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With the majority of Jews in the United States being of Ashkenazic or Eastern European descent, there is a specific interest in …

Meatball dishes are popular in many cuisines around the world and some of the earliest recordings of meatball recipes can be found …

Hanukkah (from the old Hebrew verb khanakh meaning “to dedicate/consecrate”) is an annual Jewish celebration that commemorates the time when a group …

Did you know that in some Sephardic homes there is the custom of presenting a special Seder plate before the Rosh HaShanna meal, just like one does …

It’s the season for recipe testing for my Passover cookbook, and as I did with my first cookbook (A Fistful of Lentils) …

Each spring, Ginette Cohen would pack her suitcase with quatre épices and a box of Spigol spice packets, and fly from France …

After nearly 100 years, Streit’s Matzo Factory on the Lower East Side will be moving out. It’s especially sad to me because I …

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Noam Sienna about his research and discoveries regarding henna in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and …

Photo by Alan Caplan: “Ben & Jerry’s Charoset Ice Cream,” Israel

Photo by Lori Plaut

My friend Sarah Abrams just returned from a trip to Holland and sent me this photo of matze in the supermarket. The packaging …

“My mother never wanted a cleaning lady to help (for Passover) because she believed that wherever you were cleaning your chametz, you were also …

Today is Tu B’shevat, the Jewish holiday celebrating the new year of the tree in Israel, marking the beginning of its fruit bearing cycle. In …

As I complete the interview portion of my cookbook (with a total of nearly 85 interviews of individuals from 18 different countries!), …

As I continue to work on my Passover cookbook, I am struck by certain parallels between Passover and Thanksgiving. Just as Thanksgiving is …

This past April it dawned on me that I hadn’t even thought of creating a chapter on Georgian Jews for my Passover cookbook. …

Are you interested in learning about Sephardic food and history, right where it happened? Check out my friend Janet Amateau’s cultural walking tour, …

For the second night of Passover we went to a Tunisian Seder at Jennifer and Philippe’s on the Upper West Side. The …

Below is a list of all the necessary Seder foods, along with the variety of ingredients that individuals from all over the …

Dried fruit and nuts are among some of the most important ingredients used during the Passover holiday. Usually some kind of dried fruit (such …

My students often ask me, “How long can I keep my spices?” This is a hard question to answer as throwing out …

Recently a good friend of mine emailed me a photo of a lamb with only the subject line: “Want to share one …

Dates are used as a base in many of the Middle Eastern charosets. Sometimes they are cooked down into a pure syrup …

Did you know that in Iran it is often the tradition during the recitation of the Ten Plagues to shield the Seder …

Did you know that some of the most Sephardic of Sephardim simply do not eat rice at all during Pesach? Yes, it’s …

Now that Purim is over, many individuals begin their Passover cleaning as early as today, one month before the holiday begins. It …

Did you know that not every community uses a Seder plate? The Libyans instead place large portions of each symbolic food into …

Did you know that in Ethiopia it is the custom every Passover to break all the old ceramic dishes from the previous …

When I first read about this traditional Italian Passover soup it was really the name that captured my attention. (What a great …

Lately I’ve been interviewing individuals from the Levantine countries of Syria and Lebanon. An interesting custom that has been described to me …

One sunny Sunday morning in late August, I ventured out to Queens to meet Amnun Kimyagarov, the author of “Classic Central Asian …

We all know haroset. We all love haroset. And, come on, we all think that OUR family’s haroset is the best, no? …

This past summer weekend in June I took a trip down with my mother and my girls Micah and Sacha to visit …

Yesterday I was reviewing my Passover food interviews from Iraqi Jews, and found it interesting that in all of them the individuals …

Believe it or not folks, the wheat harvesting season for 2014’s Passover matzah has already begun! On June 28th an article was …

During my ongoing research into the Central Asian Jewish community I came across this supposedly well-known Afghani proverb mentioned in several sites: …

In this week’s Passover chapter, I am focusing on the Jewish community from Afghanistan and Bukharia (located today in the southwestern part …

Through my Passover research I came across the concept of a layered matzah pie that is very popular in the Sephardic communities …

Other than Chanukah, Passover is without a doubt the busiest time of year for me professionally. During the month and a half …

An interesting article was written Passover week in The New Yorker about Manischewitz and how they turned commercially made matzah into such …

Celebrated at sundown on the eighth or final day of the Passover holiday (the seventh day for Reform Jews and those residing …

According to the Torah, the Paschal (or Passover) lamb (also known as the Korban) was first sacrificed and then offered to God …

As the first Seder approaches tomorrow night at sundown, it is the tradition in many homes to follow the ritual of b’dikat …

The story goes that while fleeing the land of Egypt, the ancient Israelites didn’t have time to wait for their dough …

Passover orders are rolling in and I wonder (as I do every year) how I will manage to do all of the …

Many ingredients that are innately kosher the rest of the year, may not be considered kosher during Passover week. While certain foods …

I know that none of these Passover-friendly products are traditional in any way, much less Sephardic, but in the weeks leading up …

Now that Purim has ended the official countdown to Passover has begun folks! This is the time when many Jews begin the …

On February 12th I gave one of my Jewish food tours of the Lower East Side. I had three people on my …

I have to be honest and say that for a full two years I have been wanting to write a blog that …