by Gil Marks
¼ cup brown sugar (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)
1. To make the marinade: In a medium saucepan, bring all the marinade ingredients to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool.
2. Place the roast in a large nonreactive container and pour the marinade over the top. Cover and refrigerate, turning the roast every 12 hours, for 1 to 3 days. Remove the roast from the marinade and pat dry. Allow the meat to return to room temperature, about 1 hour. Strain the marinade, reserving the solids and liquid separately.
3. In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the roast and brown, turning, on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Remove the roast from the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the marinade vegetables, and sauté until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
4. Place the roast on top of the vegetables, add the marinade liquid, cover, and bring to a simmer. Place in a 325°F oven or simmer over a low heat, turning occasionally, until fork-tender, about 3½ hours.
5. Transfer the roast to a warm platter. Skim off any fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Gradually add the gingersnap crumbs and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens. Puree and strain the cooking liquid. For a Rheinischer sauerbraten, add the sugar and, if desired, raisins. Return to the pot and heat through. Slice the roast across the grain and serve with the gravy.
Sauerkraut
The technique of pickling shredded cabbage with naturally occurring bacteria, known as lacto-fermentation, dates back more than twenty-four hundred years to ancient China. In this process, acidifying bacteria found naturally in raw cabbage feed off its sugar, producing lactic and acetic acids, which gives the cabbage a characteristic tangy yet mellow taste, and slightly softens it. The process produces natural bacteriocins that kill harmful bacteria. These bacteria also transform milk into cheese and yogurt, and are active in bread dough. Lacto-fermentation is a natural process, involving no cooking; all that is needed is the vegetable or fruit, enough warmth to allow the bacteria to develop, and, for cabbage, sufficient salt to prevent the growth of undesirable bacteria and to extract juice and sugar from the cabbage, while allowing the survival of naturally occurring acid-producing species of bacteria. If there is too little salt, the cabbage will spoil; if there is too much salt, it will not ferment. Other produce commonly preserved with lacto-fermentation are beets, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, olives, peppers, green tomatoes, and turnips. The other vegetables, however, require the addition of water, while cabbage, rather uniquely, ferments only in its own juice. Koreans adapted this process for their kimchi, adding chilies and garlic to the cabbage, and Indians for various chutneys.
Before this technique was introduced to eastern Europe, around the middle of the sixteenth century, medieval European methods for pickling vegetables with salt proved limited. The other major preservative, vinegar, primarily made from wine, was rare and expensive in northern Europe. Lacto-fermentaion was adopted by the Slavs and eastern European Jews from the Baltic to Romania. Poles called the pickled cabbage kiszona kapusta, while Jews used the Yiddish zoyere kroyt (sour cabbage). It traveled westward—in many cases, it was spread by Jews—to Germany and Austria, then France and the Netherlands. The result is one of the most important northern European dishes, widely known by the German name sauerkraut (sour cabbage); the word first appeared in England in the early seventeenth century and in America in 1776. German sailors of the eighteenth century relied on sauerkraut to prevent scurvy, a practice adopted by the British in 1776.
Each fall as the weather cooled, around the holiday of Sukkot, Ashkenazic households throughout eastern Europe set aside at least two large wooden barrels or ceramic crocks for fermenting vegetables—one for small cucumbers and one for cabbages. Beets for rosl (beet vinegar) were typically fermented shortly after Purim, although some families also put up another barrel of beets around Sukkot. Large, mature cabbage heads, which contain more sugar, were preferable for this dish. First the outer leaves and cores were removed. Using a metal grater or knife, the cabbages were shredded or thinly sliced into the barrel. The shreds were sprinkled with coarse salt and pounded with a wooden mallet or clean feet to extract some of the cabbage juice. Layered with the cabbage were the stalks (katchelkehs) and frequently grated carrots or apples to enhance the flavor. The vegetables were weighed down with a large stone to ensure their total immersion in the brine.
As the cabbage sat, the salt extracted much of its juices, forming and flavoring the brine. After at least two weeks and up to one month, the sauerkraut was ready and the cured cabbage was moved to a cool place, such as a dirt cellar, to slow the fermentation. In a cool environment, sauerkraut could keep for at least a year, lasting until the next batch in the following autumn.
Sauerkraut quickly became a mainstay of much of northern Europe. Characteristic of the eastern Ashkenazic pantry were zoyers (sours), which added zest and complementary nutrition, including in the case of cabbage, vitamin C, to the bland high-starch diet of eastern Europe.
Sauerkraut was eaten plain, either hot or cold, as well as mixed with noodles, browned with potatoes and onions, cooked with brisket or sausages, or simmered with a few bones or perhaps some flanken into a soup (shchi). Sauerkraut was also used in more upscale peasant dishes, such as the Alsatian classic choucroute garni, made with corned beef and sausages, which is still a Sabbath hot lunch favorite. Sauerkraut complements the richness of goose and duck. Hungarians and Romanians use it as a strudel filling and frequently spread a layer of rinsed sauerkraut over their stuffed cabbage. As the level of sauerkraut dropped in the barrel, the cabbage brine was drunk as a beverage. In many instances, an Ashkenazic winter lunch consisted solely of black bread and sauerkraut. It also became a common sight on the Sabbath, in particular for lunch. Some Chasidim explain that because the Yiddish word zoyerlach (little sours) sounds like azoi erlech (so honest), sours, such as sauerkraut, are traditional for the Sabbath.
German immigrants began to popularize sauerkraut in America in the eighteenth century. The first American Jewish cookbook, Jewish Cookery (Philadelphia, 1871), included a recipe for "How To Make Sauer Krout." The author noted, "It will keep for years." The same note was included in the first edition of The Settlement Cook Book (Milwaukee, 1901), although there the word was spelled sauerkraut. Sauerkraut became a standard of delicatessens.
In the twentieth century, as various modern preserving methods developed, sauerkraut lost much of its status and was typically replaced on the table with the easier-to-make coleslaw, whose tangy flavor derived from added vinegar. In addition, most modern mass-produced sauerkraut is not lacto-fermented and therefore lacks the old-fashioned flavor. Today, sauerkraut is primarily used in America as a condiment for hot dogs and sandwiches.
(See also Cabbage, Choucroute Garnie, and Pickle)
Sausage
Sausage is an ancient way of transforming limited resources into a substantial meal—it basically consists of salted and seasoned chopped meat and offal stuffed into an intestine, stomach, or other casing. There are two basic types of sausages: fresh and cured. To make either type, for most of history, the meat had to be pounded or chopped by hand, making sausages time-consuming, expensive, and, for most people, reserved for special occasions. The concept of stuffing chopped meat, typically from the less desirable parts of an animal, into intestines and other hollow organs dates back at least five thousand years to Sumeria. Three millennia later, Judeans referred to sausages as naknik and nukanika; the Aramaic name was borrowed from the lucanica sausage from southern Italy. In modern Hebrew, sausage is naknik and hot dog naknikiya. The generic Roman terms for sausages were the Latin botulus (from the Latin "intestines") and the Vulgar Latin salsicia (from salsus, meaning "salted," salt being an essential element in preserving the meat), the source of the English word sausage.
Historically, many Europeans preferred part or all pork in their sausages, while Ashkenazic variations were always strictly pure beef, Italians favored goo
se, and Middle Eastern Jews tended to use lamb. Fat (about 22 percent, according to experts) contributes flavor and texture.
Sausages in cooler climates, notably northern Europe, are overwhelmingly fresh and are intended to be cooked and eaten, usually hot, shortly after production. The classic sausage of Germany is bratwurst; it first appeared in the fifteenth century and the name probably derived from the Old High German brät (chopped meat) and wurst (sausage). Knackwurst is a smoked German sausage with plenty of garlic and it is therefore also called knoblauchwurst (knoblauch means garlic in German). Notwithstanding its place in American life and culture, the hot dog is in actuality a mere fresh sausage from Frankfurt, Germany. The Hungarian version, kolbasz, contains paprika. The Polish kielbasa, flavored with garlic and sometimes cloves, is smoked. Kishke is the classic Jewish sausage of eastern Europe, primarily or entirely made from fillers.
On the other hand, in the warmer climes of the Mediterranean, most of the sausages are cured by smoking or lacto-fermentation, a process in which naturally occurring bacteria in the presence of sufficient (but not too much) salt produce acids that act as a preservative and also impart a tangy flavor. Cured sausages are commonly eaten without cooking. Italian sausages are typically zesty with fennel seeds or crushed red pepper. Kosher salami is an American Jewish adaptation of the Italian classic—for generations, Jewish travelers and peddlers have carried these salamis with them, along with hard-boiled eggs, in order to maintain a kosher diet away from home.
Sausages were a minor food in the medieval Muslim world in contrast to their prominence in Christian Europe, where the pig was favored. The Jewish Manual (London, 1846), reflecting Sephardic influence, explains, "Chorissa, a sausage peculiar to the Jewish kitchen, of delicate and piquante flavor." The very first recipe in an anonymous Moorish Andalusian cookbook of the thirteenth century was "Mirqaz," now commonly called in Arabic merguez. The recipe directed, "It is as nutritious as meatballs and quick to digest, since the pounding ripens it." Sephardim of that time made similar sausages, and later in the sixteenth century during the Spanish Inquisition, a sign of Jewish cooking was using lamb or goat to make sausages. Today, Jews from the Maghreb still enjoy merguez, which are also very popular in Israel. The Maghrebi merguez is a lamb or veal sausage turned red in color and fiery in flavor by the addition of harissa (chili paste) and typically formed into links or patties.
Sausages, vurst in Yiddish, became a mainstay among central European Jews. At first, sausages were primarily made by butchers and a few competent housewives. The first American Jewish cookbook, Jewish Cookery (Philadelphia, 1871), provided a recipe for "Veal Sausage Meat," which directed "chop it fine."
The advent of the mechanical meat grinder in the 1860s greatly reduced the effort and cost of making sausages, transforming them into everyday foods and even poverty fare. Soon large factories began to churn out inexpensive sausages, although some of these businesses were less than reputable, as described in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906). By the end of the nineteenth century, the German Frankfurt sausage, vurshtlekh in Yiddish, had become the all-American hot dog. In early twentieth-century New York, Hebrew National Kosher Sausage Factory and Williamsburg Genuine Kosher Meat Products provided sausages for most of the area's delicatessens. In addition, some kosher delicatessens made their own sausages. A few, like Isaac Gellis Delicatessen of New York, distributed products, including hot dogs, throughout the region, advertising itself as "the first and largest kosher sausage factory in the United States." In the 1940s, Waldbaum's Supermarkets began stocking Hebrew National, becoming the first food chain to sell kosher sausages.
In 1886, German Jewish immigrant Isaac Oscherwitz began selling sausages from his small kosher butcher shop in Cincinnati, Ohio, eventually distributing his products throughout the Midwest. In 1909, along with his five sons, Oscherwitz built a large plant for a kosher sausage company. In 1925, following Isaac's death, his two youngest sons moved to Chicago to launch the separate Best's Kosher Sausage Company. Then in 1962, after the Cincinnati plant was sacrificed for a new expressway, the two family-run companies merged, subsequently also acquiring Sinai Kosher Sausage Company. At this point, hot dogs remained their best-selling item, with traditional salami second, but the company also innovated with kosher Italian-style sausages, Polish kielbasa, and later chorizo. As kosher went mainstream in America, the company, America's second-largest kosher meat processor, was acquired by Sara Lee Corporation in 1993. In the same year, the giant ConAgra Inc. acquired America's largest kosher meat processor, Hebrew National. Now backed by heavy marketing, kosher sausages in America began to move out from their traditional urban strongholds across the country.
(See also Aufschnitz, Hot Dog, Offal, and Salami)
Scacchi
Scacchi is a casserole of matza and fillings.
Origin: Italy
Scacchi is a popular Italian Passover dish. The name, meaning "chess" in Italian, reflects the perforated matza's resemblance to a game board. It is not certain whether scacchi evolved as a Passover form of lasagna from the similar Sephardic mina, or whether both dishes sprang from some ancient Jewish source. Originally, scacchi was cooked in a skillet on top of the stove, but as the home oven became more prevalent, the contemporary baked form emerged. The most widespread version features alternating fillings of leek, spinach, artichoke, and ground beef. However, a less dramatic presentation can be made with simply one or two fillings. In a Venetian variation, cooked fava beans, peas, or lentils are substituted for the fillings, legumes being permissible for Italians during Passover.
Italian Vegetable Matza Casserole (Scacchi)
4 to 6 servings
[MEAT]
Leek Filling:
3 pounds (6 to 8) leeks
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Meat Filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
8 ounces ground beef
About ½ teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Spinach Filling:
8 ounces fresh or frozen spinach or chard, washed well
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
7 whole (6-inch square) square matzas
2 to 3 artichoke hearts, cooked and sliced
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Oil an 8- or 9-inch pie plate, ovenproof skillet, or baking pan. Or double the recipe and bake in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.
2. To make the leek filling: Trim the leeks, saving only the white and light green parts. Rinse well. Place in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water and simmer until soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain. Season with the salt and pepper.
3. To make the meat filling: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the beef and sauté until it loses its red color, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper
4. To make the spinach filling: In a large pot, cook the spinach over medium heat in the water clinging to its leaves until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Chop and squeeze dry. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the spinach and garlic and sauté until dry. Season with the salt, pepper, and, if using, nutmeg.
5. Soak the unbroken matzas in warm water until semisoft but not soggy, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and place on paper towels.
6. To assemble the scacchi: Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with 2 matzas. Spread with the meat mixture. Top with 1 matza and spread with the leek mixture. Cover with 1 matza and spread with the spinach mixture. Cover with 1 matza and spread with the artichokes. Cover with the remaining 2 matzas. Beat together the eggs and broth and drizzle over the top of the matzas.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
> Scallion
The terms scallion and green onion are generally used interchangeably, although technically they are different members of the onion family. Scallions, mild varieties of onion that do not form bulbs, are named for the Israeli seaport city of Ashkelon, whose name is derived from the ancient Israeli unit of money, the shekel. It is unknown whether Ashkelon was the home of the scallion or was the port from which it was originally shipped to Europe. The word shallot (shoom ashkelon in Hebrew) also comes from the same source. Scallion is betzaltzul-ashkelon or betzalzul in Hebrew. Green onions (betzal yarok), also called spring onions, are the shoots of immature onions, and they have a slightly softer texture.
Schalet
Schalet is the Western Yiddish word for cholent (Sabbath stew), and is also used as a synonym for sweet kugel, for apple fluden (layered pastry), and apple cake.
Origin: France
Other names: charlotte; Germany: apfelboyeleh, apfelbuwele, apfelschalet, schaleth; Russian: sharlotka.
By at least the twelfth century, early Ashkenazim in northern France and southwestern Germany, had adapted the Sephardic Sabbath stew, calling it schalet, later pronounced cholent in Eastern Yiddish, from the Old French chald (chaud in modern French), meaning "warm." Around the same time, the favorite Ashkenazic Sabbath and holiday dessert was fluden, (also from an Old French term), a pastry layered in a large pot with curd cheese, seasonal fruit, or nuts. Later, after dumplings had appeared in Europe and the center of Ashkenazic culture had shifted eastward to Germany, housewives began cooking a large bread dumpling in the Sabbath stew and serving it as a side dish for Sabbath lunch. After a time, the dumplings came out of the stew and evolved into a variety of steamed puddings; at this stage, the puddings were cooked in a rounded pot and maintained at least a partially rounded shape. In Alsace and parts of Germany, schalet emerged as the generic term for these baked bread puddings, while in much of eastern Europe the name became kugel.
Besides the original bread pudding, a matza version for Passover was recorded in Austria in the fifteenth century. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Caribbean plantations led to the wider use of sugar in Europe. Accordingly, in Bavaria, southern Germany, and a few parts of Poland, kugel came to denote savory puddings and schalet took on the meaning of sweet ones. Kartoffel shalet is an eastern European sweetened potato kugel. To further complicate matters, by at least the seventeenth century, Jews in Alsace and the adjacent parts of southwestern Germany had begun applying the names schalet and apfelschalet to versions of deep-dish apple-filled fluden (perhaps the forerunner of the apple pie) that were kept warm in the hearth for the Sabbath. Consequently, there are numerous types of schalet.