dessert, fall, jewish cuisine, recipes, spring

Healthy Spring (or fall) Dessert: Ashkenazic Charoset

At first, it might seem strange to have apples in a dish for a spring holiday. Passover, the most important holiday on the Hebrew calendar, celebrates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt. It always occurs in the spring (in the Northern Hemisphere), while apples are a symbol of fall. On further reflection, the use of apples actually does make sense.

Charoset is a blend of chopped fruit and nuts, representing the mortar enslaved Israelites used in Egypt, and is an essential element on the Passover Seder plate. Historically, most Ashkenazi Jews lived in Central and especially Eastern Europe. Not many fruits are in season there in March or April, but apples could be stored in a cold cellar over the winter. The only other option might be rhubarb, at least when there is plenty of sugar to counter the acid. Holiday food traditions seem to change more slowly than what people eat every day, so even with modern shipping and preservation, apples remain the base fruit.

There are many recipes out there, typically including walnuts, sugar, spices, and an acidic liquid to keep the apples from oxidizing and turning brown. Most common is sweet, kosher red wine. Not all kosher wines are sweet, but Manischewitz, the most common brand (for all sorts of kosher products, in fact), is. With at least 51% concord grapes and a bit of extra sweetener, it tastes exactly like the classic non-fermented grape juice, with the alcohol flavor only coming in at the end. Naturally, grape juice would be the perfect non-alcoholic substitute.

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If you’re wondering why wine isn’t all kosher (as I was), it’s because ancient pagan people often used it in their rituals. To ensure their wine hadn’t previously been used in these rituals, the production from picking to transportation to serving had to be done by kosher-observant Jews. Unless, if I understand things correctly, it gets heated, which renders it unsuitable for pagan rituals. Once that’s done, anyone can handle it.

Ashkenazi charoset is delicious, regardless of faith or season. It’s sweet, tart, two different kinds of crunchy, juicy, and especially tasty during the fall, when apples are freshest. Walnuts make the mix more substantial, and spices like cinnamon and ginger make it taste like crustless apple pie.

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet-tart apples (I used 2 cortlands and 2 zestars)
½ cup walnut pieces
A few drops of lemon juice, if desired
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) sweet kosher red wine or red concord grape juice
Sugar to taste

Directions:

Core the apples, slice, and mince as finely as you can with a knife. (One of those devices that cores an apple and cuts it into 8 or 10 slices works perfectly for the first part, and I don’t bother peeling. If using a food processor for the second part, be careful not to overprocess.) Place in a large bowl. Toss with a few drops of lemon juice if desired.
Mince the walnuts and stir in, distributing evenly. Add the spices and wine and stir again.
Taste for sweetness. Depending on the apples, you may or may not need sugar. If the mix needs it, add sugar a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go.
Let rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours for the best flavor.

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british cuisine

Window Shopping in the Harrods Food Halls

Photo by Mingyang LIU on Pexels.com (I couldn’t get a good picture myself without blocking traffic)

Harrods is probably the most famous department store in London. It’s also really hard to navigate. Perhaps this is by design, so potential customers pass more high-end merchandise. After all, some of the wealthiest customers in London shop there, or have their people shop for them. But for the casual tourist who just wants to window shop in the food halls at the center, the maze is a bit annoying.

Sure, there are smaller items like rolls, pastries, jars of jam, pieces of cheese, boxes of tea, and so on, that are affordable for most people. But after being warned by the tour director that the same items are marked up heavily just because they come from Harrods, I decided to stick with admiring the selection. There is a lot to admire, starting with the store itself. It’s kept the elaborate Victorian and Edwardian columns, ceilings, arches, and crown moldings, while gleaming like any upscale modern establishment.

I’m not sure what’s more beautiful, the building or the merchandise. Right by the door where I came in was a selection of caviar, smoked salmon, and whole gourmet fish. To my other side was a whole wall of baked goods, and directly ahead was a truly international deli case. Many of the salads looked Mediterranean or Middle Eastern, but there were also ready-prepared slices of beef Wellington. On the other side of the deli I found all sorts of exotic fruits, including cacao pods. Oddly enough, after coming home I saw cacao pods at Woodman’s.

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On a side note, if you’re ever in the produce department at Woodman’s, take a minute to smell the guavas, especially if they’re a bit overripe. The intoxicating tropical aroma is impossible to describe. Anyway, back to Harrods, where there were no guavas, but the meat cases had luxury wagyu beef, authentic Spanish jamon iberico, and any cured meat you can think of. And I’m pretty sure the cheese case contained every cheese mentioned in 1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die (the food halls themselves are featured on pg. 15).

As far as I could tell, the non-perishable (or less perishable) items like coffee, tea, honey, jams, oils, chocolates, and confectionary were more significantly overpriced than the others, though overpriced might not be the right word. There’s a quote from somewhere that “everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.” It’s the law of supply and demand. Perhaps because the “dry goods” can be kept for longer, the sellers can be comfortable charging more, knowing whatever doesn’t sell one day won’t be wasted. Or maybe those items are in higher demand as gifts.

In fact, the store website suggests that the chocolates and hampers (basically gift baskets) would be perfect for the hard-to-shop-for relative or business acquaintance. I’m sure they would be. Everything in the chocolate hall was beautiful, and Harrods chocolate is known to be of exceptional quality. But a mixed 15-piece box of chocolates is $35. 325 grams (just over 11 ounces) of mixed chocolate almonds is $27. And a 16-piece chocolate truffle selection box is $40. Granted, some of those are in collectible tins, but that’s still out of my price range.

For the cost of 2 of those items, I could get a bulk bag of pecans, make a batch of cinnamon sugar nuts, eat half of them, make another batch, and have enough for several homemade gift baskets. With the money left over, the baskets and tins (which have been passed back and forth between friends and relatives since about 1995) could be finished with Lindt truffles, clementines, and some homemade cookies and/or Chex mix. Maybe it’s just me, but that feels so much more personal. And who doesn’t love cinnamon sugar pecans?

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After finishing my window shopping, there was still plenty of evening sunlight to ride the Underground to visit the Tower of London. (Another interesting thing is that because the British Isles are further north than many Americans might expect, it stays light really late during the summer. In July, there was still some twilight at 10pm.) The inside was closed (not sure why they don’t stay open later in the summer to profit from the long days and tourist surge), but I had a great view of the outside of both the Tower itself and the Tower Bridge. Even from a distance, the arrow slots in the walls were clearly visible. Add in the multiple layers of walls, and the Tower could rival any modern maximum-security prison.

Tower Bridge London — *Better luck getting pictures of the tower bridge*

And on the ride home, there were a few drunk guys doing pull-ups on the handhold straps hanging down from the subway roof. I was a little worried the straps would give way, injuring them physically or mentally, but they held firm. Since drunken pull-ups are apparently a common thing, the train engineers probably factored that into their designs.

Point is, even if buying much from Harrods is out of your budget, it’s well worth a look around. If only they had free samples, which might encourage hesitant shoppers to buy.

appetizers, fall, recipes, salad

Guess the Color: Pumpkin Seed Oil (dressing recipe for potato or kale salad)

pumpkin seed kurbiskernol vinaigrette — *Looks more appetizing on the kale*

Over the course of my culinary exploration, I’ve been amazed by just how many different types of oil there are. Some are pretty standard and widespread. Canola and vegetable (often soybean) oils are neutrally flavored, easy-to-find, affordable, and widely used in baking and frying. Some cooks prefer corn or peanut oil for deep frying. For sautéing and salad dressings, olive oil is a favorite. In a well-stocked grocery store, you often find sunflower, sesame, flaxseed, grapeseed, avocado, and coconut oils.

Certain oils are largely restricted to particular cuisines or uses. Sunflower is popular in Eastern Europe due to Orthodox fasting rules and the inability to grow olives. Toasted sesame oil is common in East Asia, especially China, while Middle Easterners prefer untoasted. Nut oils like almond or walnut are sometimes used in European salad dressings. And bright reddish-orange palm oil gives many West African dishes their distinctive flavor.

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In Austria, a local specialty is pumpkin seed oil, called kurbiskernol, made from the appropriately-named oilseed pumpkin. It’s typically used in salad dressings and as a dip for bread. Due to its low smoke point, it’s not suitable for cooking, which damages its distinctive flavor. But here’s a question for you. If the stereotypical pumpkin is orange and inner seed kernels (pepitas) are green, what color is pumpkin seed oil?

Answer: It’s a lovely deep purple, with yellow-green undertones.

In 1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die (pgs. 323 – 324), Mimi Sheraton describes pumpkin seed oil as resembling liquid amethysts. If it had been available during the Middle Ages, sophisticated diners would have been all over it. They loved bright, even tacky colors, and very few foods are naturally that shade of purple. For people who created elaborate gilded dishes with egg yolks and saffron, liquid jewels sound right up their alley.

Pumpkins arrived in Europe after Columbus. Exactly when Europeans began eating them or pressing their seeds is unclear, but the oil makes a great vinaigrette base. To boost its color, I added red wine vinegar, minced shallots, a little salt, and a dash of mustard and honey to keep the dressing from separating. If you find the flavor of the pumpkin seed oil a little strong, try replacing about half of it with sunflower oil, which is typically pale, for a lighter shade of amethyst. Yellow or greenish olive oil will make it look muddy.

Thinner layers of the oil can look muddy anyway, but the taste, clearly that of roasted pumpkin seeds, is worth it. It’s a fantastic complement to potatoes, and makes salads much more satisfying. Kale is especially good, because its strong flavor is less likely to be overwhelmed. It also holds up in the fridge for a few days, even with dressing.

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To dress about six medium potatoes or one bunch of kale, just combine 6 tablespoons of pumpkin seed oil, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, a minced shallot, and a little salt. Mix in a teaspoon each of Dijon mustard and honey and whisk until combined. Toss with cubes of hot cooked potatoes (waxy varieties like reds or Yukon golds are best, peeled or not is up to you) or chopped kale and let rest for an hour at room temperature. Store leftovers in refrigerator, bringing potato salad back to room temperature before serving. If desired, rewarm for about 30 seconds in the microwave. The kale salad is ready right out of the fridge.

Vinaigrette-based vegetable salads are perfect year-round. They stay crisp (if applicable) better than lettuce, are more interesting than a veggie tray, and provide a pleasantly light counterpoint to grilled or roasted meats, heavy sides, and desserts. With no egg or dairy, they’re safer on hot days than those with mayonnaise. And during the winter, sturdy vegetables like potatoes and kale (or even frozen vegetables like green beans) are more consistent than fresh sweet corn, tomatoes, or lettuce.

And with how popular pumpkin spice is, pumpkin seed dressing would be perfect on a fall or Halloween theme menu. Perhaps a kale or other cabbage salad with pumpkin seed vinaigrette and toasted pumpkin seeds to start, followed by pumpkin or squash ravioli with butter and sage, and concluding with a pumpkin or apple dessert. With plain coffee or tea, though. Pumpkin spice belongs in desserts, not beverages.