It can be
said that not all cuisines are exclusively rooted from their country of origin.
For example, during World War II in the
late 40’s, many people migrated to Latin America to flee Jewish persecution thus,
taking with them their cultural practices including dietary influences to their
new home land including “Argentina, Cuba, Peru, Panama, and Uruguay- and
finally heading north for the U.S. in the next generation”(Schmidt, 2013). Alex
Schmidt, the author of “Cooking in a Latin-Jewish Melting Pot” explains that
being from Mexican and European- Jewish decent, most of his meals incorporated the
integration foods and flavors from both cultures. He also states that it was
not until he was grown that he pondered on the mixing of his traditions.
Schmidt quotes “Our time in Latin America- or wherever Jews happened to alight-
sometimes constrained our diets, but also pushed us to be creative with the new
ingredients at hand.”
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| Saffron-matzo ball soup. Saffron is used in many Spanish dishes, and Matzo balls are used in traditional Jewish meals. |
Works Cited
Schmidt, Alex. "Cooking In A Latin-Jewish Melting Pot." NPR. NPR, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
Your post was very exciting to read! I have to say, I am very surprised that Spanish flavors diffused from the Jews. My dad has tried Jewish food and has told me that it tastes similar to Spanish food. I, myself enjoy cooking with saffron. My mother and I have cooked saffron rice with saffron threads. In the future I will cook meals from the Spanish and Jewish culture and compare the flavors to find the similarities.
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