Why This Cookbook?
For a start, the recipes in The Sephardic Heritage Cookbook are clear, practical, and “cookable,” and many have color photographs accompanying them. These features were important for the students, most of whom had limited prior experience with cooking and baking. Those who did have some cooking experience noted that they had learned from parents or grandparents first-hand, in the kitchen, or by getting recipes from online sources, such as from food blogs, New York Times Cooking, or Instagram. None of the students reported experience with cooking from printed cookbooks or in the absence of photographs to show how the finished products should look!
Contributors prefaced many recipes with anecdotes that gave The Sephardic Heritage Cookbook cultural and historical depth. Some anecdotes explained holidays or customs associated with specific dishes, such as Gondi (Persian meatballs made for the Sabbath), or leek patties with matzoh, made for Passover (as in a recipe from Rhodes, in what is now Greece). Such information was helpful information for most of the students who had limited prior knowledge of Jewish culture broadly or Sephardic culture more specifically. Other anecdotes relayed stories about the parents and grandparents who used to make or enjoy the dishes – as in a recipe for “Cahk” or Kahk, which is a biscuit akin to a pretzel, common to Egypt and other eastern Mediterranean countries. These familial insights made the cookbook very relatable to the students, who came from diverse cultural backgrounds themselves.