Arthur Schwartz’s Jewish home cooking : Yiddish recipes revisited

Arthur Schwartz writes the kind of cookbook that is chatty and personable.  I bought his What To Cook When You Think There’s Nothing In The House To Eat years ago with no regrets – I occasionally thumb through it when depressed, for a mood lift.

In this one, he takes the reader on a historical journey through the foodways of New York City’s Jewish community, using his own childhood memories as a benchmark.  He explains the basics of keeping kosher, discusses how ways of eating evolved within the Jewish community during the twentieth century, and bemoans the demise of some time-honored dishes.

If bagels and latkes comprise your entire knowledge of Jewish cooking, this book will certainly be an eye opener.  The author’s style helps – the text reads like a one-on-one tour through the recipes and stories that defined the eating habits of an entire community, and influenced others.  Schwartz’s tone is very conversational – he makes the reader feel like they’ve just stepped into the kitchen of an old friend.

(William Hicks, Information Services)