OP: The Jewish-American Kitchen
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Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, 1989. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. First printing.
Adequately containing “Jewish food” in a clearly-defined box is all but impossible, as food writer and reporter Raymond Sokolov (1941– ) quickly admits in his 1989 book, The Jewish-American Kitchen.
Narrowing his scope to dishes with Ashkenazi roots as reinterpreted within the national bounds of the United States, Sokolov understands that a matzo ball, a bagel, schmaltz, or lox carries totemic meaning, even to the most poorly informed. He is eager to explain why these foods are specifically Jewish in a way that potatoes alone, for example, aren’t—despite being consumed by Jewish people of almost every nationality and background.
Sokolov’s perspective is best described as that of an outsider looking in, explaining the ways in which religious customs shape eating habits, further illustrating the point with heaps of enticing recipes. All the favorites are here, perhaps even some surprises: chopped liver, blintzes, kugels, several borschts, tsimmes, pot roast, helzel, klops, sweet and sour cabbage, hamantaschen.
Our copy is a first printing in Very Good Plus condition with very minor shelfwear. A sound introduction for the uninitiated or comforting familiarity for virtuosos.
