Many Jewish foods are beloved in American culture. Everyone eats bagels, and the delicatessen is ubiquitous from Midtown Manhattan to Los Angeles. Jewish American Food Culture offers readers an in-depth look at the well-known and unfamiliar Jewish dishes and the practices and culture of a diverse group. This is the source to find out what parve on packaging means, the symbolism of particular foods that are essential to holiday celebrations, what keeping kosher entails, how meals and food rituals are approached differently depending on how religious one is and the land of one's ancestors, and much more.
An historical overview puts contemporary American Jews and their cuisine into context. Next, the main foods and ingredients of Jewish cuisine are explained. An interesting chapter on cooking practices follows. Chapters on holiday celebrations, eating out, and diet and health complete the overview. A chronology, glossary, resource guide, and selected bibliography make this an essential one-stop resource for every library.
About the Author: Jonathan Deutsch is Assistant Professor of Tourism and Hospitality and Director of the Culinary Management Center, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, Secretary of the Association for the Study of Food and Society, and co-editor of Gastropolis: Food and New York City (2008).
Rachel D. Saks is a graduate student in Nutrition and Dietetics at New York University. She has attended various culinary schools.
