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What’sCooking?
Jewish
CulinaryCulture
MagdalenaMaślak
TamaraSztyma
exhibitioncurators
Foodisalwayspresentinourlives.Similartootherbasic
bodilyfunctions,itconnectsusandtestifiestoourbelong-
ingtoonespecies.Thatispreciselywhythesubjectoffood
alwaysprevailsandonecannotsimplyignoreit.Weeat
tostayalive,weeattostayhealthy—butisthatall?Each
dishhasitsoriginandhistory—itwascreatedforareason
andapurpose,itwaspassedon,sharedandmodified.We
ascribemultiplerolesandmeaningstofood—itdefines
alifestyle,itbuildsacommunity.Thememoryoffood—
passedonfromonegenerationtoanother—buildsthe
identityofindividuals,thetiestotheirfamilies,totheplaces
ofbirthoracountry.Eachfamilyandeachsocialgroup—be
itethnic,nationalorreligious—hasitsownculinaryculture
whichismadeofspecificmeals,thewaytheyarefixed,
servedandconsumed,namelyacombinationofcustoms
andnormsrelatedtofood,aswellasasymbolicdimension.
Whenwelookatcookingfromthispointofviewwecansee
thatitisinfactpartofourculture—itbondsacommunity
togetherandhelpsdefineit.Itconstitutesananthropolog-
icalconstantwhoserolecannotbeoverlooked.
Jewishculinarycultureisacomplextopicwhichcomprises
variousaspects.ItstemsfromthenatureofJewishculture
wherethere’salwaystensionbetweenthereligiousand
secularcomponents,andfromthelonghistoryofJews
whichcoversvariousgeographicallocationsonmany
continentsandinrelationtovariedsurroundings.
TheuniquenessofJewishculinarycultureisdetermined
primarilybystrictdietaryrulesderivedfromtheJewish
religiouslawwhichstatesclearlywhichfoodsareforbidden
andwhichareallowed,alongwiththewaytheyoughtto
bepreparedandconsumed—inotherwords,therulesof
kashrut.Abidingtheseruleshasforcenturiesbeenavital
sourceofJewishculturaldistinctiveness.Today,itremains
oneofthekeystonesofJewishidentity—evennon-reli
-
giousJewscultivatetheserulesinsomeway,albeitlimited.
However,theemergingnewinterpretationsoftheserules,
theobservanceofonlysomeoftherulesandtheradical
violationofothers(ortheiradaptationtoone’sownneeds)
renderitimpossibletodefineJewishcuisinewithinarigid
framework.Ontheotherhand,Jewishcuisineisextremely
varied—sinceancienttimes,Jewshavelivedinthediaspora
indiferentcornersoftheglobe,indiferentclimates,and
haveincorporatedvariouslocalproductsandflavoursinto
