Mahlzeit!: German-Jewish Leckerbissen in LBI Collections

Matzoh ball soup — Southern German cuisine has a penchant for *Knödel* or *Klösse*, a type of dumpling often made with flour. German-Jewish cookbook authors like Rebekka Wolf designed recipes that could be eaten in kosher homes including special recipes for Passover. These *Knödel* recipes used potatoes or matzo in place of flour. Pictured here is a matzo ball soup from the famous Russ and Daughters Deli in New York.

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Henny van Cleef. Die israelitische Küche — The cover of Henny van Cleef's *Die israelitische Küche*, which was first published in the late 19th century. LBI Library, r 1067.

Students in a kitchen at Werkdorp Wieringermeer Netherlands — Students working in the kitchen at Werkdorp Nieuwesluis, Wieringermeer, North Holland, a farm founded in 1934 which trained refugees of varying ages and vocations in agricultural work as well as construction, the raising of cattle and poultry, domestic work, gardening, cabinetry, and other practical work. LBI Archives, Gertrude Van Tijn Collection, AR 3477, F 19576.

The recipe book of Anni Buff — This handwritten recipe book of Anni Buff, a Jewish woman who lived in Krumbach, Germany, is from 1938 and includes recipes for traditional Bavarian dishes such as liver dumplings, Christmas Stollen, and cottage cheese doughnuts, outweighing traditional Jewish recipes. LBI Archives, AR 11284.

A "Kaffeetante," is a woman who likes to drink coffee - closely associated with the beloved German custom of afternoon coffee and cake. This playful ceramic was not necessarily mass-manufactured, but may have been produced on commission by the family. LBI Archives, Johanna Meyer-Lövinson Collection, AR 299. LBI Art & Objects Collection, 2018.55.

Rebekka wolf: Kochbuch für Israelitische Frauen. 1888 — Rebekka Wolf's *Kochbuch für Israelitische Frauen* ("Cookbook for Jewish Women") was first published in 1851 and was revised and expanded through 14 editions. The last known edition was published in 1933. LBI Library, st 3568.

Johann Christian Eupel's "Vollstaendige Anweisung zur Kunstbaeckerei" — A truly comprehensive confectionery cookbook by Johann Christian Eupel published in 1823. Recipes for tortes, pastries, puddings, flummery, casseroles (many made with fruit), jellies, preserves, juices, marmalades, macaroons, marzipan, biscuits, pretzels, waffles, lebkuchen, gingerbread, fruit ice cream, punch and wine ice cream (Rahm-Gefrornes, Saft-Gefrornes, Punsch- und Wein-Gefrornes), hot chocolate, coffee, tea, syllabub, fruit wines, lemonades, punch, vinegar, and vegetable preserves. The last chapter discusses "washing, dyes, [and] stain removal" and has special sections on how to clean mirrors and "give the shine back to worn window glass." LBI Library, r 551.

The cover of Die wirthschaftliche israelitische Köchin, oder: neuestes geprüftes und vollständiges Kochbuch — The cover of *Die wirthschaftliche israelitische Köchin.* 2nd ed. Fünfkirchen [Pécs, Hungary] : Druck und Verlag von Jakob Schön, 1873. The cookbook is attributed to Julie Löv. LBI Library, r TX 724 W5.

Handwritten war recipes — Recipes written by hand on the blank leaves of a published cookbook by Elise Hannemann. The manuscript recipes, dated 1916, are for World War I dishes like “Kriegs-Citronencrême ("war lemon cream") and "Kriegs-Kartoffelpudding," ("war potato-pudding") Elise Hannemann. Donated with the Moritz and Emma Czarnikow Family Collection, AR 25123. LBI Library, st 13135.

Food is one of the most important aspects of culture. Many a journey, and a good bit of global trade, was launched in search of new flavors. For displaced, uprooted, or simply homesick German-speaking Jews, familiar foods provided a comfort and connection to home that is second perhaps only to language.

Henriette Davidis' *Praktisches Kochbuch für die Deutschen in Amerika*. Milwaukee, Wis. : Georg Brumder's Verlag, [1879]. LBI Library, st 10808

Major segments of LBI’s archival and library collections consist of those materials that Jewish refugees managed to spirit out of Europe in the 1930s. Many of them managed to find room for cherished cookbooks in their overstuffed bags and trunks —from published classics to handwritten recipe books to binders full of clippings and index cards.

As they prepared to digitize a number of important German-Jewish published cookbooks from the late 19th and early 20th century, some LBI librarians and archivists decided to try their hand at cooking some of the delicacies contained within. As the associated webpages documenting their efforts shows, the results were varied, but they often led to interesting conclusions or questions about the culture from which these recipes arose.

A fancy layer cake from the Viennese Café Eclair — The delivery of a fancy layer cake from the legendary Viennese Café Eclair in New York. Many Austrian Jews sought the familiar tastes of their homeland in places like Café Eclair. LBI Photos, F 32923

Cooks in Germany and other German-speaking lands were the first and most prolific publishers of Jewish cookbooks, as seen by the LBI Library's collection of around 100 cookbooks, most of which were published before 1945. The majority of cookbooks in LBI Library's collection were published for Jewish kitchens, with a handful of general Austrian and German cookbooks, including German-language cookbooks published for immigrants in places like America and Palestine. The recipes of German-Jewish cookbooks are often similar to those published in the same regions; Jewish cookbooks, however, have the added challenge of providing cuisine that is not only tasty and economical but also designed for Jewish dietary restrictions.

The earliest known published Jewish cookbook, Kochbuch für Israeliten (Karlsruhe, 1815), was by Joseph Stolz, the Christian cook at the court of the Grand Duke of Baden. (Unfortunately, this book is not part of the LBI Library's collection). Stolz's book improved upon recipes he learned from Jewish households and was intended in part for Christian households (who were possibly cooking for Jewish guests). Noticeably, Stolz's book does not explain kosher cooking even while providing recipes for making sausage from chicken and veal. With exceptions like Joseph Stolz, most Jewish cookbooks were written by Jewish women. In fact, Jewish cookbooks represent the largest genre of literature written by women and for a female audience.

A Cookbook and Family Heirloom — On the pastedown of one of the editions of the Wolf cookbook, the owner made various notes documenting their family history. Thus, the cookbook becomes an important genealogical record. LBI Library.

Popular 19th century cookbooks such as Rebekka Wolf's Kochbuch für Israelitische Frauen and Bertha Gumprich's Vollständiges praktisches Kochbuch für die jüdische Küche show the change in Jewish religious customs, the growth of secularization and the move toward middle-class. Jewish cookbook author's show the valuable role Jewish women had in shaping the middle class experience and the Jewish experience in the modern world. Cookbooks were in part manuals for running a middle-class home. In addition to recipes for everyday meals, Wolf's cookbook offered menu advice for running fine dinner parties for friends or forJewish holidays. As well as providing Jewish recipes, Lena Kahn's cookbook advised woman on managing household finances, raising children (especially girls) and keeping a happy marriage. Cookbooks like Henny van Cleef's Die israelitische Küche also brought elegant living and gourmet food into middle class homes. Henny van Cleef's cookbook even included a recipe forice cream made of pineapple, a luxury item.

Fanny Wertheimer (Gutmann) and Anna Munz (Endriss), Cooking school friends, c. 1892 — Fanny Wertheimer (Gutmann) and Anna Munz (Endriss), "Jugendfreundinnen in Kochschule" ("Cooking school friends,") c. 1892. LBI Archives, Ernst Wertheimer Collection, AR 3356, F 17840.

Toward the end of the 19th century, cookbook's became larger (like Marie Elsasser's Ausführliches Kochbuch für die einfache und feine jüdische Küche, which had 3759 recipes!) and decoratively bound. It was customary to give cookbooks to brides as gifts.

Germany was influential in the domestic science movement of the 20th century, and Jews were an integral part of that movement. Many cookbooks around the turn of the 20th century were published as manuals to prepare women for household management and to train young women for domestic service. Although it did not contain guidelines for cooking kosher kitchens, Lina Morgenstern's Illustriertes Universal-Kochbuch ("Illustratred Universal Cookbook") was written as an "ausführliches Lehrbuch für Kochschulen und zum Selbstunterricht" ("extensive textbook for cooking schools and for self-study"). The Jüdischer Frauenbund ("Jewish Women's League") offered home economic courses to train young women in household management and aide Eastern European immigrants in becoming domestic servants. The Frauenbund's cookbook showed the growth of Jewish nationalism.

A plated Kaiserschmarrn with jam. — Kasierschmarrn, a delicious and messy pancake dish, is a traditional Austrian dish. (It is not considered a traditional Jewish recipe). Kaiserschmarrn is rumored to be named after Emperor Franz Joseph I, who was very popular among the Austro-Hungarian Jewish community.

After the Holocaust, the German-Jewish diaspora sought to capture the cultural memory of food, cooking and religious tradition through community cookbooks like Recipes Remembered, published by the Sisterhood of Congregation Habonim in 1976. Recipes Remembered includes the German-Jewish recipes remembered by its congregants along with kosher recipes of the 70's and 80's.

Bibliography:

Abusch-Magder, Ruth. "Eating "Out : Food and the Boundaries of Jewish Community and Home in Germany and the United States." Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues, No. 5, Feeding an Identity: Gender, Food, and Survival (Fall, 5763/2002), pp. 53-82 URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40326553

Horowitz, Elliott. "Remembering the Fish and Making a Tsimmes: Jewish Food, Jewish Identity, and Jewish Memory." The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 104, No. 1 (WINTER 2014), pp. 57-79. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43298775

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara. "Cookbooks, Jewish." Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, pp. 200-203. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587504602/GVRL?u=new27191&sid=GVRL&xid=7e856802. Accessed 9 Apr. 2020.

Kirschenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara. "The Kosher Gourmet in the Nineteeth-Century Kitchen." The Journal of Gastronomy. 2 no. 4 (Winter 1986/1987)

Notaker, Henry. A History of Cookbooks : From Kitchen to Page over Seven Centuries. Oakland : University of California Press, 2017. (See pages 233-244 for the chapter on Jewish cookbooks).