The Magic and Complexities of Jewish Food

By Danielle Lerner
Binghamton University

Chicken has to be the most commonly consumed food among Jewish people. From "schmaltz" (chicken fat) to chicken soup, we have been consuming it for centuries. For me, a Jewish girl who grew up in the suburbs of New York City, in the 21^st century I might add, chicken soup is one of the only medicines that my mother would let me take. She calls it "Jewish Penicillin." We find that there is something special about traditional Jewish chicken soup that always makes everyone in the family feel better. Whether you have a runny nose or a stomach ache, she guarantees that this comfort food will cure any ailment. In the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the father says "put a little Windex on it." My family disagrees – they suggest "drink a little chicken soup!"

Not only is food our medication, but it's also sometimes the most important, and complicated, aspect of planning an event. During the planning of my Bat Mitzvah celebration almost 10 years ago, creating the menu was extremely important, since my family keeps kosher. Unfortunately, where I happen to live in Westchester, there were not venues that were able to accommodate this request. As a result, all the food was brought in from an outside source to ensure that it was going to meet kosher standards and a rabbi was brought in to oversee the kashering of the kitchen. Since my menu was mostly meat, chicken and fish, it is obvious to my fellow Jews that there was no dairy allowed at this party, which was deeply painful for me since I am a huge chocolate lover! Jews, moreso than many other religions and cultures, have many dietary restrictions, and therefore consuming an everyday meal becomes much more complicated.

Food is a big part of everyday life, and at the end of the day, it provides common ground for all people. We all need it to live, and we all use it as a means of getting together with friends and family. For some of us, it is just a little bit more complicated.

Danielle is 21 years old and will be graduating from Binghamton University in the spring of 2011.  She is planning to pursue a career in teaching Social Studies, and will continue to eat chicken soup whenever she is feeling under the weather!

Trying to sort out keeping kosher on campus? Try KOACH's basic primer here.

[Posted 1/6/11]