"jew" news and stories

The start of Hanukah is just under two weeks away and there are a lot of food traditions associated with it, as there are with most Jewish holidays. Any holiday that has a food tradition is worth taking note of as far as we're concerned, whether it is one you usually celebrate or not, if for no other reason than to expose yourself to some new food. In the case of A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, the foods probably aren't all that "new" to most of us, but that only makes learning the history behind the recipes more interesting. The author discusses dietary laws, the symbolism of particular foods and how Jewish cooking has been influenced by other cultures. The recipes include NY Style Water Bagels, Traditional Friday Night Challah, Frozen Cheesecake and My Trademark, Most Requested, Absolutely Magnificent Caramel Matzoh Crunch. The instructions, even for the most complex breads and pastries, are easy enough for the the "baking challenged" to follow without problems

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Kosher food is a new trend in stadium food. Over the past couple of years, exclusively kosher stands have been sprouting up at more sports venues, offering food that even very strict Jewish people, those who follow the dietary laws of kashrut, can eat. The glatt kosher hot dogs and other meat products are held to a different standard from ordinary ones and, of course, do not involve pork products. They are proving popular in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, despite that fact that the stands are not typically open on the two busiest times of the sporting week: Friday nights and Saturdays. One other risk of selling the kosher food is that it is typically more expensive than the nonkosher offerings at stadiums and since stadium food is not inexpensive to begin with, this can mean that consumers might be paying as much as 25% more for kosher products. That being said, the slow and steady success of such vendors indicates that there is a market for kosher products in these settings, from both those who keep kosher and those who, like some fans, "like the taste better [and] assume the quality is better."

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It started out as a joke. Jeremy Cowan and his friends thought it would be funny for Jews to have their own beer. They created He'Brew, "the Chosen Beer," but ten years and 2 million bottles later, Cowan and his friends' joke is serious business.

Their first beer ten years ago was Genesis Ale, a "crisp, smooth and perfectly balanced between a west coast style pale and amber ale, with a supple malt sweetness and a pronounced hop flourish." To celebrate their ten year anniversary, He'brew has launched a few new beers: Genesis 10:10 (for the ten years), and Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A., a tribute to Lenny Bruce.

I'm not a beer drinker, so I have no idea if this is good stuff, but it seems that the company does take brewing quality seriously. Besides, how can you go wrong with a company that's celebrating ten years of "Delicious Schtick?"