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Kugel Unraveled
Joan Nathan
(Adapted from New York Times, September 28, 2005)
For many American Jews, kugel is the taste of childhood. They want exactly the
kind of kugel their mother made, whether it is a weekly Sabbath treat or served
only on holidays.
I didn't know until recently, though, that this homey casserole of noodles or
potatoes was credited with mystical powers.
Allan Nadler, a professor of religious studies at Drew University, studied
references to kugel in Hasidic texts and ate it in Brooklyn and in Jerusalem at
about a dozen rebbes' tishes, or tables, where followers of a Hasidic rabbi
gather to eat, sing, and study the Torah.
According to Hasidic interpretations of Kabbalah mysticism, kugel has special
powers. Clearly the spiritual high point of the meal is the offering of the
kugel. At that moment, the rabbi has the power to bestow health and food and
even to help couples conceive. But despite kugel's deep tradition, it is
changing, even in Brooklyn, the center of American kugel cooking.
At Hungarian Kosher Catering in Borough Park, at least 18 kinds of kugel are for
sale. Most American Jews know about noodle (lokshen) and potato kugel. But
apple-noodle kugel! Salt and pepper kugel? Broccoli kugel? Modern "designer"
three-layer kugel with sweet potato and cauliflower?
Shmelka Friedman is the owner of the shop and a follower of the Satmar sect,
which came to the United States from Hungary after World War II.
His repertory now includes both blueberry and rhubarb kugel.
The word kugel comes from the German word for ball. It is traditionally a round,
baked sweet or savory pudding or casserole made of noodles or potatoes. Since
the first Jews came to the United States, it has been a popular mainstay of
holiday tables. The first published American recipe for kugel, from Esther
Levy's 1871 "Jewish Cookery Book," is a mixture of homemade noodles, raisins and
sugar bound with eggs. Through the years, Madison Avenue had its way with kugel.
Boxed noodles replaced homemade noodles, canned pineapple and cranberries
replaced raisins, and processed cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese
replaced farmer cheese and other European dairy products.
Even if customers want more complex recipes, they always ask about ways to
perfect the classic versions as well. Kugel is traditionally served with meat
meals, which means it is bound with oil and eggs, or sometimes mayonnaise, which
like sour cream, adds flavor and creaminess. Non-dairy items like soy milk and
tofutti cream cheese are also used. Dairy kugels are reserved for the meal
following Yom Kippur fast, usually a dairy meal.
One really delicious kugel is a sweet and peppery version called Yerushalmi, or
Jerusalem, kugel. Supposedly this version originated in Jerusalem with followers
of the Gaon of Vilna, a Jewish scholar, in the late 18th century. Made with thin
noodles, pepper, salt and sugar, it is tricky because it has a caramel base that
can stick or burn.
Professor Nadler, who grew up in Montreal, tosses off all these newfangled,
secular kugels. "No spinach or zucchini or sweet kugel for me. Everything is a
kugel these days. I grew up in a home where my grandparents were from Russia. We
ate salt and pepper kugel, and cut it up in the soup. Now that's kugel."
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