Food
Dear Friends,
So, coming to Israel, I was very excited for the food because I heard it was similar to Lebanese food which I really like. Now, having been here almost a year, I can tell you that the food is good; but I really want my dad’s homemade pizza and some cereal that isn’t stale.
On the negative side of things, Israel is basically an island because all the countries around it want to destroy them. As a result, a lot of their food is imported and thus old. When my roommate or I have had a bout of homesickness and bought American brand cereals that we grew up with, the cereal has been stale. Apparently, they don’t eat much of it here, so what is imported often sits on the shelves for a long time. Also, there is some issue with the dairy because the only real butter we can find is imported; everything else is margarine.
However, Israeli food is good! Here are some of my favorites:
Za’atar — This isn’t food, rather it is a spice that is put on everything. There are sesame seeds in it, other than that it is a mystery to me. According to an old Arab guy, they get za’atar by going up into the hills and picking herbs (he made it sound like any random assortment of herbs would do…but I suspect they find specific herbs). According to my Arabic teacher, za’atar is mostly thyme and/or oregano. According to Wikipedia, hyssop and sumac are major components.
I’ve already told you about hummus (which literally means “chickpeas”) and flat bread. You’ve probably heard of falafel (also chickpeas), shawarma (mentioned at the end of the Avengers movie), and tabbouli (finely chopped parsley with lemon); but have you heard of baba ganūš/mtabbal bētinjān?
When I first tasted baba ganūš, I couldn’t figure out what it was and the closest approximation I could come up with to describe it was that it was coleslaw that had been pureed. This was completely wrong. Cabbage has nothing to do with it. In reality, it is the mashed insides of a roasted eggplant. It has a slightly smoky flavor and smooth texture. It is very good with hummus (and is the same color) or by itself. Usually I eat it on pita bread but you can probably put it on a lot of other stuff. In Israel they call it mtabbal bētinjān which means “eggplant,” a very straightforward name since that is what it is. Up north in Lebanon (and in my apartment), they call it baba ganūš which apparently means “spoiled daddy.” No one knows why they call it this, but there you are.
Kubbe are an odd pastry thing. On the inside are meat and spices; on the outside is a crust made of dough grains the size of large couscous. I don’t know what its name means. Yālanji means “liar” and refers to another meat stuffed pastry, but instead of a crust it is wrapped in a grape leaf. It also has another name (which I don’t remember the Arabic for) that means “tent” because the grape leaf makes a tent for the filling. Both of these are very time consuming to make, so if someone gives you a bunch it means you are very special to them.
They also eat a lot of rice into which they mix in chickpeas, meat, craisins, raisins, nuts, vegetables or whatever they have on hand. To make it refreshing in the summer, they eat cool, plain yogurt with it.
One of my favorites here is the knafe. It is a specially made, sweet, soft cheese with a crust of what appears to be angel’s hair pasta on top. It can be dipped in what is basically a sugar syrup. Besides being delicious, the word itself makes me happy because it looks like all our Old English words with the silent “k” in front of the “n,” but it isn’t because you pronounce the “k” in “knafe.” You also pronounce the “e” and it doesn’t make the “a” say “ay.” As a result the word sounds like kna-fee, and I made this mini tongue-twister: The knight knew he needed a knife to cut the knafe. It is most fun if you do the Old English thing and pronounce all the letters!
On the subject of ḥilo ‘arabi (Arab sweets), baklawa is only one kind out of many. There is also burlma (a role), something called a nightingale nest, something else called a crystal, harīse, mhallabiyye (which is pudding-ish), saḥlab, and qaṭāyef. Most of them involve pistachios and honey, but I don’t actually know with certainty which names go with which sweet…so, don’t ask me to identify them for you!
Arabic coffee is different from Turkish coffee (though they look the same). I believe the major differences is that Arabic coffee has cardamom in it. All I know is that is very strong, but I also like it.
That is a brief rundown on my favorite Israeli foods, I hope you’re enjoying whatever you’re eating at home!
Debora
P.S. I would have pictures for you but I ate everything before it occurred to me to take some…
