Article
Ben-Ur and Hammerman, "What Did Sephardic Jews Eat?" (first page only).pdf
Food & History
(2019)
Abstract
This article questions whether “Sephardic” is a useful category of analysis for Food Studies, and whether the best-known literature about Sephardic food is historically reliable. The authors look to two bookends in so-called Sephardic history—the Iberian persecutions and exiles of Jewish communities in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, and the postcolonial exile of Jews from Algeria in the second half of the twentieth century. The authors consider the legacy of olive oil and fish and chips as presumed Jewish foods and the cuisine of Algerian Jews both before and after their exile to France. Instead of assuming natural correlations between ingredients or recipes and Sephardic cultural groups, they argue, historians should examine historically-contingent “associations” between various groups and their cuisine—associations that change over time, overlap with other populations, and vary according to class and region.
Keywords
- Sephardic food,
- Iberian Jews,
- Algerian Jews in France,
- olive oil,
- fish and chips,
- couscous,
- tajine
Disciplines
Publication Date
2019
Citation Information
Aviva Ben-Ur and Jessica Hammerman, “What Did Sephardic Jews Eat? Myth, Memory, and Reality,” Food and History 17:2 (2019), 223-50.