Homemade gefilte fish

Gefilte fish slices served with carrot

Gefilte fish (Yiddish: געפֿילטע פֿיש) (English: filled fish) are poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp (common carp). Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Poaching is the process of gently Simmering food in liquid generally Water, stock or Wine. Carp is a common name for various Freshwater Fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large The Common carp or European carp ( Cyprinus carpio) is a widespread freshwater Fish related to the common Goldfish ( Carassius auratus They are popular in the Ashkenazi Jewish community. Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing PLEASE TAKE NOTE************

Preparation and serving

In traditional recipes for gefilte fish, the fish is first deboned, often while still at the market. Next, the fish is ground together with eggs, onions and flour, matzoh meal or challah, and then stuffed into the skin of the deboned fish, giving it the name gefilte (filled or stuffed, compare the German gefüllte). Matza (also Matzah, Matzoh, or Matsah) מַצָּה in Ashkenazi matzo or matzoh, and in Yiddish, matze Challah ( hallah) ( Hebrew: חלה) also known as khale (eastern Yiddish barches ( German and The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The whole stuffed fish is then poached with carrots and onions. When prepared this way, it is usually served in slices. This form of preparation eliminated the need for picking fish bones at the table and stretched the fish further, so that even poor families could enjoy fish on the Sabbath.

In the present, gefilte fish are more commonly found in patty form. The ground fish mixture is shaped into balls or oval patties and poached in a fish stock made from the head and bones of the fish. The poached balls are usually chilled and served with or without the jelled broth, accompanied by a horseradish-vinegar sauce known as chrain (either the red variety, flavored with beets, or plain white chrain, which has a sharper taste). Horseradish ( Armoracia rusticana, syn Cochlearia armoracia) is a Perennial plant of the Brassicaceae family which also includes mustard Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the Fermentation of Ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient Acetic acid (also called ethanoic acid

Variations

Gefilte fish may be slightly sweet or savory. Preparation of gefilte fish with sugar or black pepper is considered an indicator of whether a Jewish community was Galitzianer or Litvak. Galician Jews or Galitzianer Jews are a subdivision of the Ashkenazim geographically originating from Galicia, from western Ukraine (current Lithuanian Jews (known in Yiddish and Yeshivish as Litvish (adjective or Litvaks (noun are Ashkenazi Jews with roots in the [1] Traditionally, carp, pike, or whitefish were used to make gefilte fish, but more recently other fish with white flesh such as Nile Perch have been used, and there is a pink variation using salmon. Carp is a common name for various Freshwater Fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large Coregonus Linnaeus, 1758 is a Genus of Fish in the Salmon family (family Salmonidae) Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae.

Commercial gefilte fish is sold in cans and glass jars, and packed in jelly made from fish broth. The US Patent #3,108,882 "Method for Preparing an Edible Fish Product" for this jelly, which allowed mass-market distribution of gefilte fish, was granted on October 29, 1963 to Monroe Nash. Monroe Nash ( September 17, 1912 – July 26, 1997) was a successful American Businessman in the Kosher food [2]

There is even a vegetarian variation. [3]

Symbolism

Some people believe that gefilte fish has become a traditional food to avoid 'borer ("selection/choosing"), which is one of the 39 activities prohibited on Shabbat outlined in the Shulchan Aruch. See also Shabbat See also Shomer Shabbat, Rabbinically prohibited activities of Shabbat The commandment to keep Shabbat as a The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Others say that fish are not subject to "ayin hara" ("evil eye"), so that a dish prepared from several fish varieties brings good luck. The evil eye is a belief that the Envy elicited by the good Luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune The evil eye is a belief that the Envy elicited by the good Luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune In the Bible, fish are symbolic of fertility: In Genesis 48:15-16 Jacob blesses Joseph and his sons by saying: "[Jacob] gave Joseph a blessing. Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; Joseph or Yosef (יוֹסֵ Standard Yosef Tiberian Yôsēp̄, يوسف Yusuf; "He He said, 'The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, is the God who has been my Shepherd from as far back as I can remember until this day, [sending] an angel to deliver me from all evil. May He bless the lads, and let them carry my name, along with the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. May they increase in the land like fish. ' " [4]

Fish is parve, neither milk nor meat, and may be eaten at both meat and dairy meals (although some Orthodox Jews avoid eating fish and meat on the same plate). See also Kashrut Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of Jewish religion

See also

• Jewish cuisine
• Quenelle
• Kamaboko
• Fish ball

References

1. ^ Marks, Gil. Jewish cuisine is a collection of international Cookery traditions linked by Jewish Dietary laws ( Kashrus) and Jewish holiday traditions A quenelle is mixture of creamed fish chicken or meat sometimes combined with breadcrumbs with a light egg binding It is usually poached. is a variety of Japanese processed Seafood products called Surimi, in which various White fish are pureed formed into distinctive loaves and then steamed Fish balls are a commonly cooked food in Southern China and Overseas Chinese communities Something's fishy in the State of Israel, Orthodox Union website. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA more popularly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU, is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish Accessed March 30, 2006.
2. ^ Blech, Rabbi Zushe. The Fortunes of a Fish, Kashrut. com website. Accessed March 30, 2006.
3. ^ Shulman, Adi and Israel, Shoshana. The gefilte story, SomethingJewish website, June 25, 2004. Accessed March 30, 2006
4. ^ Blech, Rabbi Zushe. Fishing for Answers, Kashrus Magazine, February 2001. Accessed March 30, 2006.

External links

• Triple Layer Gefilte Fish Recipe
• Recipes for Gefilte fish
• Recipe for Gefilte "Fish," Vegetarian (P, KLP)
• What is gefilte fish? from chabad.org
• Dora's Gefilte Fish Recipe from Molly Goldberg Cookbook