I recently was contacted by a playwright developing a project about Jews living around 2,000 years ago and requesting information on what kinds of food Jewish families ate back then to celebrate Hanukkah. I had to disappoint her. They would not have made any specific Hanukkah dishes.
Although the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah is prominent in American Jewish life, before the 20th century, it was regarded as a rather minor festival with little attached ritual or foods. Most probably, the residents of ancient Judea simply lit their clay lamps at nightfall and went about their daily routines.
However, around the 14th century, two types of food -- fried foods and cheese -- became associated with the holiday by virtue of tradition and legend.
The cheese custom grew out of a medieval misunderstanding of one of the books of the Apocrypha, Judith, composed around 115 BCE (Before the Common Era).
Fried foods came to represent the miracle of the oil, an account first mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (circa 500 CE). The Talmud relates how Jewish rebels reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucids in either 164 or 165 BCE, to find but a single small container of untainted olive oil. Although only enough oil to burn in the Temple's seven-branched candelabra for one day, the flame lasted for eight days.
Culinary conquests
The Talmud does not touch on the military campaigns, the first known war of religious freedom, waged by the family of priests known as the Hashmoneans or Maccabees. Neither the Books of the Maccabees nor Josephus, the first-century historian who claimed to be descended from Judah Maccabee's brother, Jonathan, mentioned anything about the oil miracle.
Although the rabbis of the Talmud appreciated the restoration of the Temple (Hanukkah means "dedication" in Hebrew), they were less than fond of the Maccabees, who, after the victory over the Seleucids, seized power and became a corrupt dynasty, directly leading to the tragic entry of Rome into Judea in 63 BCE.
About a millennium and a half after the Maccabees' victory, fried foods and cheese emerged as the two preeminent food symbols of Hanukkah. Sometimes the two merged, as in cheese fritters and cheese pancakes.
From Rome to Arabia
Fried pastries were hardly new. Deep-fried dough was popular among Romans, including, as recounted by Cato the Elder (around 160 BCE), cheese fritters called
globi/globuli (balls). Later, the Roman cookbook author Apicius (around 400 CE) described the making of fried strips of dough coated in honey and pepper or the ubiquitous pungent Roman condiment
garum (fermented fish sauce). After the fall of the Roman Empire, however, these fried doughs, as did many dishes and culinary techniques, disappeared from much of Europe.
Many of those Roman culinary techniques were preserved and expanded in the Moslem world. Medieval Arabs may have been the first to deep-fry blobs of yeast dough, the earliest record appearing in the 1226 cookbook Kitab al Tabikh by Muhammad al-Baghdadi as
luqmat al-qadi (mouthful of the judge). The Arabs and Turks spread these irregularly shaped deep-fried yeast-batter balls from India to the Maghreb to the Balkans, called
bimuelos in Ladino,
lokma in Turkey,
loukoumades in Greek, and
awamee in Arabic. It would later give rise to the Italian
zeppola and Dutch
oliekoeken (oil cakes). The loose
lokma batter also was used to make a medieval type of funnel cake, popular from the Maghreb to India, called
zangula and
zelabiya.
Lokma and
zangula are prepared throughout the region today in much the same way as they were a thousand years ago. What particularly differentiates these ancient Middle Eastern fritters from European doughnuts is the absence of eggs or dairy products in the batter, although some modern versions do add eggs, making the texture firmer as well as less likely to absorb oil. In the Middle East, the fried doughnuts are traditionally dipped into a sugar syrup; Europeans prefer to roll them in sugar. For a fancier presentation, the
lokma are mounded and sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts.
A fritter by any name
For centuries after the First Crusade (1095), Moorish Spain and Renaissance Italy, the latter the axis of trade between Europe and the East, served as the epicenters of European culinary advances.
Many of these innovations gradually made their way northward. These new dishes and techniques were primarily transmitted in three ways: the marriage of an Italian aristocrat to a foreign king or queen; the Catholic clergy, as many monasteries and convents retained Roman culinary techniques as well as developed their own; and Jews, who traded or relocated throughout Europe.
Commonly, a new item would appear in an Italian source, then show up in Germany about a century or so later.
Thus a new term appeared in early 14th-century Europe for deep-fried dumplings, either sweet or savory, in Italy known as
frittelle and
frictelle, from the Latin
frictus (past participle of
frigere, "to roast"). In France, these deep-fried dumplings became known as
en friture. In modern French, the term
frit is generally reserved for fried potatoes (
pommes frites), while fritters are known as
beignets. Fritters were called
pfannkuchen, krapfen, and
puffer in Germany and
plinz in Austria. In Yiddish, they became
fritlach, connoting that this dish reached the Ashkenazim from Italy and not central Europe.
In northern Europe, oil was scarce and expensive. Consequently, fried Hanukkah foods there typically consisted of pancakes in a thin layer of schmaltz (rendered poultry fat). The original latkes, from Italy, were made from curd cheese. The Jewish dietary laws, however, do not allow frying cheese in schmaltz. So most northeastern Europeans switched to buckwheat pancakes (blini without the caviar) and, in the mid-19th century, to potatoes. (Yes, that late! The Maccabees never saw a potato let alone a potato pancake.)
Another widespread northeastern European Hanukkah dish was
ritachlich, a salad of shredded black radishes fried in schmaltz.
Jews in Poland adopted a local doughnut,
paczki in Polish, filled with preserves, most notably prune lekvar and rose petal preserves. Jews called them
ponchiks. Still, latkes remained more common in Poland, as oil remained expensive. A century or so later, when the
ponchik made its way to Israel, it acquired the name
sufganiyot and went on to become the national Hanukkah food.
Unlike northern Europe, oil in the Mediterranean region was generally abundant and the Jews living in that area took to deep-frying many of their new Hanukkah treats. Sephardim enjoy
bimuelos as well as strips of pastry called
shamlias and, in Greece,
diples. Moroccans prepare
debla, a fried pastry strip rolled to resemble a rose. Dutch Jews, reflecting the strong Sephardic presence there, make braided pastry strips called
koeksisters.
Algerians fry various doughnuts called
sefengor kindel, some filled with plums. Tunisians serve orange doughnuts called
yoyos. The Bene Israel in India prepare a fried milk pastry called
gulab jamun. Italians dip
frittelle, deep-fried diamond-shaped pieces of yeast dough, into honey. Middle Eastern cooks, besides dough balls, also make an array of pancakes and fry sweetened grain puddings called
halva. In many Sephardic communities, members of wealthier families would bring trays of sweets to less fortunate ones on Hanukkah.
The key to making nongreasy fritters is the temperature of the oil; if it is too hot, the outside of the dough burns before the inside has cooked, but if the oil is too low, the dough absorbs too much oil.
Middle Eastern Deep-Fried Dough Balls (Lokma/Bimuelos)
- 1/4-ounce package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast or .6-ounce cake fresh yeast
- 2 cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees for dry yeast; 80 to 85 degrees for fresh yeast), divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten (optional)
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 2 cups cooled sugar syrup or confectioners' sugar
Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water. Stir in sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt and make a well in center. In the well, pour yeast mixture, remaining water, and, if using, egg, and stir until smooth. The dough will not be very thick. Cover and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about 2 hours.
Heat 2 inches oil over medium heat to 365 degrees.
Stir batter down. Dip a teaspoon or tablespoon into cold water and use spoon to drop the dough into the hot oil. (Moisten your fingers to prevent sticking.) In batches, fry dough balls until golden brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes total. Drain on paper towels.
Dip warm dough balls into cooled syrup or sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.
Variation
Middle Eastern Funnel Cakes (Zelebi)
Pour batter from a large spoon or squeeze it from a plastic squeeze bottle or pastry bag into the hot oil in a spiral fashion into a 6-inch-long coil. Fry, turning once, until golden brown on all sides, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Makes about 24 medium or 48 small cakes.
-- Gil Marks
Sephardic Cheese Fritters (Bolos de Keso)
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound farmer's cheese, queso fresco, or mild soft goat cheese
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons sugar or to taste
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or brandy
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- About 6 cups vegetable or peanut oil for deep-frying
- 2 cups cooled sugar syrup or confectioners' sugar (optional)
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Combine cheese, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, and zest. Stir in flour mixture.
In a deep, heavy skillet or saucepan, heat 1 to 2 inches of oil over medium heat to 375 degrees.
Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. If desired, dip in sugar syrup or sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.
Makes about 48 fritters.
-- Gil Marks
German Fruit Fritters (Fritlach)
For the batter
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup milk, soy milk, sweet wine, flat beer, or water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon rum or brandy, or 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rings; 4 to 5 firm medium bananas, peeled and cut lengthwise into 2-inch pieces; 1 1/2 cups pitted sour cherries; or 1 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced (or 12 canned pineapple rings)
- About 6 cups vegetable or peanut oil for deep-frying
- About 1/2 cup confectioners' or granulated sugar for dusting or maple syrup
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together milk, eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture until smooth. Let stand at least 1 hour.
In a deep, heavy skillet or saucepan, heat 1 to 2 inches of oil over medium heat to 375 degrees.
Dip or fold fruit slices into batter. Fry, 2 or 3 at a time, until golden brown on all sides, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, remove fritters and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with sugar and serve warm. Keep fritters warm in a 250-degree oven while preparing remaining fritters.
Makes about 12.
Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups sugar (or 1 cup sugar and 1 cup honey)
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water or rose water (optional)
In a heavy 1-quart saucepan, combine sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, without stirring, until mixture is syrupy or registers 212 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. If using, stir in distilled water.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
-- Gil Marks
Gil Marks (gilmarks.com) is the author of four cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning "Olive Trees and Honey" and "The World of Jewish Cooking," and is currently editing his forthcoming (from Wiley) encyclopedia of Jewish food.
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