| Name of Food |
Origin |
What it is |
|
| Apfelstrudel |
Austria |
Viennese apple strudel considered one of the national foods of Austria |
| Apples and Honey |
Babylonia |
Traditional Rosh Hashanah food to bring a "sweet" year |
| Baba Ghanoush |
Middle East |
Eggplant dip often eaten with pita bread |
| Babka |
Eastern Europe |
Twisted piece of dough containing cinnamon or chocolate filling, and usually
topped with streusel |
| Bagel |
Poland |
Ring-shaped dough boiled in water, then baked |
| Baklava |
Middle East |
Pastry made of layered phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts, sweetened
with syrup or honey |
| Baluk Plakki |
Turkey |
Broiled fish with tomatoes and onions |
| Bialy |
Poland |
Similar to a bagel, but with a depression instead of a hole and baked
without first being boiled |
| Blancmange |
Italy |
Fried puff pastry cakes with filling of almonds, candied fruit, and lemon
peel |
| Blintz |
Eastern Europe |
Thin pancake stuffed with cheese, fruit, meat, or caviar |
| Bolas |
Holland |
jamrolls |
| Borscht |
Eastern Europe, Russia |
Vegetable soup usually consisting mainly of beets |
| Bourekas |
Turkey |
Baked or fried dough stuffed with cheese, meat, or vegetables |
| Brisket |
Eastern Europe |
Beef, often braised as a pot roast and served on Shabbat and holidays |
| Bublik |
Russia |
Russian variation on the bagel with much thinner dough, larger hole, usually
glazed with egg yolk |
| Carciofi alla Giudia |
Italy |
Deep-fried artichokes, the signature Italian Jewish dish |
| Challah |
Torah |
Braided egg-based bread, sometimes made with raisins, eaten on Shabbat
and holidays |
| Charoset |
Eastern Europe |
Sweet paste made of fruits and nuts eaten during Passover |
| Cheesecake |
many locations |
Traditionally eaten on Shavuot because of references to dairy in the Bible |
| Chicken Paprika |
Hungary |
Chicken seasoned with paprika, the most popular spice in Hungary |
| Chicken soup |
Eastern Europe |
"Jewish Penicillin," sometimes with noodles, dumplings, or matzah balls
added |
| Cholent |
many locations |
Stew of vegetables and meat that cooks for at least 12 hours, eaten on
Shabbat |
| Chopped Liver |
Eastern Europe |
Sauteed or broiled liver and onions in schmaltz, with hard-boiled eggs
and spices, ground into a paste |
| Chrain |
Eastern Europe |
Sweetened horseradish-vinegar sauce often served with gefilte fish |
| Chremslach |
Eastern Europe |
Fritter made of matzah meal and often stuffed with meat, nuts, or fruit,
often eaten on Passover |
| Corned Beef |
United Kingdom |
Beef cured or pickled in seasoned brine, commonly served in delicatessens |
| Couscous |
North Africa |
Twice as large as traditional couscous, the Israeli version is made of
hard, not semolina, wheat |
| Dafina |
Morocco/Spain |
Cholent variation with many spices and whole eggs |
| Devela |
Middle East |
Cakes made of dried and pressed figs |
| Drelies |
Russia |
Calf's foot jelly mixed with soft-boiled eggs and vinegar |
| Eggplant jam |
North Africa |
Made of eggplant, salt, olive oil, lemon, parsley, and sometimes cheese |
| Essig Fleish |
Ashkenazi |
Meat, which after being partially roasted has sugar, bay-leaves, pepper,
raisins, sour salt and vinegar added |
| Etrog |
Middle East |
Yellow citron used in Sukkot ritual, often candied for Tu B'Shevat, or
made into jam or liquor |
| Falafel |
Middle East |
Fried chickpea patties usually served in pita or pita-like bread with
tahini sauce |
| Farfel |
Eastern Europe |
Small noodles mixed with egg; on Passover, matzah farfel, made from pieces
of matzah, is eaten |
| Forshmak |
Eastern Europe |
Chopped pickled herring |
| Frikase |
Tunisia |
Buns with a doughnut-like texture |
| Frimsel Soup |
Poland |
Noodle soup cooked with goose fat |
| Galarita |
Poland |
Calf's foot jelly |
| Gefilte Fish |
Poland/Lithuania |
Poached fish patties made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly
carp or pike |
| Ghivetch |
Romania |
Mixed vegetable dish similar to French ratatouille |
| Gondi |
Iran |
Dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, cooked and served in chicken
soup, usually for Shabbat |
| Goulash |
Hungary |
A favorite Hungarian dish, it is now a ubiquitous main course in Israel,
as well |
| Green Pepper Salad |
Romania |
green peppers with spices and garlic |
| Gribenes |
Eastern Europe |
Chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions, often eaten on holidays |
| Halvah |
Middle East |
Candy made with sesame paste and sugar or honey; eggs or chocolate may
be added |
| Hamantashen |
Ashkenazi |
Triangular cookie, shaped like the villain Haman's hat, with fruit or
poppy-seed filling, eaten on Purim |
| Hamin |
Sephardic |
Cholent variation with whole vegetables stuffed with beef and rice, then
placed into the stew |
| Haminados |
Sephardic |
Whole eggs cooked in hamin or in water with tea leaves, coffee grinds,
or onion skins |
| Helzel |
Ashkenazi |
Sausage made from chicken neck skin stuffed with flour, schmaltz, and
fried onions |
| Holishkes |
Eastern Europe |
Cabbage stuffed with meat in a sweet and sour tomato sauce |
| Hummus |
Middle East |
Spread made from chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic |
| Israeli salad |
Israel |
Finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers with lemon juice and olive oil |
| Jachnun |
Yemen |
Bread usually eaten on Shabbat by Jews of Yemenite descent, but widely
popular across Israel |
| Kamish bread |
Eastern Europe |
Twice-baked walnut bread, made into a loaf, and cut into slices like biscotti |
| Karpas |
Eastern Europe |
Vegetable, usually parsley or celery dipped in salt water and eaten on
Passover |
| Kasha Varnishkes |
Eastern Europe |
Buckwheat groats served with onions, brown gravy, and bow-tie noodles |
| Kataiyiff |
Turkey |
Noodles covered in honey and nuts |
| Kibbeh |
Middle East |
Patties of bulgar, meat, and spices, which may be served fried, poached,
baked, or raw |
| Kichel |
Ashkenazi |
Cookie made with egg and sugar, often eaten with tea or coffee |
| Kichlach |
Central Europe |
Yiddish for "cookies," poppy-seed sugar cookies |
| Kishke |
Eastern Europe |
Beef intenstine stuffed with flour or matzah meal, schmaltz, and spices |
| Kneidelach/Matzah Balls |
Eastern Europe |
Dumplings made from matzah meal, which are dropped into soup, and most
often eaten on Passover |
| Knish |
Eastern Europe |
Fried or baked pocket of potato, cheese, vegetables, or meat |
| Kreplach |
Eastern Europe |
Small dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, usually boiled and served
in chicken soup |
| Krupnik |
Poland |
Traditional Polish vegetable barley soup |
| Kugel |
Germany |
Casserole made from egg noodles and/or potatoes, with fruits, vegetables,
or cheese |
| Kuln |
Eastern Europe |
Sweet and sour meatballs |
| Labneh |
Middle East |
Strained yogurt, with a sour flavor and cheese-like consistency |
| Lafa |
Uzbekistan |
Pita-like flatbread used for wraps, cooked on outdoor brick and clay ovens
|
| Lahma Bi Ajeen |
Iraq |
Known as pizza by Iraqis, circles of yeast bread topped with lamb cooked
in herbed tomato sauce |
| Latkes |
Eastern Europe |
Potato pancakes made with egg and onion, fried in oil, and traditionally
eaten on Hanukkah |
| Lekach |
Greece |
Sweet honey cake, usually eaten on Rosh Hashanah |
| Lentil Soup |
Middle East |
Soup made with lentils, potato, carrot, parsley, and onion |
| Lokshen Soup |
Poland |
Soup made with flat egg noodles |
| Lox |
Eastern Europe |
Cured salmon, often thinly sliced and served on a bagel with cream cheese |
| Ma'amoul |
Middle East |
Shortbread pastries filled with fruits or nuts, often eaten on holidays |
| Macaroons |
France |
Cookies made of egg whites, coconuts or almonds and sugar, commonly eaten
on Passover |
| Malawach |
Yemen |
Crepe-like fried bread made of layered puff pastry that is a staple for
Yemenite Jews |
| Mamaliga |
Romania |
Cornmeal mush, like polenta, often eaten as bread with sour cream and
cheese, or as porridge with milk |
| Mandelbread |
Eastern Europe |
Twice-baked almond bread, made into a loaf, and cut into slices like biscotti |
| Mandlach |
Eastern Europe |
Crispy fried squares of dough traditionally used as an addition to chicken
soup |
| Maror |
Eastern Europe |
Bitter herbs, which are placed on the Passover Seder plate, and eaten
with matzah and charoset |
| Matbucha |
North Africa |
A salad made of tomatoes, roasted peppers, oil, and garlic |
| Matzah |
Ancient Egypt |
Flat bread made of flour and water; as it isn't allowed to rise, it is
the bread that is eaten on Passover |
| Matzah Brei |
Ashkenazi |
Matzah softened in water or milk, mixed with eggs, and fried in butter
or schmaltz |
| Michyeh |
Ashkenazi |
Soup made from putting a crisp biscuit into hot water and adding butter |
| Mun |
Central Europe |
A sweet poppyseed mixture used in cakes and cookies |
| Pan de Semita |
Spain |
"Semitic Bread," unleavened bread popularly eaten in Texas and Northern
Mexico |
| Pastrami |
Romania |
Smoked corned beef with spices, commonly served in delicatessens |
| Pescado Frito |
Spain/Portugal |
Shabbat fried fish dish that many believe inspired the fish in English
fish and chips |
| Pirushkes |
Ashkenazi |
Little cakes fried in honey, or dipped in molasses, after they are baked |
| Pita |
Middle East |
Wheat flatbread made with yeast; many dishes in Israel are eaten by placing
them in pita |
| Plava |
Ashkenazi |
Made from flour, sugar, and eggs, so safe for consumption during Passover
if matzah meal used |
| Pletzel |
Germany |
Thin onion and seed-covered cracker |
| Pomegranates |
Middle East |
Eaten on Rosh Hashanah for a sweet new year; its 613 seeds match the number
of commandments |
| Prokas |
Eastern Europe |
Cabbage stuffed with meat, vegetables, dried fruit, and rice |
| Rugelach |
Ashkenazi |
Rolled-up pastry filled with fruits, nuts, poppy seeds, or chocolate |
| Rye bread |
Russia |
Bread made with rye flour, "Jewish rye" includes caraway seeds and is
glazed with an egg wash |
| Sabich |
Israel |
Pita stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, hummus, tahini, Israeli
salad, and a mango pickle |
| Sambusac |
Iraq |
Fried pastry stuffed with meat or vegetables |
| Schmaltz |
Eastern Europe |
Rendered chicken or goose fat used for frying or as a spread on bread |
| Schnitzel |
Austria |
Popular Israeli version is thinly sliced fried chicken or turkey |
| Schwarma |
Middle East |
Sandwich of shaved meat, hummus, tomato, and cucumber, usually served
in a pita as fast food in Israel |
| Sfratti |
Italy |
Italian nut-filled cookie, popular on Rosh Hashanah |
| Shakshouka |
Tunisia/Israel |
Spicy dish of cooked tomatoes and onions or garlic with egg added, typically
eaten with pita |
| Shchi |
Eastern Europe/Russia |
Sauerkraut soup, usually served with whole peeled potatoes |
| Shishlyk |
Russia |
Pieces of beef or lamb meat and fat marinated and served on skewers |
| Shlishkes |
Hungary |
Dumplings made of mashed potatoes, egg, flour, and water, boiled and rolled
in sugar and streusel |
| Skhina |
Morocco |
Cholent made with chickpeas, rice or hulled wheat, potatoes, meat, and
whole eggs |
| Sufganiyot |
Israel |
Spongy fried jelly or custard doughnut topped with powdered sugar, commonly
eaten on Hanukkah |
| Syrniki |
Russia |
Fried cottage cheese fritters made with egg, flour, and sugar |
| Tabbouleh |
Middle East |
Mixture of bulgar, parsley, mint, tomato, scallion, lemon juice, olive
oil, and seasonings |
| Tahini |
Middle East |
Ground sesame seed paste often used as a condiment, garnish, or spread |
| Tarato |
Bulgaria |
Cold yogurt soup garnished with nuts |
| Tarhonya |
Hungary |
Egg barley (pasta-like dish) |
| Tebit |
Iraq |
Shabbat meal of whole chicken skin filled with rice, chopped chicken meats,
and herbs |
| Teiglach |
Ashkenazi |
Knotted pastries often filled with nuts or raisins and boiled in honeyed
syrup |
| Tzimmes |
Ashkenazi |
Carrots combined with meat or dried fruits, flavored with honey, often
eaten at Rosh Hashanah |
| Zabaglione |
Italy |
A light custard eaten with figs |
