From the IntroductionKosher Style is for those who love delicious modern food, travel writing or both. It’s a cookbook with food writing that respects the traditions born in eastern European kitchens, while traveling beyond. Jewish readers will love it for the taste memories they can recreate, while others will be won over by the gorgeous full-color photography.
So why is it called
Kosher Style? Excellent question. While dozens of countries host at least a small Jewish population, the global community is concentrated in two areas. Israel and the United States account for 83 percent of the global Jewish population, with about seven million in each. Canada is home to about 500,000 Jews. A chunk of this global population of Jews is kosher, but even more of them are what we call “kosher style.”
“Kosher style” is how many Jews eat today. This can mean dining on a smoked meat sandwich at a non-kosher deli, or eating a slice of sour cream coffee cake after you’ve had steak for dinner. It can mean Chinese food on paper plates in your home, or a lobster dinner eaten out while on vacation. For many, being Jewish tends to be more about culture than
kashrut (the practice of keeping kosher), and it can be confusing at the best of times. I’ll get into the rules of
kashrut on page 4. But first, let it be known that this book isn’t just for Jews. It’s also for the other 99 percent of the population.
Recent market research studies peg the kosher-food industry as being worth over $17 billion, and the kosher label’s popularity is growing. In 2009, 27 percent of packaged foods had the kosher denotation, but by 2015, it appeared on over 41 percent of packages. It’s not that the world has suddenly gone
meshugenah for kosher food. The reasons behind the dramatic uptick are completely nonreligious. Some people buy kosher food because of perceived cleanliness, others owing to dietary restrictions (such as vegetarians) and still others to avoid certain allergens such as shellfish.
In this book are all the recipes you need for successful shellfish- and pork-free home entertaining, be it for a Jewish holiday or a workaday dinner. From crave-worthy snacks to family-size salads, soulful mains to show-stopping desserts, all of the recipes in this book are doable in the home kitchen and are clearly marked as either a meat dish, dairy dish or pareve (neutral). Think: latkes, knishes, General Tso’s chicken and Toblerone-chunk
hamantaschen your family will
plotz over.
Kosher Style is for anyone who likes to cook and loves to eat, and it’s especially for those yearning to create new shared memories around a table brimming with history, loved ones and maple-soy brisket.
Copyright © 2019 by Amy Rosen. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.