Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  The basic apple pie form of schalet was made by lining a large iron pot with yeast dough or pastry dough, adding several layers of apples and dough, covering it with a top crust of dough, then baking it until the apples were tender and the pastry golden. Some cooks continued to make schalet in the traditional layered manner, while others adapted it into a cake roll, sort of a rudimentary strudel. This method was not only quicker to assemble, but also reduced the amount of filling in proportion to dough, stretching limited resources. In parts of Germany, this rolled treat was called apfelboyeleh (apple little boy).

  These apple pastries were identified with Jews, as reflected in the classic French encyclopedia of food, The New Larousse Gastronomique (Paris and New York, 1977), which recorded a recipe for "Schaleth à la Juive," in which cooks were directed to "line a large metal, well-buttered basin" with "noodle paste," fill it with a type of applesauce, cover it with a top layer of pastry, and "cook in a moderately hot oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour."

  When the concept of apple schalet reached England in the late eighteenth century, it was alliteratively pronounced Charlotte. The first American Jewish cookbook, Jewish Cookery (Philadelphia, 1871), contained a recipe for "Matzas Charlotte," which consisted of soaked matzas baked in a custard, without any fruit. The author also starts the "Puddings" chapter with "A Baked Pudding (Sthephon) of Ripe Fruit or Apples," in essence a typical apple schalet. The first edition of The Settlement Cook Book (Milwaukee, 1901) included, in sequence, "Apple Charlotte," which was akin to an apple pie; "Matzos Schalet," a sweet matza kugel; and "Matzos Charlotte with Apples," a similar dish with apples.

  Whatever the name and shape, schalet remains a popular Sabbath dessert among Alsatians and western Germans, served throughout the fall and winter when fresh apples are readily available. In many German homes, it was also a traditional Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot treat, a symbol of a sweet and fruitful year to come.

  (See also Cholent/Schalet, Fluden, and Kugel)

  Scharfe Fish

  Scharf refers to a method of serving poached fish in a tangy or spicy egg sauce.

  Origin: Eastern Europe

  Scharf is German and Yiddish for "sharp" and "spicy," denoting a pungent or biting dish. Some Poles refer to a savory kugel as scharfe kugel. Among the variations of Ashkenazic poached fish is scharfe fish, served in a thickened sauce warm on Friday night or cold for seudat shlishit [third Sabbath meal].

  Scharfe fish is similar to the venerable Sephardic dish of fish in agristada (a tangy egg-lemon or egg-verjuice sauce). German Jews began to cover poached fish fillets with a sauce made from the cooking liquid that was spiced with a little ginger or lemon juice and thickened with egg yolks and a little flour. The early American Jewish cookbook, Aunt Babette's (Cincinnati, 1889), written by an author from a German heritage, included a recipe entitled "Hecht (Pickerel)." The author wrote, "This fish is best prepared 'scharf.' " She ended the recipe with this note: "Give this a fair trial and you will never prepare pickerel any other way." However, some American versions, such as the " 'Sharfe' Fish" in the first edition of The Settlement Cook Book (Milwaukee, 1901) and the "Scharfe Fish" in The Neighborhood Cookbook (Portland, Oregon, 1912), omit the lemon and use the term to denote poached fish in a sauce thickened with egg yolks and flour.

  Schav

  Sorrel (sour grass)—szczaw in Polish, shtshav or tshav in Yiddish, and schav in American Yiddish, referring both to the plant and the soup made from it—is a member of the buckwheat and rhubarb family, a native of Eurasia. Its English name is derived from the Old French for "sour," which is appropriate as the greens have a striking, but pleasantly tart taste due to the presence of oxalic acid. In modern French, sorrel goes by the name oseille. The arrow-shaped, dark green sorrel leaves, which look like spinach, are primarily cooked in soups and sauces, but young ones are used raw in salads. In Europe, sorrel was almost always picked wild; wild sorrel is more intensely tart than the cultivated leaves.

  Sorrel appears in early spring and is still growing by the onset of the summer, making it ideal for a seasonal peasant soup called schav or schav borscht. Schav was another of the zoyers (sours) adding zest and nutrition to an otherwise bland diet of starches. Jews from Galicia (now southern Poland) typically make a sweet-and-sour soup, while Lithuanians generally eschew any sweetening in their schav. Unlike the heavy fare of winter, Ashkenazic spring and particularly summer food was lighter and frequently dairy—thus schav was almost always pareve or milchig. Cold schav proved especially refreshing on a hot day. Wealthier people added a few eggs to thicken the soup and create a slightly yellowish cast. The fat and protein in the eggs or sour cream also helped to tame the oxalic acid. Poorer Polish Jews commonly used an inexpensive potato for the thickening agent. As a result of its spring season, schav emerged in eastern Europe as a widespread Passover and Shavuot dish.

  Since Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe were the first to commonly prepare sorrel soup in America, it took on the Yiddish name schav, becoming one of the few English words to end in v. Today in America, where sorrel is difficult to find in the market, many people substitute spinach, which also produces a greener color, and add plenty of lemon juice or citric acid, although without achieving the same distinctive results. Many of the Jewish hotels in the Catskill Mountains opted for the easier spinach, although sorrel grew wild in the area. Bottled commercial schav in America is also predominantly spinach. Consequently, many people have had a negative culinary experience with "schav."

  Eastern European Sorrel Soup (Schav)

  about 2 quarts/6 to 8 servings

  [PAREVE or DAIRY]

  8 cups water

  1½ pounds (about 9 cups) sorrel, washed, stemmed, and chopped

  6 to 8 scallions (white and light green parts), chopped, or 1 large whole onion

  1 to 4 tablespoons sugar or honey

  About 1¼ teaspoons table salt or 2½ teaspoons kosher salt

  About ½ teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or 1 teaspoon paprika

  1 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  2 to 3 large eggs or 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten (optional)

  1 cup sour cream (optional)

  1. Place the water, sorrel, scallions, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large pot (do not use aluminum or cast iron). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the sorrel is very tender, about 20 minutes.

  2. It using a whole onion, discard it now. Add the lemon juice. Leave the soup with a chunky texture or puree in a blender or a food processor fitted with a metal blade until nearly smooth. Adjust the lemon juice and sugar to make the soup more sour or sweet-and-sour, according to your preference.

  3. If using the eggs, gradually whisk 1 cup of the hot soup into the eggs, then stir the egg mixture into the soup. Place over low heat and stir until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Do not boil.

  4. Serve warm or refrigerate for at least 4 hours until chilled. The soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days with the eggs, or up to 1 week without the eggs. If desired, garnish with a dollop of sour cream or stir it into the soup.

  Schmaltz

  The taste and smell of authentic Ashkenazic food is schmaltz. Schmaltz or schmalts in Yiddish (from the Middle High German smalz, "animal fat") is the generic Yiddish term for animal fat, but more specifically and colloquially, it denotes melted and purified poultry fat. Schmaltz became to Ashkenazic cooking what olive oil was to Mediterranean food, indispensable for frying and cooking, and as a flavoring agent. Because rendering concentrates and enhances the taste of the creamy fat, it is more flavorful than the greasy yellowish mass that rises to the top of chilled chicken soup. Schmaltz is typically rendered with chopped onion, for a note of sweetness, and chicken skin, which imparts meatiness, and there are those who also add a chopped green apple or garlic clove for extra flavor. The slow rendering process, similar to that of ghee (Indian clarified butter), also removes the water and proteins from the fat, and, as a result, properly prepared schmaltz can last
for an extended period without spoiling—it stays fresh at room temperature for many months and in the refrigerator for at least a year. Schmaltz is liquid at room temperature and solidifies in the refrigerator.

  Jews in ancient Israel and the Mediterranean primarily relied on olive oil. In central Asia, they substituted sesame oil or the tail fat from certain types of sheep. As Jews moved north in Europe, many of the ingredients that had previously been an essential part of their larder became scarce or, more often than not, unobtainable, including most oils. For dairy meals, Ashkenazim used butter, which was relatively plentiful during the late spring and summer. However, butter became less available during the autumn and through the winter, and it could not be used at meat meals anytime of the year. Non-Jews were dependent on lard for cooking, but Jews had to look toward kosher animal fats.

  The use of fattened geese as a source for oil was first mentioned in a Jewish source in the Talmud, where a third-century Babylonian rabbi noted, "We were once traveling in the wilderness, and we saw geese whose feathers had fallen out because they were so fat, and streams of fat flowed under them." But it was in northern Europe that poultry fat became ubiquitous. Goose was the bird of choice in western and central Europe, but as the Ashkenazim moved farther east—and in the wake of the revival of European cuisine and agronomy that followed the First Crusade—chickens emerged as the standard in eastern Europe. Many eastern Europeans, however, still raised or annually purchased a goose or two for their winter's supply of schmaltz. In America, where kosher geese were hard to obtain, chicken became the predominant source.

  Each year as winter approached and geese were at their fattest, near Hanukkah, any male geese and other unwanted birds, which had previously fed on free grasses, were slaughtered. Fat birds were particularly desirable, as they yielded the most schmaltz. In previous generations, geese and chickens had more fat and were eaten when older, and geese were force-fed, so each bird yielded more schmaltz than today's birds. After the fat was rendered down, a special separate glazed crock was set aside in a cool cellar for Passover, and the remainder was enjoyed throughout the winter. In the frigid winters of northern Europe, energy-rich schmaltz sustained life as well as added flavor to it. Throughout the rest of the year, additional schmaltz awaited the occasional slaughter of the family's chickens or geese or the purchase of one from a farmer.

  Schmaltz was essential for frying everything from onions, the most widespread seasoning of Ashkenazim, to schnitzel. The rich flavor infuses a myriad of classic Ashkenazic dishes, including chopped liver, chopped eggs, cholent (Sabbath stew), kugels, kishke (stuffed derma), kasha varnishkes, matza balls, latkes, and various other potato dishes. It was schmeared over rye bread and toast (schmaltzbrot), then sprinkled with kosher salt or perhaps sliced black radish. Schmaltz was once a cornerstone of the Jewish delicatessen—some establishments even offered small pitchers or saucers of it on the tables as a condiment. The fried skin is called gribenes and is considered a special treat. Although vegetable oil or margarine can be substituted for schmaltz, it will not replicate the rich flavor and texture. Matza balls made with schmaltz turn out more flavorful and tender than those containing oil, while latkes fried in oil are a pale comparison to those cooked in schmaltz.

  Principal Fats. Before the global economy, various regions of the world relied on a predominant local fat—some from animals and some from plants—greatly influencing local cookery. 1 Olive oil—Mediterranean (Spain, Portugal, southern France, southern Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, the Levant, North Africa); 2 Samneh (clarified butter)—Arab world (southern Mediterranean, Middle East, Afghanistan); 3 Goose fat—northern France, western Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia; 4 Chicken Fat—eastern Germany, Poland, Baltic States, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Hungary; 5 Poppy seed oil—Germany; 6 Argan oil—Morocco; 7 Sunflower oil—Georgia; 8 Sesame oil (raw)—Iraq, Iran; 9 Sheep Tail Fat—central Asia (Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenia, Iran); 10 Coconut oil/Palm oil—southern India; 11 Ghee (clarified butter)—northern and central India

  Because of its importance, schmaltz became entwined in Ashkenazic culture. Thus the Yiddish phrase for "to strike it rich by luck," which refers to situations like inheriting money or marrying a wealthy spouse, is "araynfaln un a schmaltzgrub" (to fall into a schmaltz pit).

  Early American Jewish cookbooks referred to "chicken fat" and "goose fat," and the word schmaltz did not show up in English until 1932, when it appeared in Manhattan Oases, New York's 1932 Speak-Easies by Al Hirschfeld, later known as a caricaturist. He wrote, "Same price and same brew at the rough board tables, glistening with 'schmaltz' rubbed in by the elbows of two generations."

  In America, schmaltz early on in the twentieth century lost some of its importance, due to the availability of kosher oils, margarine, and vegetable shortening, yet remained a staple in many Jewish households. In an article in the November 1935 issue of Vanity Fair, the word schmaltz was used as a derogatory term for jazz. Around 1950, due to the prominent Jewish presence in show business, "schmaltz" took on a new, negative connotation in America as a noun meaning cloying sentimentalism, perhaps because schmaltz is mushy, unctuous, and heavy, while "schmaltzy" emerged as an adjective denoting something corny, mawkish, and excessively sentimental, especially music and literature.

  In America in the second half of the twentieth century, fat became something it had never been before in all of human history—undesirable. As health and cholesterol concerns rose and Ashkenazim became acculturated in America, the role of schmaltz dramatically diminished. Even many delis cut back on or nearly eliminated the use of schmaltz, much to the detriment of the authenticity and flavor of the food. And in authentic Ashkenazic cuisine, there is no substitute.

  (See also Goose, Gribenes, Herring, and Liver)

  Ashkenazic Rendered Chicken Fat with Cracklings (Schmaltz Mit Gribenes)

  about 2 cups

  [MEAT]

  1 pound (4 cups) chicken or goose fat

  8 ounces chicken or goose skin

  ½ cup water

  1 medium yellow onion, chopped (optional)

  1. Cut the fat into small pieces and cut the skin into ¼-inch-wide strips. In a large, heavy saucepan or skillet, cook the fat, skin, and water, uncovered, over medium heat until the water evaporates and the fat is melted, as announced by the stopping of crackling sounds, about 35 minutes.

  2. Reduce the heat to low and, if using, add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the skin turns a deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Do not let the cracklings and onion burn.

  3. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve or coffee filter into a jar, then place the gribenes (browned pieces) in a separate container. Store the schmaltz and gribenes separately in the refrigerator for several months to a year or in the freezer indefinitely. Schmaltz turns bright white in the freezer. To stretch the schmaltz, combine it in a one-one ratio with peanut oil.

  Schnapps

  Schnapps or shnaps, from the German schnaps, derived from the verb schnappen ("to snatch/to snap," denoting emptying the glass in one gulp), is the most widespread generic Yiddish term for any strong liquor. This includes whiskey, slivovitz (distilled from plums), brandy (distilled from grapes), and vodka, which is Russian whiskey, the type most common in northeastern Europe.

  Yiddish synonyms for schnapps are mashke (from the Hebrew word for beverage, mashkeh) and yash (a contraction of the Hebrew yayim "wine" and soref "burning."). In addition, there is bronfn (derived from the German branntwein, "burned wine"), specifying whiskey. The latter appropriately gave rise to the family name of Samuel Bronfman, a Canadian Jew who founded a distilling empire and purchased Joseph Seagram & Sons during Prohibition. In modern Hebrew, hard liquor is mashkeh charif.

  Drinking a shot of schnapps is makhn a shnepsl (make a bit of liquor). To drink too much is to become shiker (used as both an adjective and noun) or batrinkn. A drink of schnapps in the synagogue or study hall is a tikn, from the Hebrew tikkun (repair/improvement), as Ch
asidim developed a custom of taking a drink (trinkn tikn) to celebrate the elevation of the soul of a departed loved one or friend.

  In northern Europe, where wine was scarce and expensive, schnapps were of particular importance, as they could be substituted for wine on Sabbath morning for Kiddush and at the end of the Sabbath for Havdalah. Bottles of schnapps remain common at most Ashkenazic life-cycle events, where shots are typically preceded by the salutation l'chaim (to life).

  (See also Pálenka/Pálinka and Vishniak)

  Schnecken

  Schnecken is a small, coiled yeast-raised pastry filled with cinnamon-sugar.

  Origin: Germany

  In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, yeast rolls sweetened with Caribbean sugar and accented with spice grew in prevalence, but the spice was always mixed into the dough. Eventually, bakers in central Europe devised a different method: They made miniature versions of the large kaffee kuchen (coffee cake roll) by rolling out a rich yeast kuchen dough, sprinkling it with sugar and cinnamon—a favorite spice of central Europeans—then rolling it up and cutting into spiral slices. A variation substitutes poppy seed filling (mohn) for the cinnamon. The original rolls were relatively dainty pastries, intended to fit on a saucer beside a cup of tea or coffee. The shape of these rolls was reminiscent of a coiled mollusk shell and, consequently, they became known as schnecken, German for "snails." Although the singular of the word is schnecke, the plural form is commonly used even for a single pastry. These cinnamon rolls eventually spread through Germany and Austria. Since many of the professional bakers of that area were Jews, schnecken early on was adopted by Jewish communities.