American Jewish cuisine facts for kids

A corned beef sandwich at Katz's Delicatessen, a kosher-style deli in New York City

American Jewish cuisine is the food and cooking styles of Jewish people in the United States. It was greatly shaped by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. They came to America around the early 1900s. This food developed in new ways, especially in big cities like New York City.

How American Jewish Food Began

Between 1881 and 1921, about 2.5 million Jewish people moved to the United States. Most came from Eastern Europe. They settled in large cities in the northeastern U.S. These cities included New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. These immigrants brought their traditional cooking with them.

The food continued to change in America. This happened in homes and in special restaurants called delicatessens. Delis became very popular with American Jews, especially in the mid-1900s. They were places to meet friends and eat. Delis made many dishes famous. These foods were affordable for families. Even today, delis are popular places to eat.

Understanding Kosher Food

Kosher food follows Jewish dietary laws, called kashrut. These rules say which foods are allowed. For example, pork and shellfish are not allowed. Meat must come from an animal killed in a special way called shechita.

Jewish law also says you cannot eat meat and milk at the same meal. "Meat" means flesh from mammals and birds. "Milk" includes dairy products like cheese. So, a kosher deli selling corned beef sandwiches would not have cheese. A kosher bakery selling bagels and cream cheese would not have meat.

Many foods are called pareve. This means they are neither meat nor milk. They can be eaten with any meal. Fish, eggs, honey, and all plants are pareve. Kosher businesses must close from Friday evening to Saturday evening. This is for the Jewish sabbath.

What is Kosher-Style Food?

American Jewish food may or may not be kosher. Some delis follow all Jewish dietary laws. Others do not. People who follow Orthodox Judaism usually eat only kosher food. But most American Jews do not follow these rules strictly.

Kosher-style food looks like kosher food but might not follow all the rules. For example, a kosher-style hot dog is usually all beef. It has mild spices like garlic. A kosher-style pickle is sour. It is aged in salty water with garlic and dill. "Kosher-style" can also mean American Jewish food in general.

Passover Holiday Meals

During the eight-day Passover holiday, many Jews do not eat chametz. This is leavened bread, like regular bread. During Passover, some American Jews eat matzo. Matzo is a flat, unleavened bread. They eat other foods that follow this rule.

American Jews often have a Passover seder. This is a special meal at the start of Passover. During the seder, they tell the story of Passover. This is the story of the Jews leaving Egypt. A Passover Seder plate has special foods. Each food has a symbolic meaning for Passover.

Different Jewish Food Traditions

About 90% of American Jews are Ashkenazi Jews. Their families came from Eastern or Central Europe. Many of them spoke Yiddish. So, the foods we think of as American Jewish often come from these areas.

The U.S. also has many Sephardic Jews. Their families came from Spain or Portugal. Later, they lived in other Mediterranean areas. There are also Mizrahi Jews. Their families came from the Middle East or North Africa. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews have their own unique foods. These foods were shaped by their home countries.

Some communities include Persian Jews in Los Angeles and Syrian Jews in Brooklyn. Because of these groups, Middle Eastern foods are also part of American Jewish cuisine. These include falafel, hummus, couscous, and shakshouka.

Litvaks and Galitzianers: A Food Divide

Two large groups of Eastern European Jews were the Litvaks and Galitzianers. Litvaks lived in the area of Lithuania. Galitzianers lived in the area of Galicia. Each group spoke a different kind of Yiddish.

Some people say you can guess a person's Jewish background by their gefilte fish preference. Litvaks liked their gefilte fish with salt and pepper. Galitzianers preferred it sweeter. The area between them was even called "the gefilte fish line."

Popular American Jewish Dishes

A bagel, lox, and cream cheese sandwich, before assembly

Chicken soup with matzah balls

Gefilte fish is made with fish that has been minced and then poached.

Here are some popular foods in American Jewish cuisine:

• Bagel – A round bread roll with a hole. It's boiled then baked. This makes it chewy inside and crispy outside.
  • A bagel and cream cheese is a very popular combination.
• Bialy – A bread roll like a bagel but without a hole. It's not boiled, so it's less chewy.
• Blintz – A thin pancake, usually fried. It's often filled with cheese and served with toppings.
• Brisket – A cheap cut of beef. It's cooked slowly until it's very tender.
• Challah – A light, braided bread made with eggs. It's eaten daily and on holidays.
• Chicken soup – Chicken broth with herbs like parsley. It often has egg noodles added.
  • Matzah balls are sometimes added to the soup instead of noodles.
  • Kreplach are small dumplings. They are another common addition to chicken soup.
• Chopped liver – A spread made from liver, hard-boiled eggs, salt, and pepper. It's a side dish.
• Corned beef – Beef brisket cured with salt and spices. It is then sliced.
  • Corned beef sandwich – A common way to eat corned beef.
• Gefilte fish – Ground fish mixed with other things. It's shaped into patties or balls and cooked in liquid. It's usually an appetizer.
• Kishke – A starchy sausage. It's made with grain, vegetables, and fat.
• Knish – A savory baked pastry. It can have fillings like potatoes or ground beef.
• Kugel – A baked dish. It's made with egg noodles or potatoes.
• Latke – A pancake made from grated potatoes. It's fried in oil.
• Lox – Sliced, cured salmon. It's often eaten on a bagel with cream cheese.
• Mandelbrot – A crunchy cookie. It's baked as a loaf, then sliced and baked again.
• Pastrami – Beef brisket that is cured, spiced, and smoked. It's usually served as a sandwich.
  • Pastrami on rye – Pastrami on rye bread with spicy brown mustard.
• Rugelach – Small baked pastries. Dough is wrapped around a sweet filling.
• Whitefish – Smoked whitefish. It can be filleted or made into whitefish salad.

• American Jewish foods
• 

  Chopped liver

• 

  A latke

• 

  A pastrami on rye with kosher dill pickles and spicy brown mustard

• 

  Blackberry rugelach

Famous Jewish Food Places

Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery on the Lower East Side

Here are some well-known American Jewish restaurants, delis, and food companies:

Eating Chinese Food on Christmas

It's a common idea that American Jews eat at Chinese restaurants on Christmas. This is often shown in movies and TV. This tradition might have started because many other restaurants were closed on Christmas Day. Also, Jewish and Chinese immigrants lived close to each other in New York City.