I thought you might like to know about what the ISRAELI’S eat. You will find the food is not the Deli, (Jewish Food), that we find in North America. Their food is European Traditional, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean.
KOSHER, (food the follows the Dietary Laws in the Old Testament):
Jewish Dietary Laws come from the Bible. Meat and Dairy food may not be eaten together, (drop a piece of cooked meat in a glass of milk and see why).
Pork, Bottom Feeding Fish, (like Pike), Ostrich and Shellfish are not permitted.
Dairy and meat dishes, cutlery, cupboards, ovens and dishwashers must be separate.
Many Hotels and Restaurants in Israel were forced to keep Kosher by the Rabbi’s who said they would not recommend their establishments to their followers.
For a Bakery or Restaurant to be kosher it may not be open from Friday night at sunset until you see the third star in the sky on Saturday night after sunset.
Hotels may be open but they may only serve food that was prepared before Friday night.
In homes where Kashrut is observed, the same rules apply.
BREAKFAST:
The Israeli breakfast has a lot of salads, all type of eggs, cheeses, olives, bagels, toast, sweet and salty rolls, fresh fruit juices tea and coffee.
THE BIGGEST MEAL IS IN THE AFTERNOON, (Dinner is not served until after 8 P.M.):
Lunch is a meal that has many small courses. There will be a lot of salads, (Israeli’s make a thousand and one eggplant
salads), egg salad, fish salad, hummus, (a dip made from chickpeas), tehina, (a sauce made of sesame seeds) and falafel, (it is made from chichpeas but looks like a meat ball). This will be served with a very hot red sauces and an even hotter green sauce. There will be platters of Pita Bread.
THE EVENING MEAL:
It is not a good idea to eat a heavy meal late in the evening. The last meal of the day is cheese, eggs and salads. It will look a lot like Breakfast.
EAT AND WALK:
I have never been to Israel without seeing Israelis eating as they rush from place to place. The are fast foods such as pizza, hamburger and ice cream. There are the Middle Eastern food of falafel, (a ground chick peas seasoned then rolled into a ball and deep fried), and shwarma, (processed meat that roasted on a spit and shaved off), both of the last two items are served in warm pitas with sauces and salads. They eat fresh fruit and sandwiches. They drink anything from pop, coffee, tea or fresh squeeze juices.
AFTER DINNER:
Israeli Apartments are very small so most Israeli’s go for a walk and stop for pastry, ice cream, mint tea, regular coffee or turkish coffee.
IF YOU ARE NOT JEWISH OR DO NOT KEEP KOSHER:
Forget all of the above. The pork is called ’’white meat’’ and you will find wonderful seafood in many Cafes.
I HAVE JUST ONE QUESTION:
With all this eating and drinking how do most Israeli’s stay so thin?
There are of course the Holiday Meals but I think this is enough for you to digest in one sitting!
©LL