Israel's cuisine is not only local gastronomic traditions that have evolved over the centuries, but also the culinary directions of neighboring countries, where Jews lived before returning to their native land.
National cuisine of Israel
Traditional cuisine is prepared using legumes, vegetables, olive oil and herbs.
Israel's cuisine is divided into Ashkenazi cuisine, which is famous for such dishes as "kugel", "forshmak", "tsimes", and Sephardic, which is characterized by the preparation of aromatic and spicy dishes such as kus-kus, jahnun and kube.
It is worth noting that in Israel there is such a thing as kosher food - it is characterized by the absence of pork, shellfish and crustacean dishes on the table. In addition, kosher implies a ban on the use of culinary products made from animal blood. As for the serving of meat and dairy products, it is produced here exclusively separately.
Popular Jewish dishes:
- “Hummus” (an appetizer of chickpea puree with lemon juice, olive oil, paprika and garlic);
- Forshmak (chopped herring with egg, vinegar, pepper, onion);
- “Meorav yerushalmi” (roast of various types of chicken meat with onions and spices, served on a plate or in a pita);
- “Marak Curtain Shor im sweet potato” (soup with oxtail and sweet potato);
- “Hraime” (a dish of fish in a spicy sauce);
- “Tsimes” (a dish in the form of a sweet vegetable stew).
Where to taste the national cuisine?
Traditional Jewish restaurants are concentrated mainly in Jerusalem, Safed, Nazareth and other cities. In Israel, you can also find hummus - small restaurants, the main dish in which is hummus, which is prepared almost in front of visitors. But here they offer to order not only hummus, but also feast on, for example, a thick chowder of beans (ful) and salads from pickled vegetables.
In Jerusalem, you can look into “Rahmo” (the institution offers to enjoy hummus, kube soup with meatballs in dough and other traditional dishes), in Haifa - in “Abu Shaker” (the institution specializes in hummus: it is served here with parsley, sesame paste, pita, with rice or lentils), in Netanya - in pundak "Haim" (this Israeli restaurant serves hummus, fresh salads, grilled fish, grilled meat).
Important: the menu in national restaurants is shown in Hebrew and in English.
Cooking courses in Israel
If you wish, you can attend classes in the culinary school "Artichoke": culinary courses consist of a theoretical and practical part, chefs teach their students to cook both traditional Jewish dishes and dishes according to their own author's recipes (products in the form of vegetables, berries, herbs, fruits are delivered to the table of novice cooks directly from the fields).
A visit to Israel should be prepared for the Honey Festival (September), the Wine and Cheese Festival (May, Haifa), the Taste of the City culinary festival (May, Tel Aviv), the Beer Festival (August, Jerusalem), the Wine Festival (May, North Israel).
