Speaking For The Trees On Tu B'shvat 🌲🌲🌳🌳

I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.

Thus insinuated the Lorax in Dr. Seuss’s 1971 fable pitting nature and the environment against corporate greed.

🌲Tu B’Shvat: The New Year For The Trees

Today is the Jewish festival of Tu B’shvat. It is considered ראש השנה לאילנות, the New Year for Trees. As a child, I understood it to be a day of planting trees, both in Israel and the United States. As a parent, it is a day when my kids and I talk about the mission of Tree People, the local non-profit organization devoted to taking responsibility for our urban environment and educating children and adults in sustainability principles. I think of it as the antidote to the Once-ler character in The Lorax.

Tu B’shvat’s significance extends beyond trees.

🌲Celebrating The Deeper Significance Of Tu B’Shvat

Tu B’shvat can be understood on both a physical and spiritual/metaphysical level. On a physical level, the festival celebrates the first flowering of the spring fruits, the beginning of the fruit-bearing season, when the trees awaken from their winter dormancy. On the spiritual/metaphysical level, the festival compels us to recognize the world that God has given us by demonstrating an appreciation for nature, ecology and the environment, both in Israel and around the planet.

The Torah elucidates a basic ethical principle, בל תשחית (bal tashchit), which warns us not to engage in wasteful acts like destroying or wasting edible fruit or the trees they come from. It applies more broadly to wasting energy and water, wantonly destroying natural resources and throwing away clothing.

Overeating and throwing away edible food, common outcomes of the Western diet, are also a transgression of this principle. Shockingly, a 2011 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization study, “Global Food Losses and Food Waste”, found that “roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year—approximately 1.3 billion tons—gets lost or wasted.”

That is a lot of food.

But shifting this mindset starts at home, one step at a time.

🌲What Does It Mean To Live A Consciously Kosher Lifestyle?

On Tu B’shvat, it is appropriate to consider what it means to live a consciously kosher lifestyle. As this blog often suggests, it is more than just eating healthy food.

It encompasses:

• Maximizing the quality and nutritional impact of what we put into our bodies

• Minimizing food waste

• Reducing what we throw away overall

• Consuming less and making more

• Eating only what we need

• Treating our bodies with respect

• Being mindful of and respecting the resources that we take from the planet

• Nourishing our souls

• Considering that just because the label says it’s kosher, doesn’t mean that it is healthy

🌲Tu B’shvat Food Customs

In keeping with the concept of the first fruits, we partake of the fruits of the “7 Species” for which the Land of Israel is praised: olives, dates, grapes, figs and pomegranates (Deuteronomy 8:8). Additionally, there is a custom to eat almonds and carobs on this day. This custom even extends to eating a fruit that you have not yet eaten this season.

🌲How Can We Be Better Stewards Of Our Planet?

On Tu B’shvat, take the time to consider how we can be better stewards of our planet, our neighborhood, our natural resources – and our own bodies – within the framework of Jewish values.

Let’s do the work now so that we may never need to have the conversation with our kids that the Once-ler had with the little boy at the end of The Lorax:

“You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends, may come back.”

The Colorful History Of The Chanukah Latke

Are Jewish Traditions Immutable?

We often think of our Jewish holiday traditions as immutable. For instance, on Pesach, we eat brisket and matzo ball soup. On Rosh Hashanah, we eat pomegranates, apples and honey. And on Chanukah, we eat potato latkes and sufganiyot. These are the experiential and culinary representations of our festivals. We assume that they are part and parcel of the holiday, existing alongside the actual halachot (the religious rules that govern how we observe the festivals). As Tevye sings in Fiddler on the Roof, “Tradition!” 

The reality, however, is that our culinary traditions have evolved over time and continue to do so. And few have evolved more than the Chanukah latke. Of course, the purpose of frying latkes is to commemorate the miracle of that last vial of oil that miraculously lasted for eight days. But how we got to our modern potato latke tradition is fascinating.

The Story of Judith: The Prehistory Of The Latke

The concept of the latke originated with the Apocryphal story of the prophetess Judith. Likely hundreds of years before the Hasmonean era, Judith fed cheese pancakes to an invading Syrian-Greek general, Holofernes, then got him drunk and cut his head off. This story infers a tenuous connection to Chanukah at best, with Jewish sources in the Middle Ages suggesting that Judith was related to Judah Maccabee.

Ricotta Cheese Pancakes: The OG Latke

The 14th-century Rabbi Kalonymous ben Kalonymous, who became well-known in Italy, associated cheese pancakes as a Chanukah food in one of his poems, possibly connecting it to the story of Judith.

Inspired by this connection, the latke really took off as a ricotta cheese pancake called cassola. Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Expulsion in Sicily brought cassola to Rome in 1492. These cheese pancakes were be fried in olive oil, in commemoration of the miracle of the oil used to light the menorah in the Temple.

Buckwheat: A Northern European Tradition

This ricotta cheese custom also reached Northern Europe. However, due to dairy’s scarcity and expense and olive oil’s lack of availability, the locals often substituted buckwheat or rye to make their latkes. Buckwheat latkes (known in Poland as “gretchenes") were made of buckwheat flour mixed with water, yeast and onions. They were fried with copious amounts of goose schmaltz. Why goose schmaltz? Geese were plentiful in Northern Europe in the wintertime and their slaughter provided copious amounts of cooking fat. Additionally, due to the Torah prohibition of mixing milk and meat, ricotta cheese could not be used with the schmaltz.

Potatoes: The Modern Latke

Crop failures in 1839 and 1840 in Poland and Ukraine led to the potato overtaking buckwheat and cheese as the latke ingredient of choice for Chanukah pancakes. It wasn’t until the early 20th century, though, that the modern potato latke really became established with its own firm tradition. Potatoes are cheap, easy to grow and quite tasty.

However, from a health standpoint, potato latkes are problematic for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are deep-fried in vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is high in Omega-6 fatty acids and thus inflammatory, while frying also makes the foods higher in calories. Secondly, white potatoes are predominantly made from simple starch with minimal nutritional value. Finally, latke recipes often use bleached white flour to help bind the other ingredients together. These factors, coupled with the toppings that often accompany latkes, such as sour cream and jam, results in a very high glycemic index food that does few favors for your health.

Sweet Potatoes: The Latke Of The 21st Century

A better solution is to use sweet potatoes and to bake the latkes rather than fry them.

Why sweet potatoes? Unlike regular tubers, sweet potatoes are high in vitamins A and C, iron, potassium and fiber. They are also a very reliable source of complex carbohydrates, ranking these vegetables low on the glycemic index.

Why baked? Baking preserves nutrients and spares your body from the advanced glycation end products of deep frying starches. Deep frying in partially hydrogenated oil causes inflammation. And heating oils at high temperatures causes them to oxidize, potentially causing many serious medical problems.

What Are The Nutritional Benefits Of Using Sweet Potatoes?

Each variety of sweet potato provides different nutritional benefits:

• Orange sweet potatoes contain copious amounts of beta-carotene, which our bodies metabolize into vitamin A.

• The Stokes Purple variety is very high in antioxidants, specifically anthocyanin.

• The white Hannah variety contains iron and also has the closest texture to a traditional white potato.

• The Japanese variety contains calcium and thiamine and is denser and starchier than the orange variety.

A Fun Sweet Potato Latke Recipe

Last Chanukah, we cooked up a fabulous-tasting latke recipe that I learned from Canadian food blogger Meghan Telpner, whose culinary course I took in 2016. The recipe uses sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots and onions, with almond flour and eggs to hold it together. It is gluten-free and dairy-free and can easily be made paleo (depending on the flour) or vegan (by substituting chia for the eggs).

We had fun with this recipe and used three different varieties of sweet potatoes (Hannah, Japanese and Stokes Purple) and two different varieties of zucchini (Green and Gold Bar). All the vivid colors made it an engaging recipe for the kids.

While these latkes are obviously not fried in oil, we maintained the connection to the miracle of the oil by basting them with olive oil before baking. This had the added benefit of locking in moisture so we had a crispy outside and soft inside.

Another option is buckwheat latkes. Buckwheat is an entirely different experience from potatoes – earthy and satisfying but not sweet. That is a project for us to try again next year.

Parting Thoughts On The Latke

The latke has a very long and colorful history. Far from being bound to an unchanging culinary tradition, Chanukah foods are constantly evolving alongside the nutritional needs of the community and the availability of the raw materials.

Rather than viewing sweet potatoes as a radical departure from the traditional latke, this is just another delicious iteration in the ever-evolving history of the latke.

What new or unique ingredients have you used in your latkes this year or in years past? Please share in the comments below!

Happy Chanukah!

The Secret History of the Etrog (aka Citron)

“To everything there is a season. And a time for every purpose under heaven.”

— Ecclesiastes

Last week was the Jewish festival of Sukkot, a very joyous time of year on the Jewish calendar. The holiday commemorates the protection that G-d provided the Children of Israel in the desert when we left Egypt. Sukkot is also the celebration of the fall harvest.

One of the many visible symbols of the Sukkot festival is the etrog. It is ceremonially waved along with the lulav (palm frond), myrtle twigs and willow twigs. You probably know the etrog by its English name, the citron.

What Is An Etrog?

Etrog slices with rind, pulp and seeds

The etrog is a strange-looking fruit. It resembles a bumpy lemon. I always assumed that it was an off-shoot of the lemon. In fact, the lemon and lime genetically derive from the etrog. The fruit has very little pulp and is mostly thick rind with aromatic skin and lots of seeds. In ancient cultures, those seeds symbolized fertility.

Where Did This Quirky Fruit Come From?

The etrog originated in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan. It then traveled to northeastern India, where it became incorporated into Ayurvedic medicine. Given its strong history of medicinal uses, the etrog may even be considered a superfood. It eventually spread to the Persian Empire and the Mediterranean region once Darius I conquered India.

The most commonly used Etrog comes from Calabria, Italy. It is one of the three major exporters of etrogs, along with Israel and Morocco. In order to remain kosher for the holiday, they cannot be grafted onto other hardier citrus trees. Ironically, that preference for purity means that there has been very little cross-breeding for hundreds of years, so the etrog of today may truly be an ancient fruit.

What Do You Do With An Etrog?

The etrog is very unlike most other fruits: it does not spoil; rather, it shrivels over time. And there is precious little juice. So culinary options are limited.

After we are done with using it for the Sukkot holiday, my wife makes a tasty jam. Some people in our community make etrog liquor. The fruit’s aroma is really quite lovely, regardless of how it’s used.

Wait, What? Meet The Buddha’s Hand Citron

A close cousin of the etrog is the Buddha’s Hand citron. We encountered this at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market last week. This strange-looking exotic fruit resembles a very lumpy lemon with fingers. Or a squid made out of yellow rind. It is downright weird. It looks so darn cool that my kids keep nagging me to buy one!

What Is This Creepy-Looking Fruit?

The Buddha’s Hand is a hybrid of the etrog (citron) that originated in the Yangtze Valley of China. In Chinese and Japanese culture, it symbolizes happiness, wealth and longevity.

What Do You Do With A Buddha’s Hand Citron?

You can throw it in your laundry machine. The lavender-like aroma is so alluring that the ancient Chinese used to wash their clothes with the fruit. You could use it as citrus zest. Or you could cut it up in small pieces and fry it. Either way, the fragrance apparently can’t be beat.

What’s the weirdest fruit that you’ve ever encountered? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Rosh Hashanah: A Taste of Honey

“A taste of honey, tasting much sweeter than wine…”

So goes a classic song from 1961, later covered by the Beatles.

Indeed, honey is a gustatory and sensory experience most powerfully perceived during Rosh Hashanah, as we dip apples in honey, swaddle our bread in honey and serve pastries made with honey.

Why Do We Dip Apples In Honey On Rosh Hashanah?

One of the most pervasive customs around Rosh Hashanah is eating apples with honey. Apples are symbolic of the Garden of Eden and represent the sweet year that we hope to have. Honey symbolizes the sweetness of life and encapsulates our hopes for the new year. It is also a reminder of one of the Biblical attributes of the Land of Israel, a land “flowing with milk and honey.”

But ancient honey was very different from the commercial honey that we consume nowadays. A good-quality raw honey contains an abundance of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidant polyphenols, pollen, enzymes and probiotic bacteria such as acidophilus. Raw honey is a very rich food!

What Is Wrong With Most Commercial Honey?

By contrast, honey that has been processed is much less nutritious than raw honey. Pasteurization extends shelf life, while filtration removes debris and air bubbles so the honey looks smoother. The heat treatment reduces the viscosity and make it easier to pour. It also destroys the beneficial enzymes and reduces the antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Some honeys undergo an additional ultrafiltration step that removes pollen, enzymes and antioxidants. What is left is nutritionally sterile: refined sugar in liquid form. Additionally, it’s very likely that the fields that the bees pollinate have been sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals.

As if the sterilization and filtration are not enough, honey is often adulterated with glucose, high-fructose corn syrup or starch to make it cheaper. This particularly applies to honey imported from China. Since there is no reliable regulatory body safeguarding consumers from adulterated versions, I suggest avoiding cheap commercial honey altogether.

Where Can Trustworthy Honey Be Found?

How does a consumer know that the honey is real? Buying raw local honey from actual beekeepers at farmer’s markets is one way to ensure you are getting real honey. Real unadulterated honey should contain the producer’s name and information on the product label. It should say “raw” and “unpasteurized” on the package. And it should be local, if possible. Short of buying it from a local vendor, trustworthy brands can be found at Whole Foods, Amazon or Costco. We buy our raw honey from Costco (the Kirkland brand) and YS Eco Bee Farms Raw Honey from Amazon.

Why Do We Eat Apples On Rosh Hashanah?

Along with honey, apples are highly coveted during Rosh Hashanah. The custom to eat apples on this holiday may have begun in the Middle Ages, when apples became more widely cultivated.

But seasonality also plays a strong role in the apple being a Rosh Hashanah fruit: Popular apple varieties such as Fuji, Gala, McIntosh and Honeycrisp are first harvested during September.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Apples?

In addition to the religious symbolism and seasonality, why are apples held in such esteem in our culture’s health consciousness? Apples are full of fiber, vitamin C and certain anti-oxidants, which makes them not only the perfect holiday fruit but also the perfect antidote to other not-so-savory food cravings at this time of year. As the ancient aphorism states, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”.

Not surprisingly, modern nutritional science is increasingly backing this up. According to Cornell University biochemist T. Colin Campbell, “it is now clear that there are hundreds, if not thousands of chemicals in apples, each of which in turn may affect thousands of reactions and metabolic systems. This enormous number and concentration of vitamin-C like chemicals in apples poses a serious challenge to the notion that a single chemical – vitamin C or anything else – is responsible for the major health-giving properties of apples.” This supports the contention that the whole food in its natural state is always more potent than any of its individual components.

Why Buy Organic?

Before you go shopping for your Rosh Hashanah apples, consider buying organic. Conventional apples are doused with a heavy amount of synthetic pesticides (ranking fifth on the EWG’s list of most contaminated fruits and vegetables). But if you can’t buy organic, then you can clean the apples with a mixture of baking soda (1 tsp) and water (2 cups). This hopefully removes more of the pesticide residue than simply rinsing with water.

Have a sweet and consciously kosher New Year! Shana Tova u’Metuka!

The Seven Species: Grapes

Grapes on a grapevine in Tzfat, Israel (2004).

It often takes a visit to a foreign country to seek to understand the daily routines we inhabit, the choices we make and the outcomes that we take for granted.

In our daily hustle and bustle, in our quest to become efficient, organized and timely, we neglect aspects of our lives to which we have become habituated, desensitized and detached. The specific area to which I refer is meals, where detachment is a part daily life.

For instance, when you stand to recite that Friday night blessing over the wine –

“Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

– are you mindful of what you are drinking? Have you thought about the farm where the grapes were planted, grown, nourished, harvested, prepared and bottled; the quality of the soil and the type of irrigation used; the identity of the sommeliers who have overseen the cultivars that we take for granted as brand-name wines? Have you thought about what the “fruit of the vine” actually looks like?

When you purchased that bottle from your local market, you probably had no idea where it came from. And, beyond checking that you recognized the brand name or the grape varietal, you probably never cared. Western culture is obsessed with turning everything into a brand name. Wine and grape juice are not immune from this game of convenience.

But behind every wine brand is a vineyard with juicy, ripe grapes.

I visited Israel in August for my best friend’s wedding. Afterward, while traveling in the northern region of the country, I visited two organic farms and a hydroponics greenhouse. One crop I saw a lot of was grapevines.

The Amphorae Winery in the Carmel Valley, Israel

At the base of the Carmel ridge in the Makura Farm is the Amphorae Winery, often cited as the most beautiful winery in Israel and visually reminiscent of Bordeaux or Tuscany.

The Amphorae Winery in the Carmel Valley, Israel

I experienced a sense of wonder in exploring these vineyards: the famous and familiar names of the grape varietals juxtaposed against the unfamiliar vines themselves. It’s rather remarkable to walk a vineyard and recognize the names – Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz and Petit Verdot – while seeing the actual grapes and the shapes of their leaves for the very first time. I got to place a visual on the plant-based origin of the wines that I’d been drinking for decades. I realized for the first time that these were more than just brand names or regions printed on a bottle. Unless you are knowledgeable about wines, it’s just not something that naturally springs to mind.

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Cabernet Sauvignon

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Sauvignon Blanc

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Chardonnet

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Merlot

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Cabernet Franc

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Shiraz

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Petit Verdot

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Michael with Cabernet Franc

And now, when saying the blessing over the wine, I can visualize those grapevines blowing in the warm coastal breeze, the shape, texture, color and flavor of the grapes, the gently rolling hillsides that channel Tuscany.

* For the purposes of this blog, Amphorae Winery is unfortunately not certified kosher; hence I was unable to taste the wine. However, the agricultural aspect of this organic farm was undeniably top-notch.