Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on July 3, 2017

Every Fourth of July, competitive eaters head to Coney Island in Brooklyn and stuff their faces to see how many hot dogs and buns they can consume. But did you know that the world of competitive eating has lesser known contests, including ones with kosher food? Were talking matzo balls and hamentaschen.Really. Which begs the gluttonous, super-American question: Whatisthe toughest kosher or culturally Jewish food to eat in mass quantities? I asked the kosher culinary expertsand some comediansto weigh in.

At first, comedian Elon Goldconsidered a meat dish but then went with what might seem like an obvious answer. What comes to my head right away is flanken, which by the way, is flanken delicious,he said. But just the bones would be a problem. He considered the question again.Maror.Wheres the maror eating contest where everybodys eyes start tearing up. Thats it. Because you know what Ive said about a Seder plate:You can throw up on a Seder plate and no one would noticeit would look and smell exactly as it did before.

Elan Kornblum, president and publisher of Great Kosher Restaurants magazine, picked a different Passover food. He said shmurah matzo would be the toughest to eat.After a while, it would be very dry, he said. I think I could eat maybe three of four.

Mike Gershkovich, owner and executive chef of Mikes Bistro, on East 54th Street in New York City,said shmurahmatzomight be too dangerous anddoesntthink itshould everbe allowed in an eating contest. Instead he went withyapchik, a dish with heavy potato kugel and flanken or other meat. Talk about some heavy lifting

Ari White, owner and pit-master of The Wandering Que, who won the Brisket King of New York title in 2016, said hed go withptcha, an Ashkenazi dish made from jelliedcalvesfeet, or chopped liver.I wouldnt want to be the guy that put seven years of cholesterol in my body in one sitting, he said.

Mendy Merel, owner of the Mendys, which became famous onSeinfeld, said it would be funny to see how much charif, or the spicy sauce put on falafel, someone could eat. He also mentioned a classic.We did have amatzoball eating contest before, Merel said. One guy ate 20 and I think he didnt go to the bathroom for two weeks.

Joy of Kosherchef Jamie Gellersaid it is a joy to eat cholent, but not too much of it.One time I was judging a contest and after having a spoon or two of 12 different cholents, and I was already dying, she said. I think a normal person at most could eat three bowls. I dont know how many a competitive eater could eat.

Chef Isaac Bernstein, culinary director of Pomegranate in Coney Island, saidgribenes would be tough to eat in a large quantity.A pound of it would kill you, he said.

But maybe the most simply and digestible answer comes fromComedian Mike Fine, who said:The hardest thing to eat would be a bagel and cream cheese that didnt have any lox on it. I couldnt eat a single sesame seed, if the bagel didnt have lox on it.

Alan Zeitlin is a journalist living in Manhattan.

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Really. Which begs the gluttonous, super-American question: What is the toughest kosher or culturally Jewish food to ... - Tablet Magazine

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