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Dec. 23rd, 2018 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsFor the past week I've been making my way slowly through Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South (courtesy of agonistes), which is a cultural/historical study of Jewish foodways in Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, and ... at least one more region I'm forgetting!
Jewish Southern culture is not something I'm super familiar with at all (though I did read one mediocre romance novel about it!) so this was an interesting learning experience for me! It's a very sideways mirror of my own family history but also contains some things that are extremely relatable; my family has not, for example, officially articulated 'meat kosher, milk kosher, and shrimp kosher' or made any personal rules like 'we only eat shellfish in months that end in R!' but, you know, every Jewish community learns how to elide its rules in its own particular way (or doesn't, depending on where you are.)
Food-wise, the book DEFINITELY contain some culture shock in the way that happens when very familiar foods are suddenly made unfamiliar -- I had to stop and put my book down for a minute to process the notion of 'buttered matzoh balls served as a side dish,' what??? NO STOP THAT SELF ALL FOODWAYS ARE VALID -- but also some recipes that sounded extremely good (I am very pro the notion of praline kugel, for example).
The book also takes its time in examining how "soul food" made its way into Jewish food culture (and vice versa) via the long history of slavery and racial disparity that meant that Jewish families, aspiring to Southern whiteness, were often being fed by African-American women; and, on the flip side, new Jewish immigrants were opening grocery stores to cater to African-American clientele; and how that looked different in different communities, and for different families. There's a lot that goes into food history; it's worth reading.
Also, I really want matzoh ball soup now even though I am not actually likely to eat any for another four months.
agonistes), which is a cultural/historical study of Jewish foodways in Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, and ... at least one more region I'm forgetting! Jewish Southern culture is not something I'm super familiar with at all (though I did read one mediocre romance novel about it!) so this was an interesting learning experience for me! It's a very sideways mirror of my own family history but also contains some things that are extremely relatable; my family has not, for example, officially articulated 'meat kosher, milk kosher, and shrimp kosher' or made any personal rules like 'we only eat shellfish in months that end in R!' but, you know, every Jewish community learns how to elide its rules in its own particular way (or doesn't, depending on where you are.)
Food-wise, the book DEFINITELY contain some culture shock in the way that happens when very familiar foods are suddenly made unfamiliar -- I had to stop and put my book down for a minute to process the notion of 'buttered matzoh balls served as a side dish,' what??? NO STOP THAT SELF ALL FOODWAYS ARE VALID -- but also some recipes that sounded extremely good (I am very pro the notion of praline kugel, for example).
The book also takes its time in examining how "soul food" made its way into Jewish food culture (and vice versa) via the long history of slavery and racial disparity that meant that Jewish families, aspiring to Southern whiteness, were often being fed by African-American women; and, on the flip side, new Jewish immigrants were opening grocery stores to cater to African-American clientele; and how that looked different in different communities, and for different families. There's a lot that goes into food history; it's worth reading.
Also, I really want matzoh ball soup now even though I am not actually likely to eat any for another four months.
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