Content provided in partnership with

Global Passover

Oakland Tribune, Apr 5, 2006 by Jolene Thym, FOOD WRITER

BITTER HERBS. Unleavened bread. Charoset. Meat. The elements of the traditional Seder dinner that will be served the first night of Passover never change.

Tradition dictates each bite of the meal -- every food on the plate is an invitation to remember and to celebrate a specific moment of history that is shared by Jewish people all over the world.

Still, here in the Bay Area, home to Jews from all over the world, there are questions. Parsley or celery? Dates or apples? Juice or wine? Chicken or lamb? Rice or potatoes? How there could be so many variables in a meal that has been served for 2,000 years is no mystery to local Jews.

Most Popular Articles in News: The Ten Best Laptop bags; Tata plans cheapest-ever car for Indian market; GLOBALIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF THE THIRD WORLD; Corn is good for you; Corn is not only a tasty treat, but also a cereal that ...; THE 50 BEST STYLISH HANDBAGS TO CARRY; More »

"Of course it is different. Everyone does it their way," says Rmy Pessah of Mountain View, a member of Jimena, a San Francisco group that promotes peace by building relationshipsa San Francisco group that promotes peace by building relationships between Jews from countries all over the Middle East and North Africa.

"How you celebrate depends on your history," Pessah says. Pessah's Passover feast will be distinctly Egyptian, reflecting the flavors of the country where she grew up. Pessah will serve barbecued lamb, fresh fava beans, okra soup and chicken with Swiss chard.

Other Bay Area Jews will serve Passover feasts with their own unique twists -- featuring the foods and spices of Yemen, of Iran, of Iraq, of Tunisia, Libya, Russia, Italy and dozens of other countries that have, at some time in history, been home to communities of Jews.

No matter the cuisine, next week kicks off a cooking marathon for many Jews, mainly because the Passover celebration includes so many dietary laws that cooking is a necessity, explains Susan Sasson of Orinda.

"All of the quick foods you would normally eat are out -- you can't have pizza or sandwiches or fast food," she says. "If you don't prepare foods, you get pretty hungry by the end of the week."

Taste of tradition

Although each sect of Judaism -- Sephardic, Mizrahi, Karaite, Ashkenazi -- has different laws, many of those dietary laws are similar. During Passover, Jews are to eat no leavened bread, which means no breads or pastries that have been made with yeast or other leaveners.

Some Jews are not allowed during Passover week to eat anything that has been fermented, which includes wine, vinegar, yogurt, cheese, chocolate, even soy sauce. These, it should be noted, are just a few of the many complex dietary rules that are added to such year-round dietary laws that forbid shellfish, pork, dairy with meat and many other foods and food combinations.

Some of the dietary laws vary wildly from sect to sect. For example, some Jews are allowed to eat rice and dry beans during Passover, some are not.

"I was raised in a family that did not eat rice," Sasson says, "but when I got married, the Rabbi told me that I was to take the laws of my husband, so now I eat rice."

To make sure every one of her children and grandchildren eat well during the festive Passover week, Sasson's mother-in-law, Frances Nouromid, will spend hours chopping, grinding, stewing and roasting. She will make most of the Seder and Passover feast for her four sons and their families, which includes 12 grandchildren. She will also make several other family meals during the week.

"During Passover, there will be no foods from a package or box ... not from the store ... and not even pre-ground spices or salt," Nouromid says. "We will make everything that we use. When I grew up, my mother even made the flour."

Dinners don't need to be complex, but because no bread will be eaten all week, Nouromid will serve rice at every meal, always with a saucy topping or two. Favorites include celery mixed with meat; parsley, lemon and tomato tossed with green beans; and chicken with walnut and plums.

Home cooking

Last week, when we visited Nouromid's Orinda kitchen to secure some of her recipes, Nouromid acknowledged even though Passover means lots of work, she looks forward to it every year.

"I am 73 and I spend most of my time in the kitchen. I come from a time when the tradition is you get married, you cook. I cook for every Shabbat (sabbath.) Everyone comes. This is about the family together."

The Passover feast, she adds, is especially fun. It begins at 5:30 p.m., as family members gather around a table set with a special Seder platter that contains all of the symbolic foods. Additional helpings of each food are set on the table for passing.

The dinner continues for about five hours, during which there are many prayers, readings from the Haggadah, and bites of food that range from bitter morsels of horseradish to sweet spoonfuls of banana-flavored haroset.

"Everyone gets a long green onion that reminds them of the whips the Egyptians used on the Jews when they were slaves," Sasson says. "The children will make sure they give everyone at the table a slap." Sasson's sisters-in-law nod at Sasson's descriptions and laughs.

Memories of spending hours around the Seder table as a child, playing games and enjoying family, are also precious to Doris Keren- Gill of Cupertino, a Mizrahi Jew who grew up in Libya.

Global Passover

Oakland Tribune, Apr 5, 2006 by Jolene Thym, FOOD WRITER

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Business

Most Popular Articles in News

Most Popular Publications in News