarind based sauces are distinctively unique to Syrian Jewish cuisine. [4]
Characteristic of the Middle East and the Indo-Mediterranean Basin, Syrian Jewish cuisine contains many elements of cuisines from a wide geographic area. Moorish and Iberian elements arrived after Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. Syrian Jewish merchants trading along the spice route also imported spices from the Far East and land of Persia, making rose water and lime an important addition to their cuisine. [2] Naturally, elements of Syrian Jewish cuisine were adopted by non-Jewish communities in Syria while Syrian Jews also adopted non-Jewish Syrian flavors into their dishes. Syrian Jewish dishes differ in very specific ways from other Syrian cuisines. The addition of cinnamon, cumin and allspice to dishes, as well as the use of Moroccan saffron with Persian olives and preserved lemons help to distinguish the cuisine from standard Syrian foods. [5]
Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals. As cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of standing or moving cattle. This requires a significant amount of connective tissue, so the resulting meat must be cooked correctly to tenderise it. According to the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, the term derives from the Middle English brusket which comes from the earlier Old Norse brjósk, meaning cartilage. The cut overlies the sternum, ribs, and connecting costal cartilages.
Asian food incorporates a few significant provincial cooking styles: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. A food is a trademark way of cooking practices and customs, usually associated with a specific culture. Asia, being the largest and most populous continent, is home to many cultures, many of which have their own characteristic cuisine. Asian cuisine is considered the “culture of food within a society” because of the beliefs, cooking methods, and the specific ingredients used throughout the entire process. Asian cuisine are also famous about their spices. A main taste factor to Asian cuisine is the “umami” flavor. Umami is a strong savoriness that is a prominent taste among Asian cooking that can be made through fermented food or meat extract.
Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Turkish or Ottoman cuisine, typically made with a filling of rice, minced meat, offal, seafood, fruit, or any combination of these inside a vegetable or a leaf wrapping. Wrapped dolma, specifically, are known as sarma, made by rolling grape, cabbage, or other leaves around the filling. Dolma can be served warm or at room temperature and are common in modern cuisines of regions and nations that once were part of the Ottoman Empire.
Schmaltz is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, latkes, matzah brei, chopped liver, matzah balls, fried chicken, and many others, as a cooking fat, spread, or flavor enhancer.
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions centred around Shabbat. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the entire world.
Cholent or Schalet is a traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew in Jewish cuisine that was developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and later Germany, and is first mentioned in the 12th century. It is related to and is thought to have been derived from hamin, a similar Sabbath stew that emerged in Spain among Sephardic Jews and made its way to France by way of Provence.
Kibbeh is a popular dish in the Levant based on spiced lean ground meat and bulgur wheat. Kibbeh is considered to be a national dish of Lebanon and Syria.
Peranakan cuisine or Nyonya cuisine comes from the Peranakans, descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays. In Baba Malay, a female Peranakan is known as a nonya, and a male Peranakan is known as a baba. The cuisine combines Chinese, Malay, Javanese, South Indian, and other influences.
Israeli salad is a chopped salad of finely diced tomato, onion, cucumber, and bell or chili peppers. It has been described as the "most well-known national dish of Israel", and is a standard accompaniment to most Israeli meals. Salads following similar recipes, with different names, are widespread and popular throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.
Syrian Jews are Jews who live in 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, and sometimes classified as Mizrahi Jews ; and from the Sephardi Jews who fled to Syria after the Alhambra Decree forced the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
Sephardic Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Sephardi Jews.
Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine. It also blends together the culinary traditions of the various diaspora groups, namely those of Middle Eastern Jews with roots in Southwest Asia and North Africa, Sephardi Jews from Iberia, and Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe.
Musta'arabi Jews were the Arabic-speaking Jews, largely Mizrahi Jews and Maghrebi Jews, who lived in the Middle East and North Africa prior to the arrival and integration of Ladino-speaking Sephardi Jews of the Iberian Peninsula, following their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Following their expulsion, Sephardi Jewish exiles moved into the Middle East and North Africa, and settled among the Musta'arabi.
Jordanian cuisine is a Levantine cuisine developed over time in Jordan. Stuffed vegetables are common, with many different techniques employed in their preparation. Meat is an important component of Jordanian cuisine, most often lamb, beef and chicken but also goat and camel meat. Rice is frequently served as a side dish but there are also one-pot rice dishes such as maqloubah.
Mizrahi Jewish cuisine 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.
American Jewish cuisine comprises the food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews. It was heavily influenced by the cuisine of Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th century. It was further developed in unique ways by the immigrants and their descendants, especially in New York City and other large metropolitan areas of the northeastern U.S.
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Central, Eastern, Northwestern and Northern Europe, and their descendants, particularly in the United States and other Western countries.
Syrian Mexicans are Mexicans of Syrian origin. According to the 2000 census, there were 246 Syrians living in Mexico. In 1890, there were more than 1,000 Syrians residing in the country, but the vast majority emigrated to the United States because of the Syrian civil war.
