Customer Reviews
Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. - By: Kentish Woman, 27 Jul 2008 
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical & sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a placein the study as much as the kitchen
Only One Thing Missing! - By: Mr C. D. Beard, 14 Mar 2005 
This is not so much a cook book more an encyclopedia of Jewish cooking & as such is very comprehensive. I doubt anyone could have any complaints with the amount of information or the number of recipes contained within its pages.
The only drawback to this book is the total lack of photographs of the finished dishes & as such it does not inspire me to try creating any of them. Food is as much a visual experience as well as one of smells & tastes.
As a cookbook it fails to inspire the reader to try & recreate the recipes but as a history of Jewish cooking it excels.
A history of the Jews through their stomachs! - By: Klytemnestra, 08 Mar 2004 A wonderful book that most of my family & friends own, my non-Jewish flatmate read through like a novel, & I always have difficulty putting down. Since Ashkenazi cooking can be foundin countless other Jewish cookery books, I appreciated the main focus on Sephardic cooking. I am vegan & even so found hundreds of recipes. The cultural background information is fascinating, & the religious information enables you to produce something a bit different at the festivals - we had the most fabulous (Iranian, I think) stew last Rosh Hashanah, together with home-made challah, & were quite spoilt for choice when it came to making haroset. The only problem is that I get so seduced by reading the recipes that I end up making too much food! However, my friends have certainly been enjoying the pastries I take to meetings. I have had no problems following the delicious recipes & Roden is usefully realistic about substitutes for ingredients unobtainablein Britain, warnings for extra-hot dishes & so on. She also gives basic recipes followed by several variations for many dishes, especially the popular ones; this can be useful if you want a different slant on a traditional dish, for example a borsht which isn't too violently beetrooty. The personal touch - anecdotes about where she met the recipe donor, or traditional dishesin her family - is delightful.
The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna - By: , 14 Feb 2004 I think this is one of the best cookery books I have ever bought. The book is truely inspiring. I love the Rye Bread (served thinly sliced & served with cold meats or cheese) & the Honey Cake, both of which are a big hit with our family. Many of the salads are sensational, especially the Potatoes with Black Olives, plus many many more.
A great book!
A wonderful book about Judaism through the medium of food - By: , 15 Jan 2003 I can only agree with the previous reviewers - as a cookbook this is excellent, crammed full of a tremendous number & variety of great recipes, sensibly organised. As a historical book of a people told through their food it's even better.
It is nothing less than a social history of both Ashkenazi & Sephardi Judiasm told through the medium of food. The recipes have been collected & cherished by Roden, often from friends & relatives, on her travels. Most recipes are accompanied by the historical origins of the dish & thereby reveal something about Jews & Jewish life. The more celebrated & famous dishes, such as chopped liver & cholent, have whole pages of fascinating context, history & photographs devoted to them.
The result is that, as well as eating a fantastic meal (the meatballs & apricotsin tomato sauce served with spinach risotto rice & followed by apfel kugel mit eppel is my favourite) you have a real sense of occasion & connection when you eat...even if, like me, you're a Gentile; you know the importance & provenance of your food & can almost see the ragged bagel seller, smell the lid being taken off the sabbath stock potin the shtetl when you eat.
It's certainly the best & most readable cookbook I own, &in fact one of the most enjoyable books I own.
