A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking (Paperback)

Editorial Reviews

In A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, Goldman defines Jewish cooking as a combination of influences from religious laws, holiday and seasonal events, what is locally available, and cross-cultural adaptations created as Jewish families moved around. She also explains much about Jewish dietary law and other food customs.

Holidays, in particular, call for foods with symbolic as well as sensory resonance. This leads to baking a special, spiral-shaped challah--a reminder of life's continuity. This egg bread is reserved for the Sabbath and most holidays, while triangular Hamantaschen, a pastry resembling the three-cornered hat of the evil Haman, are unique to the lively holiday of Purim.

Novice cooks will appreciate Goldman's list of "Winning Recipes for the Bakery Challenged." Her discussions of yeast (five pages) and sensible equipment (seven pages) are an education for any baker, while everyone will enjoy her killer frozen cheesecake, which you can keep for unexpected guests; flourless and rich, rich Espresso Truffle Torte; and Smoked Salmon, Dill, and Cream Cheese Pizza. Whatever your persuasion, Marcy Goldman's A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking belongs on your bookshelf. --Dana Jacobi

From Publishers Weekly
Goldman's cheerful cookbook provides recipes for all sorts of baked goods, from traditional Jewish fare (Delicatessen-Style Classic Sour Cream Coffee Cake) and treats for specific holidays (an Etrog Cake for Sukkot) to others that are just plain good (New Wave Chocolate Tunnel Cake). A chapter on breads contains recipes for both New York-Style Water Bagels and Montreal Bagels, as well as Pumpernickel Cranberry Rolls. This book will satisfy any challah devotee: a chapter on Shabbat offers Traditional Friday Night Challah and "This Tastes Like Cake" Fresh Yeast Sabbath Challah (Goldman likes wordy, exclamatory names). A chapter on Rosh Hashanah boasts cunning New Year's Sweet Challah Miniatures and a New Year's Apple Challah. Many desserts, like a Blitz Cherry Cake, are easy and fast. Others, like Pomegranate and Sour Cherry Mandelbrot, incorporate unusual ingredients without getting too wacky. The true test of the Jewish baker, of course, is Passover, and Goldman provides a wealth of the flour-free inventions, notably My Trademark, Most Requested, Absolutely Magnificent Caramel Matzoh Crunch, Passover Rich Chocolate Genoise and Buttercream Roll, and Mock Chestnut Torte. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Broadway; 1st edition (September 1, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385479336
ISBN-13: 978-0385479332
Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.5 x 1.6 inches