All posts filed under: culture

cultural influences on food

The Galilean Kitchen … a cookbook with a difference

Published by Ruth Nieman

This time last year, the groves of the Galilee began their annual production of organic olive oil and I started writing this beautiful cookbook, The Galilean Kitchen. It has been a year in the making (involving lots of writing and LOTS of tasting) and it is with great excitement, I am proud to announce, that it is now ready to bring you the best of this lush region’s dishes, full of cultural flavours. A cookbook with a difference, The Galilean Kitchen is full of recipes for family meals, using Middle Eastern staples, vegetables and spices, with each page containing tips and easy to find ingredients to cook these dishes in your own kitchen. It tells the stories of the women who have parted with their family recipes, as well as the regions seasonal produce. First edition copies are now available to order here, and you can look forward to cooking from an untapped cuisine that is waiting to be unleashed into every kitchen and at the same time read about the culinary cultures of the …

The Galilean Kitchen…..a cookbook in the making

Published by Ruth Nieman

Within the rural region of the Galilee, home to a diverse ethnic population, culture and flavours mingle together in the local kitchens where traditional dishes are cooked. Through the eyes and palates of home cooks, The Galilean Kitchen will immerse you in authentic cooking from a social, cultural and culinary perspective, allowing you to re-create the delicious flavours in your own kitchens. Inspired by my love of Middle Eastern food and the beautiful Galilee of Northern Israel, I am writing a book that enters into the untapped area of Druze villages, surrounded by olive and citrus groves and where with local seasonal produce alone, Sinye, Hubeza & F’tir are prepared from recipes that have been passed through the generations. Coupled with the stories of the local home cooks, their heritage and passion for food, The Galilean Kitchen will be a cookbook with a difference and one to look out for, when it reaches the shelves at the end of the year…. As part of the social element of this project, a crowdfunding campaign has been set up to raise funds for producing, publishing …

Israel’s good cheese guide….

Published by Ruth Nieman

With the emphasis on Israel’s cuisine being heavily placed upon dairy, it is not surprising that there is an increase across the country in boutique dairies, providing innovative alternatives to traditional cheeses. Until recently the larger companies and supermarkets were the main suppliers of Israel’s dairy staples such as cottage cheese, cream cheese and labneh, the Middle Eastern cheese made with cow, goats or sheep milk. Throughout Tel Aviv, Israel’s culinary capital, quaint little delicatessens and Fromageries have been selling delicious cheeses and all forms of dairy products to chefs, restaurants and cheese lovers alike, produced both in the country and imported from France, Italy and Holland. In my latest article for The Culture Trip, A Cheese Lover’s Guide To Tel Aviv, discover where artisan cheese and dairy products are being sourced, to create new and exciting dishes, both sweet and savoury. recipe: labneh 500g natural yoghurt 1/2 teaspoon salt olive oil, zaatar, black pepper, fresh oregano leaves & pistachios, to serve take a large square of muslin/cheesecloth rinse in cold water & wring dry line a colander with …

any excuse for cheesecake….

Published by Ruth Nieman

Every Jewish festival has a culinary significance and Shavout makes no exception. Also known as the spring harvest, this festival of weeks, directly translated from the Hebrew, makes two references to the connotations of food, the end of the spring barley and the start of the summer wheat harvest, as well as the dietary laws laid down in the Torah, when given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Shavout is by far my favourite festival, in so much as it is customary to only eat dairy products during the holiday and therefore a cheesecake fest takes place in Israel. The laws of keeping kosher does not allow milk to be eaten after meat and it is said that as the  laws of the Torah were handed down to Moses on Shabbat, there was not enough time to slaughter the animals, so only dairy was eaten and therefore the tradition has been maintained. Israel is also the “land flowing with milk and honey” and it is from that Biblical saying that we eat the dairy products of the land. The food of Israel has always been …

dedicated to the humble chickpea….

Published by Ruth Nieman

May 13th is marked on the calendar as International Hummous Day,  a whole day dedicated to the humble chickpea. A popular dip throughout Israel and the Middle East, hummous has recently been elevated to becoming one of Israel’s ‘national foods’, appearing on menus in restaurants and cafe’s throughout the country. Chickpeas are legumes and rich in nutrients. They are considered to be a popular source of vitamins and minerals in the diet of both vegetarians and vegans. It popularity follows the dietary laws of Kashrut and therefore hummous can be eaten with both meat and milk meals. Hummous is directly translated from the Arabic meaning ‘chickpeas’ a staple ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine dating back to ancient times, although widely used in stews and tagines, rather than as a cold dip. Hummous in it’s simplest form is made from cooked, mashed chickpeas and combined with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt,  however, many combinations of spices can be added for extra flavour with cumin, coriander or smoked paprika being the most popular and garnishes including whole chickpeas, pinenuts, flat leaf parsley or paprika.  Other versions include using …

food culture in the galilee…..

Published by Ruth Nieman

Israel has an eclectic population with diverse cultures; however food is a culture that can be experienced by all. Israel’s northern region is a beautiful mountainous range, separated and known as the upper and lower Galilee. A lush land full of food that has matured from small beginnings into the fruit bearing trees, vines, wild herbs and edible flowers synonymous with the area and grown, foraged and picked by the locals for its freshness, taste and nutritional value. A world apart from the culinary capital of Tel Aviv where highly acclaimed chefs produce gourmet food as works of art on the plate, the food from the north is rustic, homely and cooked straight from the ground. Galileat, the brainchild of an Australian chef, Paul Nirens, who moved to the north of Israel over 30 years ago. Paul trained in one of Israel’s leading culinary schools before managing commercial kitchens in a competitive profession. Whilst selling locally crafted gourmet foods, he found an opportunity in the untapped market of intercultural activities in the Galilee, through food. …

the ethos is simply….ice cream

Published by Ruth Nieman

Ice cream, common throughout all cultures, is being heralded as the new language, with the sound of a lick… “Buza” a luxurious ice cream parlour in the Western Galil is the venture of Adam Ziv, a Jewish kibbutznik from Sasa and Alaa Sawitat, an Arab Muslim from Ma’alot Tarshiha. Taken from the Arabic word ‘meaning ice cream, this new shop opened in Tarshiha shuk last July and although attracts a mixed clientele, they are all only interested in the homemade new flavours of ice cream on sale that day. During a gap year in Europe and Africa, Ziv apprenticed at gelaterias in Italy, with the aim of returning to Israel to set up his own store. Seeking the advice of his old family friend Sawitat, an experienced restauranteur in Tarshiha, they decided to join forces and open Buza, a partnership that allows Ziv to create the ice cream and leaves Sawitat to run the business. They currently have four ice cream outlets, as well as running a workshop on Kibbutz Sasa, teaching the art of making this sublime creamy dessert. …

a new look…..

Published by Ruth Nieman

Israel’s cuisine is the fusion of the Middle East and its surrounding Mediterranean influences with the Sephardic and Askenazi styles of Jewish cooking, to produce creative, innovative modern food from the traditions of old. The Israel Good Food Guide is about allowing you to discover their culinary delights, in the hope that you will experience the foods, restaurants, chefs, produce and all things ‘foodie’ in Israel, to make your culinary tour the very best it can be.

Anything but A-Sham….

Published by Ruth Nieman

During the middle week of December, Haifa opens it’s door to one and all for  the Festivals of Festivals, where cultural activities show no boundaries in embracing the festivals of Eid, Christmas and Chanuka in a celebration of co-existence. Amongst all the doughnuts and latkes on offer this year, the delights of Arab food is taking centre stage in the form of A-Sham, it’s meaning referring to the geographic area famous for the cuisine, the Levant area. Food on offer is being cooked by famous chefs including Atamna-Ismaeel, winner of the lasts year’s season of Master Chef, very popular now in Israel too. Dishes include Sfiha and Manakish, Levantine pizza-type dishes with dough bases as well as the more well known dishes of Kibbeh, Fattoush and Baklava. The Festival of Festivals is simply about bringing cultures together, and to my mind there is no better way than with the sharing of foods….