Tablet: 100 Most Jewish Foods

Alana Newhouse

Tablet Magazine

2019

Bialys

Mimi Sheraton

The bialy was the sole invention and provenance of Jewish bread bakers in Bialystok, Poland. They were much bigger in Bialystok than they are in New York—roughly the size of an 8-inch salad plate. I have a photograph taken in 1939 of a boy holding up a bialy, which, by the way, was called a Bialystoker kuchen. They were made only…

Please login or register for free access to Posen Library
Register
Already have an account?
Engage with this Source

These excerpts come from a list of foods considered "Jewish" by contributors to Tablet Magazine, first published online and later in a book. As you read the narratives, consider why the author considers the food Jewish, whether and how they feel personally connected to the food, and what historical and cultural influences are reflected in the food. Below the excerpted narratives is a list of fifty of the hundred foods in the original compilation. Some of the foods relate to textual and religious traditions, some come from ancestral cultures and/or Israel, and some came to be seen as Jewish for other reasons. Some of these foods, like matzo (matzah) and hamantaschen, would likely be universally seen as Jewish foods, but many are only interpreted as Jewish by some people or in some contexts. 

Read more

Creator Bio

Alana Newhouse

b. 1976

Alana Newhouse grew up in Lawrence, NY, and went to Barnard College, later graduating from the Columbia University School of Journalism. She worked as culture editor at the English-language Forward from 2002 to 2008, when she was hired as an editor by Nextbook. She founded Tablet Magazine in 2009 and became its editor in chief. She is known for her analysis of a phenomenon that she calls “brokenism,” the belief that American society is fundamentally flawed, and radical steps need to be taken to transform it, a position that, as she sees it, animates much of contemporary politics. Her son was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disease, about which she has written, and she is currently the president of the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics.

Creator Bio

Tablet Magazine

Founded 2009

Founded in 2009 by Alana Newhouse and supported by the Nextbook foundation, Tablet Magazine publishes journalism, commentary, criticism, fiction, and recipes, focusing on topics of Jewish interest. Though originally and primarily an online publication, it has also released a monthly print edition since May 2025.

You may also like

Wasteland

He carried his camera and case into the dining room, and as he stood there for a moment, peering at the table through the twilight haze in the room, he breathed deeply of the familiar holiday odors…
View Source
Silver cup engraved with a person in profile wearing a jester hat drinking out of a barrel.
Tooltip info icon

Silver Purim Cup

On this silver Purim cup from Augsburg, Germany, a quotation from the Talmud (b. Megillah 7b) inscribed around the rim advises its bearer to drink in celebration of Purim until unable to distinguish…
View Source
Drawing of people on a hill waving their arms as two round objects roll away smiling and English text along the bottom about latkes rolling toward the river.
Tooltip info icon

The Runaway Latkes

Illustrations from Leslie Kimmelman’s children’s book, The Runaway Latkes, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz. This Hanukkah story describes latkes that come to life and escape their oily fate. 
View Source