Sephardic Cuisine – My Jewish Learning
Posted By richards on January 1, 2017
An overview of the wide variety of food eaten by the descendants of the Spanish exile. By MJL Staff
Get Sephardic (and other) Jewish recipes sent straight to your inbox! Sign up for The Nosher newsletter here.
Sephardic cuisine refers to the foods eaten by a large and diverse group of Jews that bear the unique stamp of their regions of origin, which include Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Egypt, and Turkey. Italian, Indian, and other non-European Jewish foods are also sometimes included in this mix.
There is logic to this broad grouping: Almost all of these lands were part of the Islamic world. The Arab conquest of the 7th and 8th centuries united land from the Iberian peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean to China and India. Active trading went on between these lands, spreading new food all over the region. Eggplant from India, spinach from Nepal, and spices from the Near East are examples of foods that spread throughout the Islamic empire.
Jews participated actively in Islamic society. They were successful in cultural, political, and financial arenas. Thus Sephardic cuisine often represents refined, even aristocratic, food. Besides the quality of the food, the Jews of the Islamic world stressed quantity as well. Asceticism was not valued, and lifecycle celebrations such as circumcisions and weddings were lengthy and luxurious.
RECIPE: Sephardic Jeweled Rosh Hashanah Rice
Cookbooks that cataloged medical advice alongside recipes were a common genre of literature in the Muslim world. The 13th-century Cookbook of the Maghreb and Andalusia, one of the most important of these books, lists five Jewish recipes. All of these are full of spices and aromas and are detailed in their ingredients and preparation. One such dish, a chicken with giblets, was made with, among other things, fennel stalks, coriander, oil, citron leaves, eggs, flour, and chicken liver. The dish is first roasted and then left to sit in murri a fermented condiment used in medieval cooking vinegar, rose water, onion juice, and spices. All the dishes in the book, including the Jewish ones, exhibit delicate attention to flavor, texture, and presentation. Jews also authored recipe and dietetics books. Isaac Israelicus 10th-century Book of Foods was translated into Latin in the 15th century and used in medical schools until the 17th century.
When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, most made their way to North Africa and Ottoman lands such as Turkey and the Balkans. Half of the North African Jews lived in Morocco, and the Jewish style of food that was common there is still considered one of Moroccos four national food styles. The Jews who settled in the Ottoman lands were typically upper class, and their foods resembled the foods of the urban nobility. The kebabs, pilafs and dolmades (stuffed vegetables) of Turkish Jewry are still some of the most recognizable Sephardic dishes.
RECIPE: Sumac Chicken and Rice
Fruits, vegetables, spices, and grains were plentiful in the Mediterranean climate, and thus plant foods figured heavily into Sephardic cuisine. Indeed, Jews were responsible for spreading the use of certain plant foods. Italian Jews prepared artichoke in an innovative way. Leeks and fennel, first used in Jewish cooking, were also later used in non-Jewish cooking in the area. Meats were eaten by Mediterranean Jews, butexcept for Shabbat (the Sabbath)fish was more often on the menu.
The Sephardic Jewish communities began to decline in the 18th century. Colonialism and natural disaster hit these communities hard and, on the whole, the Sephardic communities became impoverished. Nonetheless, Sephardic cuisine still retains the character of its unique heritage, a panoply of foods from many different lands that reflect an intense intermingling of cultures that were often well-to-do and sophisticated.
RECIPE: Stuffed Grape Leaves
It is difficult to identify particular Sephardic foods as Spanish or Greek or Arab. The movement of the Sephardic community and the unique blending of cultures gave rise to an assimilated and variegated cuisine.
Did you like this article? MyJewishLearning is a not-for-profit organization.
Please consider making a donation today.
Get Sephardic (and other) Jewish recipes sent straight to your inbox! Sign up for The Nosher newsletter here.
Sephardic cuisine refers to the foods eaten by a large and diverse group of Jews that bear the unique stamp of their regions of origin, which include Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Egypt, and Turkey. Italian, Indian, and other non-European Jewish foods are also sometimes included in this mix.
There is logic to this broad grouping: Almost all of these lands were part of the Islamic world. The Arab conquest of the 7th and 8th centuries united land from the Iberian peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean to China and India. Active trading went on between these lands, spreading new food all over the region. Eggplant from India, spinach from Nepal, and spices from the Near East are examples of foods that spread throughout the Islamic empire.
Jews participated actively in Islamic society. They were successful in cultural, political, and financial arenas. Thus Sephardic cuisine often represents refined, even aristocratic, food. Besides the quality of the food, the Jews of the Islamic world stressed quantity as well. Asceticism was not valued, and lifecycle celebrations such as circumcisions and weddings were lengthy and luxurious.
RECIPE: Sephardic Jeweled Rosh Hashanah Rice
Cookbooks that cataloged medical advice alongside recipes were a common genre of literature in the Muslim world. The 13th-century Cookbook of the Maghreb and Andalusia, one of the most important of these books, lists five Jewish recipes. All of these are full of spices and aromas and are detailed in their ingredients and preparation. One such dish, a chicken with giblets, was made with, among other things, fennel stalks, coriander, oil, citron leaves, eggs, flour, and chicken liver. The dish is first roasted and then left to sit in murri a fermented condiment used in medieval cooking vinegar, rose water, onion juice, and spices. All the dishes in the book, including the Jewish ones, exhibit delicate attention to flavor, texture, and presentation. Jews also authored recipe and dietetics books. Isaac Israelicus 10th-century Book of Foods was translated into Latin in the 15th century and used in medical schools until the 17th century.
When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, most made their way to North Africa and Ottoman lands such as Turkey and the Balkans. Half of the North African Jews lived in Morocco, and the Jewish style of food that was common there is still considered one of Moroccos four national food styles. The Jews who settled in the Ottoman lands were typically upper class, and their foods resembled the foods of the urban nobility. The kebabs, pilafs and dolmades (stuffed vegetables) of Turkish Jewry are still some of the most recognizable Sephardic dishes.
RECIPE: Sumac Chicken and Rice
Fruits, vegetables, spices, and grains were plentiful in the Mediterranean climate, and thus plant foods figured heavily into Sephardic cuisine. Indeed, Jews were responsible for spreading the use of certain plant foods. Italian Jews prepared artichoke in an innovative way. Leeks and fennel, first used in Jewish cooking, were also later used in non-Jewish cooking in the area. Meats were eaten by Mediterranean Jews, butexcept for Shabbat (the Sabbath)fish was more often on the menu.
The Sephardic Jewish communities began to decline in the 18th century. Colonialism and natural disaster hit these communities hard and, on the whole, the Sephardic communities became impoverished. Nonetheless, Sephardic cuisine still retains the character of its unique heritage, a panoply of foods from many different lands that reflect an intense intermingling of cultures that were often well-to-do and sophisticated.
RECIPE: Stuffed Grape Leaves
It is difficult to identify particular Sephardic foods as Spanish or Greek or Arab. The movement of the Sephardic community and the unique blending of cultures gave rise to an assimilated and variegated cuisine.
See the article here:
Sephardic Cuisine - My Jewish Learning
- Spains Apology: Muslims too Deserve Correction of Historical Wrongs [Last Updated On: April 1st, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 1st, 2014]
- Jewish Virtual Library Sephardim [Last Updated On: April 1st, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 1st, 2014]
- Music and the Sephardic oral tradition: a life spent documenting Jewish musical heritage - Video [Last Updated On: April 1st, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 1st, 2014]
- Beit Shemesh mayor condemns attack on woman for modesty [Last Updated On: April 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 3rd, 2014]
- Evan Kleiman revisits her Passover traditions [Last Updated On: April 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 3rd, 2014]
- Spain clarifies legislation offering citizenship [Last Updated On: April 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 3rd, 2014]
- Spanish Citizenship for Sephardic Jews: Exactly who will be eligible for a Spanish passport? - Video [Last Updated On: April 5th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 5th, 2014]
- Sephardic Community Center presents The Wiz - Video [Last Updated On: April 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 6th, 2014]
- Manischewitz's kitniyot brand: Why this Passover is different from all other Passovers [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- NY rabbi: Ban Jewish groups that support BDS from Israel parade [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- John Hagee speaks of the four blood moons and sephardic jews - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Onetime Sephardic Towns See Euro Signs in Revival of Lost Jewish Heritage [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Cuisine of the Sephardic Jews - Wikipedia, the free ... [Last Updated On: April 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 14th, 2014]
- Sephardic Genealogy [Last Updated On: April 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 14th, 2014]
- LA Sephardic Music Festival Recap/Teaser - Video [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2014]
- Jewish genetic testing offered [Last Updated On: April 23rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 23rd, 2014]
- Century 21: Expanding beyond its retail comfort zone [Last Updated On: April 29th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 29th, 2014]
- Center for Active Design Names Excellence Award Recipients [Last Updated On: April 29th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 29th, 2014]
- Religion briefs for May 3 [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2014]
- Sr. Villa plays a Sephardic tune - Video [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2014]
- Pride of Israel Synagogue in North York hosts Jewish Music Week concert [Last Updated On: May 7th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 7th, 2014]
- Bakashot Makes Unlikely Comeback as Sephardic Jews Explore Traditions [Last Updated On: May 7th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 7th, 2014]
- Cantor pushes China to open historic synagogue [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2014]
- Nikita Khrushchev Denounces Israel to Egyptians [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2014]
- Haftarah sefardi shel yom Tish (Sephardic music) - Video [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2014]
- Reclaiming Spains Jews [Last Updated On: May 13th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 13th, 2014]
- Caracas Jews find US home [Last Updated On: May 13th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 13th, 2014]
- Venezuelan Jewish Families Transform Miami Suburbs [Last Updated On: May 13th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 13th, 2014]
- Strength in unity [Last Updated On: May 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 14th, 2014]
- La Jollas Best bets for events [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- Sephardic Judeo-Spanish Song - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- Z01 Mishnah Masechet Berachot Chanted in Hebrew Sephardic Pronunciation - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- "Morenica a m me llaman" ("Little dark girl"). Sephardic song - Video [Last Updated On: May 18th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 18th, 2014]
- 74% of French Jews Consider Leaving Country [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2014]
- Sephardic celebration - Video [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2014]
- Sephardic bar mitzvah - Video [Last Updated On: May 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 21st, 2014]
- Bar mitzvah Sephardic - Video [Last Updated On: May 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 21st, 2014]
- No neutrality between extremism and democracy: Kenney [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2014]
- JAVI DRUMS 2 Improvisacion "Sephardic" - Video [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2014]
- Sephardic Jews eye return to Spain - reporter - Video [Last Updated On: September 1st, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 1st, 2014]
- Safra: The sound of coexistence at Berkeleys Ashkenaz [Last Updated On: September 5th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 5th, 2014]
- Sephardic Heritage in DC's Lag La'Omer BBQ - Video [Last Updated On: September 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 10th, 2014]
- Commenting Guidelines [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2014]
- What to do in Andalusia [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2014]
- Spanish Cities Celebrate Jewish Womens Contributions to Their Heritage [Last Updated On: September 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 15th, 2014]
- Eastside news: Stroum Center cultural arts lineup [Last Updated On: September 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 17th, 2014]
- The Journey Of The Sephardic Jew Draft - Video [Last Updated On: September 19th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 19th, 2014]
- Sephardic Spices - Video [Last Updated On: September 19th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 19th, 2014]
- Sephardic Congregation Annual Banquet 8/10/2014 - Video 6 - Video [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2014]
- Sephardic Congregation Annual Banquet 8/10/2014 - Video 4 - Video [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2014]
- Sephardic Congregation Annual Banquet 8/10/2014 - Video 3 - Video [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2014]
- Sephardic Congregation Annual Banquet 8/10/2014 - Video 2 - Video [Last Updated On: September 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 21st, 2014]
- Sephardic Congregation Annual Banquet 8/10/2014 - Video 5 - Video [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2014]
- Sephardic Congregation Annual Banquet 8/10/2014 - Video 1 - Video [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2014]
- Rosh Hashana's Sacred Bread Offers Meaning In Many Shapes And Sizes [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2014]
- Sephardic Women at Shalom Club in Plovdiv - Video [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2014]
- How to Pronounce Machzorim - Video [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2014]
- How to Pronounce Hakham - Video [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2014]
- Sarah Gorby - La Sirena (Sephardic Song) - Video [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2014]
- 20140921 Sephardic Music 2 - Video [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2014]
- 20140921 Sephardic Music Chamber Music Day - Video [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2014]
- Photos: This Week in Pictures: Top Photos from Around the Globe [Last Updated On: September 29th, 2014] [Originally Added On: September 29th, 2014]
- Volokh Conspiracy: Does race really matter to Justice Sotomayor? [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2014]
- Teodora Enache-Aisha & Benny Rietveld Quintet | Sephardic Poem & Abraham's Bells - Video [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2014]
- Black Guy Singing Sephardic Jewish Music - Video [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2014]
- Patrick Modiano, French Sephardic Novelist, Wins Nobel for Literature [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2014]
- Toledo Recalls Sephardic Past With Sukkot Festival [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2014]
- Klezmer And Sephardic Tunes - 33 Traditional Pieces For Accordion - Merima Kljuco - Video [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2014]
- Concierto de msica sefard de TAKSIM / Sephardic music concert of TAKSIM. - Video [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2014]
- Concert celebrates the Sarajevo Haggadah, a symbol of survival [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2014]
- Was Nicolas Sarkozy Hated by French Because He's Jewish? [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2014]
- Growing strong: Maimonides Academy to open new building for grades three through eight [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2014]
- Sephardic Moroccan Gitano Flamenco song - Video [Last Updated On: October 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 22nd, 2014]
- Purim Alexandria Egypt 1959 JEWS SEPHARDIC JEWISH - Video [Last Updated On: October 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 24th, 2014]
- International Ladino Day 2013- Full Program - Video [Last Updated On: October 30th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 30th, 2014]
- Sephardic medley (Safam version) performed by The Kadima Band at Wellesley College - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2014]
- ADIO QUERIDA - new version! by Anna Riveiro & Marcin Olak & Micha Pindakiewicz; Sephardic song - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2014]
- Israelis Turn Frustrated with Netanyahu [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2014] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2014]
- The Khazars and the Mountain Jews: Tales from Jewish Azerbaijan [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2014] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2014]
- L.A. Sephardic Film Festival fetes beloved Israeli entertainer [Last Updated On: November 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: November 6th, 2014]
Comments