Food

Content type
Collection
Collage of Linda McCartney with colorful squiggles around it

Linda McCartney's Jewish, Feminist Activism

Sylvie Simmons

Regardless of how Linda presented herself or practiced her religion, Jewish values are evident in her activism. 

Collage with wooden bowl with a pizza, fish, watermelon, avocado, and other food items in it on a table cloth

Bowls and Body Image: The Gendered Expectations of Eating

Jess Shapiro

Over the past couple of years, I have paid particular attention to the rise in the use of bowls instead of plates. Now, I am not one to “yuck” another’s “yums” but this seems to manifest itself as yet another dieting habit—in addition to specific diet foods/drinks or simply not eating—that differentiates adolescent girls and boys.

Topics: Food Writing
Slavena Nissan and her mother, 1997 and 2019

When I Chop Onions, I Think of My Female Ancestors

Slavena Salve Nissan

A writer reflects on how learning to cook deepened her connections with her Mountain Jewish ancestors and shares a Purim recipe.

Chef Jerzy Gonzalez Arroyo

The Amazing Flavors of Chef Jerzy

Shoshana McKinney Kirya-Ziraba

Chef Jerzy Gonzalez-Arroyo takes her clients on a cultural journey of amazing Sephardi flavors.

Alana Chandler Headshot cropped

7 Questions For Food Blogger Alana Chandler

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with food blogger and recipe developer Alana Chandler. 

Helen Kim Headshot

7 Questions For Helen Kim

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with sociology professor and author Helen Kim.

Katie Draisen cooking

7 Questions For Katie Draisen

Sarah Groustra

JWA talks to Boston-based private chef Katie Draisen. 

Topics: Food, Entrepreneurs

Episode 103: Kugels and Collards: The Southern Jewish Table

Food can be a vehicle for telling stories, connecting with people, and understanding our history—including the uncomfortable parts. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Jen Richler heads to Charleston, South Carolina to learn about Southern Jewish history through the lens of food. Over a home-cooked meal, Jen talks with Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey, co-authors of the new book Kugels & Collards: Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina. She also talks with Dale Rosengarten, a scholar of Southern Jewish history, and Kim Cliett Long, a scholar whose rich family story weaves together Jewish and African American identities.  

Laura Limonic Headshot

7 Questions For Laura Limonic

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with Latina sociologist and author Laura Limonic.

Topics: Food Writing
Woman with dark hair in a bun holdng a plate with a pile of pita one on side; on other side book cover with title Dinner Party Project: A No-Stress Guide to Food with Friends

7 Questions For Natasha Feldman

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with Natasha Feldman, author of the new book The Dinner Party Project. 

Topics: Recipes

Bonus Episode: Granfran in the Uber

While we’re hard at work on our fall season, which launches Sept 12, enjoy this bonus episode from Joia Putnoi. Joia recorded this conversation with her grandmother Fran Putnoi, or “Granfran,” for a college class. It's about passing recipes and stories from one generation of Jewish women to the next. We think you’ll love it.

Karina Urbach and the Cover of her Book

Reclaiming Europe’s Jewish Past and Present

Savoy Curry

The Nazis stole Alice Urbach’s cookbook. In her new book, her granddaughter, Karina, reclaims Alice’s story—and Jews’ rightful place in European life.

Denise Khaitman Schorr

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Denise Khaitman Schorr on June 14, 2000, in Natick, Massachusetts for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Schorr talks about her childhood in Paris, experiencing growing antisemitism and the Nazi occupation, joining the resistance, working as a social worker after liberation, immigrating to the USA, and her ongoing efforts to share her story and educate others.

Plate of cheese latkes

This Hanukkah, Try Latkes With a Dairy Twist

Savoy Curry

Swap the traditional potatoes for cheese to honor Judith, a badass biblical woman.

Topics: Hanukkah, Recipes

Louise Azose

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Louise Azose on April 18 and May 26, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. A Sephardic Jew from Turkey, Azose shares her immigration experience, family life, involvement in her synagogue, traditional cooking, cultural customs, the challenges of separation from her family, raising her children during World War II, the role of singing in her family, and her travels.

Sara Schlosser

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Sara Schlosser on January 19, 2008, in Wolcott, Vermont, as part of DAVAR's Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Schlosser discusses her family history, childhood, and journey to becoming a vegetarian, her experiences growing up in New Jersey, eventually starting her own family farm, and celebrating Jewish traditions with the local community.

June Salander

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Zinn Buffum and Sandra Stillman Gartner interviewed June Salander on June 29, 2005, in Rutland, Vermont, as part of DAVAR’s Vermont Jewish Women’s Oral History Project. Salander recalls her immigration to the United States from Poland as a young girl, settling in Harlem, attending Hebrew School, and her active life as a Red Cross volunteer, Hebrew School teacher, real estate broker, and baker, culminating in her Bat Mitzvah at age 89.

Joan Nathan

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Joan Nathan on July 12, 2011, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Nathan reflects on the significance of food to Jewish life, as she recounts her career as a cookbook author, cultural historian, and food writer who combines recipes with stories to educate about Jewish life, tradition, and history.

Miriam Latter

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Miriam Latter in Metairie, Louisiana, on September 26, 2006, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Latter reflects on her upbringing, running Tujague's Restaurant, her leadership in the Jewish community, and the impact of Hurricane Katrina, highlighting the community's resilience and the significance of community-wide prayer services.

A charcuterie board with cheese and fruit

Charcuterie: More Jewish Than You Think!

Catherine Horowitz

Here’s how to put a distinctly Jewish spin on the charcuterie trend.

Jackie Gothard

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Jackie Gothard on September 20, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Gothard shares her experiences growing up as an orthodox Jew in New Orleans, the destruction of Beth Israel synagogue during Hurricane Katrina, her efforts to restore the synagogue and reassemble the congregation, and her reflections on gender and Southern politics in the Orthodox community.

Chef and restaurant owner Leah Cohen releases her cookbook, “Lemongrass & Lime”

September 29, 2020

Leah Cohen, a Jewish and Filipino American chef and restaurant owner, released her cookbook Lemongrass & Lime on September 29, 2020. Cohen is the owner and head chef at two critically acclaimed New York City restaurants, and also competed in season five of Top Chef.

First Episode of “Pati’s Mexican Table” Released

April 2, 2011

On April 2, 2011, Pati’s Mexican Table premiered on television. The national public television series features Mexican chef Pati Jinich sharing authentic Mexican cooking. Each season, Jinich explores a different region of Mexico, taking the viewer along on her culinary journey.

Fritzie Fritzshall Headshot

A Tale of Kindness and Survival

Marissa Wojcik

The women in Auschwitz helped Fritzie survive. She repaid them by telling their stories.

Topics: Holocaust, Recipes
Collage of old photo of author's grandmother and her brisket recipe in a frame

A Recipe That Defies Time—Just Like Passover Itself

Savoy Curry

The ingredients are simple, but the connections to my family and to Jewish history run deep.

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