Food in Israel
Let’s face it, we all love food! There is nothing more joyous than indulging in your favorite meal while being surrounded by your loved ones. We eat to survive, we eat to socialize, we eat to party, we eat during important business meetings, and we eat to celebrate tradition. Food itself has become an important part of nearly every culture. This goes for the rich culture thriving in Israel. The food in Israel doesn’t just tell a story about the country’s culture, it tells a story about the country’s history.
Food has been a cultural part of Israeli history since the Biblical periods. The cuisine has evolved and changed throughout time, as the country itself has changed shape. Wars, agricultural practices, and immigration are three of the main reasons for this culinary evolution.
Let’s delve into a few of the factors that have led to Israel’s current culinary traditions and delicacies.
Biblical Times
Food in Israel has been documented throughout history since as early as 968 BCE, during the days of the kings. King Solomon himself was known to host lavish dinners. Patrons would feast on dishes such as lentil stew prepared with bone marrow and garlic, spicy red wine, fatty goose liver, and legs of roasted partridge.
Upon the destruction of the second temple in 516 BCE, Alexander the Great brought over his Hellenistic cultural practices over to Israel. When the Roman Empire took over this region shortly after, their culinary norms melded with the Hellenistic norms to create a very specific Israeli menu.
The people of Israel ate a very similar diet to those middle eastern countries that surrounded them. These diets involved the use of spices due to Israel’s location in the middle of the East-West trade routes. On top of the use of spices, the practice of keeping kosher influenced the local diet as well. Since pork was not allowed, people consumed sheep and goats quite regularly.
As civilization and the surrounding infrastructure evolved, so did Israeli cuisine.
Post World War II: Immigration & Diversity
Israel itself wasn’t a legally recognized country until David Ben-Gurion declared independence in May of 1948. Israel was to become a sanctuary for displaced Jewish people who lost their families and homes during the Holocaust. Nearly 100,000 people a year immigrated to Israel and each brought over their culinary traditions.
Even though there were so many new ways of cooking and eating, the influx of people created a strain on the economy. A period known as zena (food rationing) took effect, in order to solve the limited supply of food for the large amounts of people. This led to the government bringing forth new culinary strategies as a solution.
Ben-Gurion’s “Israeli Couscous” was introduced to satisfy the needs of the multi-cultural nation. As an inexpensive grain that could be produced in mass quantities, it helped curb the food shortage issues. With a low supply of meat, eggplants became a popular substitution. This popular produce item slowly became a new Israeli staple.
The canning industry also quickly jumped into helping alleviate this massive food shortage. They began producing a wide amount of canned tomato paste, hummus, tubed mayonnaise, and tahini paste.
Conclusion
Food in Israel has evolved over thousands of years. It will continue to evolve as the country itself continues to thrive. Not only do we learn about the ever so evolving menu in Israel from these studies, we begin to also understand the people of Israel. The fact that Israelis came up with such unique strategies to support the exponential population growth in the 40s and 50s, showcases the perseverance and pertinacity of the Jewish people to overcome any kind of struggle. Jewish History and the Old Testament teach this ideology.
I hope this brief history of food in Israel prompts you to try cooking some new recipes. Stay tuned as we post and share some of our favorite Jewish and Israeli recipes on our blog.
The Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School is a prestigious NYC Jewish Day School in the heart of New York City. Located in the Upper East Side, this Jewish Day School promotes academic growth through community and collaboration.