The German-Jewish Cookbook: Recipes and History of a Cuisine (HBI Series on Jewish Women)

“What a feast! Rich in cultural history and vibrant with personal stories, The German-Jewish Cookbook offers up recipes both homespun and elegant, from simple Potato Puffs to show-stopping Chestnut Crème. This beautiful book is a moving testament to food and family and the enduring bonds of taste.”—Darra Goldstein, award-winning cookbook author and world-renowned food scholar

These elegant and mostly easy-to-make recipes range from light summery fare to hearty winter foods. With a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients, this indispensable collection of recipes includes numerous soups, both chilled and hot; vegetable dishes; meats, poultry, and fish; fruit desserts; cakes; and the German version of challah, Berches. This cookbook features recipes for German-Jewish cuisine as it existed in Germany prior to World War II, and as refugees later adapted it in the United States and elsewhere. Six recipe chapters offer easy-to-follow instructions for weekday meals, Shabbos and holiday meals, sausage and cold cuts, vegetables, coffee and cake, and core recipes basic to the preparation of German-Jewish cuisine.Some of these recipes come from friends and family of the authors; others have been culled from interviews conducted by the authors, prewar German-Jewish cookbooks, nineteenth-century American cookbooks, community cookbooks, memoirs, or historical and archival material. The introduction explains the basics of Jewish diet (kosher law). Because these dishes differ from more familiar Jewish food, they will be a discovery for many people. The Gropmans—a mother-daughter author pair—have honored the original recipes Gabrielle learned after arriving