More than matzo
Kosher -- once a niche cuisine, now mainstream
Kosher -- the culinary niche traditionally associated with Judaism -- is broadening its appeal.
It has gone from a faith-based mandate to the preferred fare for diners interested in healthy eating, organics, sustainable agriculture, locally grown foods and animal welfare.
(Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times)
Kosher refers to foods that conform to Jewish dietary laws.
To be certified kosher, foods must be prepared under the supervision of a rabbinic expert.
Shown above is the most common symbol of kosher certification from the Orthodox Union.
At the same time, longtime kosher aficionados are tiring of the generations-old recipes for kugels, matzo balls, potato latkes and other dishes long associated with Jewish holidays including Passover, which begins at sundown Saturday.
Instead, kosher enthusiasts -- not unlike foodies in general -- are looking for modern twists, adaptations and time-saving hints on traditional foods while eagerly perusing expanded kosher aisles in supermarkets for kosher-certified products with Asian, Latin, Mexican, Mediterranean and Caribbean flavors.
"Kosher doesn't mean the food is blessed by a rabbi," says Laura Frankel, executive chef of Wolfgang Puck Catering for the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan. "Kosher food is fit and proper -- it's fruits, vegetables, grains, coffee, natural meats, poultry, fish that have been checked and observed by a rabbinic supervisor."
Frankel contends the spike in kosher, particularly among non-Jews, "is all about consumers wanting the assurance that another pair of eyes has been looking at their food. Recalls and grotesque video footage of diseased cows on their knees prompt the consumer to turn to kosher."
"Recalls never will apply to kosher food," adds Frankel, author of Jewish Cooking for All Seasons: Fresh, Flavorful Kosher Recipes for Holidays and Everyday (John Wiley and Sons, $34.95) and a forthcoming cookbook on kosher slow-cooking. "To be certified kosher, an animal can't be limping; it must be capable of walking [to slaughter]."
"We've come a long way since the Oreo revolution," says former Chicagoan Ronnie Fein, author of the just-released cookbook Hip Kosher (Lifelong Books, $16.95), referring to 1997 when the iconic cookie became kosher. "Now, Americans as a whole are more conscious of natural foods and healthy foods and, like Jews, are grateful for the earth and all that it gives us."
Fein, a food writer for 25 years, first noticed a broadened interest in kosher about three years ago when Jewish women began expressing their desire for easier, modern recipes with flavors of other cuisines.
"They began saying, 'I want to eat that, too. What can I do? ' " Fein says.
The interest in kosher beyond the Jewish-deli standbys of corned beef, pastrami and matzo ball soup is good news for chef Charles Phillips of the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling and David Friedman, owner of MetroKlub in the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro, downtown's lone all-kosher restaurant for business lunches.
On the menu at MetroKlub, 733 W. Madison: Caesar and Cobb salads, burgers, a Buffalo chicken sandwich, balsamic vegetable wrap, Atlantic salmon and rigatoni.
"The trend in kosher restaurants is to be like the rest of the world because Jews want to eat the same popular items that sell elsewhere," Friedman says. "The difference? We have two rabbinical supervisors on our premises at all times examining the food we serve. It's a very time-consuming, expensive process."
At the Westin Chicago North Shore, Phillips oversees separate kosher kitchens for dairy and meat to meet kosher banquet demands.
"I'll tweak and adapt a recipe already popular on our Westin menu to kosher," Phillips says. "When heavy cream's not an option, I ask myself, 'What can I do to duplicate the shine and texture and fat flavor?' I might use kosher tofu to provide silkiness, texture and body in a sauce. It's a challenge; it's fun."
Sandy Thorn Clark is a Chicago free-lance writer.