Israeli Cuisine

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Israel- Cooking and Food

Overview of Israeli Cuisine History


The cuisine of Israel has been influenced by the cuisine of the countries from the Middle East, Northern Africa, and the Mediterranean countries. Ancient Egypt and the Byzantine Empire influenced the Jewish cuisine in the past. The strongest influence, though, seems to come from the Middle East. The Israeli have assimilated the non-pork diets of the Muslims. People have learned from the Iranians to cook meat with fruits, split peas and lentils, from Lebanon to prepare fish with paprika, cayenne pepper and other condiments, from Jordanians to prepare kebabs and not at last, from Syrians they have learned how to cook kubbeh. The cuisine of Yemen also played an important role. The last one distinguishes through the combination of spices that are used, and not through complexity. Also, Maghreb affected very much the Israeli cooking style. Couscous and shakshouka are only two proofs of how the Northern African countries affected the Israeli cooking style.

Israel inherited from Greece and Turkey foods such as moussaka, dolmades and the baklava pastries. Furthermore, the countries from Balkans exercised a strong influence over the Israeli dishes. Romania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria must be mentioned in this case. Other countries that caused the Israeli cuisine to change are: Russia, Poland, Hungary and even Ethiopia or India.

Because the number of the influences is so great, people tend to believe that Israel has not a cuisine of its own. The extraordinary diversity and the great number of imported recipes stand as evidence for this fact.

Although the Muslims and the Israeli have different religions, the cuisines of these people have many similarities. The religion has a great role and influenced the diet of the Israeli people. Kashrut is a pack of cooking rules that have religious roots. The most important rules refer to the fact that pork and some other kinds of meat are forbidden. Also, people are not allowed to consume meat and dairy products at the same meal. Israelis were forced to alter the dishes that were served in the international restaurants, in order to fit the religious laws.

Cuisines of Israel


The differences between the cooking styles of the Israelis are not observed inside the country. Ashkenazic and Sephardic are the names of the two cooking styles. The first one belongs to the immigrants from Europe, while the second is typical to the Israelis from the Middle East. These differ through ingredients, as well as through preparation techniques.

By Geographic Area and Style:


 * Ashkenazic Cuisine
 * Sephardic Cuisine

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Israeli Food Glossary
Finding the ingredients for an Israeli Recipe is not so easy when you do not know the names of the ingredients. Take time to make a list of ingredients and the name they may be found under at the Local Markets.


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Special Equipment for Israeli Cooking
Most Israeli dishes don’t require you to purchase any special tools. However, having a coffee grinder helps with roasting and grinding spices and maximizes their volatile oils, which, in turn, provides your food with more flavor.

However, here are a few kitchen utensils you might want to use:

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