The Israeli Kitchen Testament: Israeli Religion of Cooking

Israeli cuisine is a mixture of tastes brought from all four sides of the world, combined with the Levantine traditions.

Through centuries of life in the Diaspora, Jewish cooks were influenced by traditions and laws of countries in which they lived. Either positively—by sharing the cooking traditions, thus assimilating and transforming some dishes and creating gems like blintzes, bagels or shakshouka—or negatively—by being limited to using only cheaper and unpopular ingredients.

This sparked new traditions and culinary customs which eventually become incorporated in local traditional cuisines becoming elements without which those cuisines are unimaginable to people, such as using tomatoes in the Italian cuisine.

Through centuries Jews carried flavors from the East to the North, then to the South and onward to the West. Along the way collecting and creating new ones.

When these flavors returned to their ancient homeland it was met by new traditions of Levantine cuisines, where it created the mixture of traditions, which can be called Israeli cuisine.

Jewish cuisine is influenced also by specific dietary laws and tradition of commemorating Biblical events through dishes and sweets, which gives them distinctive characteristic from other cuisines.

That’s why we bring you 40 recipes from Israeli cuisine which show all of the influences on its creation.

Make them with joy in your heart because they will bring you great pleasure.