Jewish deli

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Katz's Delicatessen, a popular Jewish deli on the Lower East Side in New York City, has featured prominently in American popular culture and films such as "When Harry Met Sally"'. Katz's Delicatessen 2004.jpg
Katz's Delicatessen, a popular Jewish deli on the Lower East Side in New York City, has featured prominently in American popular culture and films such as "When Harry Met Sally"'.

A Jewish deli, also known as a Jewish delicatessen, is a restaurant that serves various traditional dishes of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. Best known for their robust sandwiches, such as pastrami on rye, they also specialize in traditional Jewish diaspora soups, such as matzo ball, and other ethnically-rooted dishes. Betraying their roots as retail delicatessens, most also sell a selection of their products, such as sliced meats by the pound, prepared salads, and pickles, and do a thriving take-out trade.

Contents

Like much Jewish cuisine, the emergence of the Jewish deli developed in accordance with local culture. These days, while some delis have full kosher-certification, others operate in a kosher-style, refraining from mixing meat and dairy in the same dish, despite potentially using non-certified ingredients. [1] Other yet may serve non-Kosher "deli" dishes such as the Reuben sandwich.

Jewish delis feature prominently in Jewish culture, as well as in general American popular culture, particularly in the cities of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles as well as in Canada, especially in Montreal and Toronto. The United Kingdom has also historically been a home to many Jewish delis, especially in the London area. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

In the United States

Pastrami sandwich from Katz's Delicatessen, New York City Pastrami-Sandwich.JPG
Pastrami sandwich from Katz's Delicatessen, New York City

The origins of the American Jewish delicatessen can be traced to the wave of German immigration to the United States in the mid-1800s. In the decade spanning from 1850 to 1860 nearly one million Germans immigrated to America, both Jews and non-Jews, with 215,000 Germans arriving in the United States in 1854 alone. [7] Some of these immigrants opened storefronts to make a living, and to offer culturally familiar food to other immigrants. Many of the original establishments were inspired by German Delikatessens, selling beef frankfurters, sauerkraut, cold cuts, dill pickles and liverwurst. [8]

According to American author and professor Ted Merwin, the deli experienced its most significant growth not during the initial wave of immigration, as commonly assumed, but rather during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. It was during this time that the offspring of Jewish immigrants began to mark their achievements in America by frequenting delis in the theater district, where they indulged in sandwiches and cheesecake. It was the kosher deli that trailed the Jewish community as it dispersed into the city's outer boroughs, serving as a tangible emblem of its members enduring commitment to their cultural heritage. [9]

After the Holocaust, a new Jewish population within the United States would facilitate the reintroduction of these community staples. While upon their arrival many of the post-war Jewish immigrants would work in the meat industry, some business owners would transform their butcher shops into operational delicatessens, something that many modern Americans are likely to be familiar with. [10]

As Jewish delis rose in popularity within New York, they became a bridge between second-generation Jewish immigrants and their origins. They served as a cultural gathering place for the community. Merwin suggests that the Jewish deli became a secular equivalent of the Synagogue for a generation of Jews who were no longer as interested in attending religious services. [11] The second generation's increased access to deli meats was a sign of growing success, something their parents would not have been able to afford when first arriving to the United States. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th century. European immigrants to the United States, especially Ashkenazi Jews, popularized the delicatessen in U.S. culture beginning in the late 19th century. Today, many large retail stores like supermarkets have deli sections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pastrami</span> Meat preserved by partial drying, seasoning, smoking, and steaming

Pastrami is a type of cured meat originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket. Later recipes use lamb, pork, chicken or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration. One of the iconic meats of Eastern European cuisine as well as American Jewish cuisine and New York City cuisine, hot pastrami is typically served at delicatessen restaurants on sandwiches such as the pastrami on rye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katz's Delicatessen</span> Restaurant in Manhattan, New York

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schwartz's</span> Restaurant in Montreal, Quebec

Schwartz's, also known as the Schwartz's Deli and the Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen, is a Jewish delicatessen restaurant and take-out, located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1928, by Reuben Schwartz, a Jewish immigrant from Romania. Its long popularity and reputation has led to it being considered a cultural institution and landmark in Montreal.

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The Second Avenue Deli is a certified-kosher Jewish delicatessen in Manhattan, New York City. It was located in the East Village until December 2007, when it relocated to 162 East 33rd Street in Murray Hill. In August 2011, it opened a second branch at 1442 First Avenue on the Upper East Side. In November 2017, it opened a cocktail lounge called 2nd Floor above its Upper East Side branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosher style</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosher restaurant</span> Restaurant serving food permissible in Jewish dietary law

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal-style smoked meat</span> Style of smoked meat corned beef created by Jewish immigrants in Montreal, Quebec

Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat or simply smoked meat in Quebec is a type of kosher-style deli meat product made by salting and curing beef brisket with spices. The brisket is allowed to absorb the flavours over a week. It is then hot smoked to cook through, and finally is steamed to completion. This is a variation on corned beef and is similar to pastrami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic states</span>

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The Jewish-American patronage of Chinese restaurants became prominent in the 20th century, especially among Jewish New Yorkers. It has received attention as a paradoxical form of assimilation by embracing an unfamiliar cuisine that eased the consumption of non-kosher foods.

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A sailor sandwich is a hot meat and cheese sandwich popular at Jewish delis in Richmond, Virginia, area restaurants. Its core ingredients are hot pastrami, grilled knackwurst, melted Swiss cheese and hot mustard on rye bread.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pastrami on rye</span> Classic American deli sandwich

Pastrami on rye is a sandwich comprising sliced pastrami on rye bread, often served with mustard and Kosher dill pickles. It was popularized in the Jewish delicatessens of New York City and has been described as New York's "signature sandwich". It was created in 1888 by the Lithuanian immigrant Sussman Volk, who served it at his deli on Delancey Street in Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Jewish cuisine</span> Food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish rye bread</span> Bread commonly used in Jewish deli sandwiches

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine</span> Cooking traditions among Ashkenazi Jews

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attman's Delicatessen</span> Jewish deli in Maryland

Attman's Delicatessen is a Jewish delicatessen in Maryland with branches in Baltimore and Potomac. The deli serves Ashkenazi staples including corned beef, pastrami, brisket, Reuben sandwiches, knishes, latkes, pickles, kugel, and whitefish salad.

References

  1. "What is Kosher Style?". My Jewish Learning.
  2. "Montreal's Jewish Food Traditions, Mapped". 27 February 2017.
  3. Solomonov, Michael. Israeli Soul.
  4. Marks, Rabbi Gil. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.
  5. The Ratner's Cookbook.
  6. "In St John's Wood, a 79-year-old Jewish Deli has become a culinary status symbol". 13 October 2022.
  7. "The Germans in America". Library of Congress . Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  8. Lalomia, Felicia (2022-11-02). "The Jewish Deli Is An NYC Icon. Here's How It's Changed". Delish.
  9. "The history of an iconic food in Jewish American culture". NYU Press.
  10. 1 2 "1. According to the Customer's Desire", Pastrami on Rye, New York University Press, pp. 17–52, 2020-12-31, doi:10.18574/nyu/9780814762745.003.0006, ISBN   978-0-8147-6274-5 , retrieved 2023-05-08
  11. Merwin, Ted (July 28, 2022). "Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli" (video). youtube.com. Morristown Library.