If you’ve ever been to a Jewish household, you’ve probably come across traditional Jewish food that’s specific to that family but new to you, especially during Jewish holidays. Or you’re looking for an affordable way to bring Judaism into your family or partner. This is an essential guide to some of the Jewish foods you can look up and their terms. We recognize that this cannot be resolved. If you would like to contribute more information, please let us know. Are you looking for Kosher food delivery food to add to your table? See all of our recipes here.
Apple kuchen
What does it mean? The cake is German, and this usually implies a coffee cake. There’s always been an apple pie in my family.
What’s inside? The version I use is a yeast coffee cake with apple filling and toaster topping.
When do you eat it For dessert with tea?
What is? Coffee yeast cake is a delicious and filling cake. Since kuchen means “cake”, extraordinary cakes may come to mind when they say this, such as plum cake or apricot cake.
Babka
What does it mean? It means grandmother in Polish, perhaps because the Polish version of the cake looks like the tall hat that people associate with their grandmother.
What’s inside? The Jewish version is a yeast cake filled with chocolate or cinnamon and stirred through sugar. Try this Pecan Pie Babka recipe – a decadent twist that will leave everyone wanting Kosher food delivery! Why/when do you eat it? You can’t have too many delicious cakes to go with a hot drink. The TV sitcom Seinfeld had a famous play about searching Kosher Food Near Me & buying Babka to take with him to dinner. What’s that? This is a lovely cake with a bread-like crumb.
Bialys
What does this mean? Bialy is short for Bialystok Cakes, Yiddish for Bialystok Cakes or Rolls. (Bialystok was a city in modern-day Poland, on the border with Belarus).
What’s inside? Soft, pizza-like yeast dough, baked in small rolls with onions and poppy seeds in the middle.
Bialys is unrelated to a Jewish holiday and is a special regional bread when you eat it. You can eat it if you want a bagel or some other bread.
What’s that? The bite is softer than bagels, fragrant bialys, and onions. Mimi Sheraton wrote a book about Bialy Eaters, telling her story and how it was made.
Cheesecake
Cheesecake with fruit on the table with a green vase behind.
Get the Kosher food delivery of this Japanese-style baked cheesecake.
What does it mean? It is an English name because this cheesecake is a North American Jewish confection.
What’s inside? Lots of people like different cheesecakes! North American Jews make rich cheesecakes with cream cheese, eggs, and crusty crumbs, often accompanied by sour cream. This type of cheesecake is common.
When you eat it, Some like to eat cheesecake in honor of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday when dairy products were still traditional. People, who keep Kosher will not eat them as a dessert with meat dishes because the Kosher laws prohibit mixing milk and meat—looking for dairy-free Kosher Food Near Me? Try this lemon tofu cheesecake recipe.
What’s It Like? A decadent and sweet dessert usually topped with strawberries or blueberries.
Kreplach
What does it mean? A Yiddish word for small dumplings.
What’s inside? A Kreplach is a small dumpling filled with noodles, somewhat like a pie or dumpling. They usually have a meat filling but can also be made with potatoes.
When do you eat it? This is a special occasion meal, probably because it takes a lot of work to make everything from scratch. It is tradition to eat Purim for the same reason people eat Hamantaschen – because Purim is a veil festival, and the fort has the filling hidden inside.
What’s that? Like Wonton – some people believe all noodle dumplings are made in China.
Krupnik (Or Mushroom Barley Soup)
What does it mean? Krupnik comes from a Polish word meaning barley, and Yiddish refers to this soup.
What’s inside? Usually barley, dried mushrooms, potatoes and carrots. The Polish soup sometimes contains beef and sour cream, but the Jewish version of Kosher Food Near Me will have one or the other- or nothing, just vegetables.
When you eat it, Eastern European Jewish immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century ate soup as served with bread for weekday lunches.
What’s that? Spicy thick soup. If you have never eaten barley before, it absorbs a lot of water and becomes thick and creamy.