Jewish Food: The World at Table

Writer Matthew Goodman discusses the diversity of foods in Jewish communities around the world, influenced by local culinary norms and ingredients. He considers what makes food Jewish and points out that, despite common dietary laws and holidays, the only foods diverse Jewish groups have in common are the overnight Sabbath stew, the sweet fruit-nut paste eaten as a symbolic food on Passover, and matzah, the unleavened Passover bread. He describes food as a “repository of a community’s history” and offers an example from the history of bagels.