By BEN HARRIS NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Like many small business owners, Ian Yosef Hertzmark’s small flour operation saw a precipitous drop when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in March. Almost overnight, Hertzmark’s Migrash Farm, which produces certified kosher flour from grain grown in the Chesapeake Bay region, lost virtually his entire wholesale business after local restaurants […]

By EMANUELLE LEE (The Nosher via JTA) – Charoset is one of the most important food components of the Passover seder. Its intense sweetness symbolizes the optimism in contrast to the bitter maror and salty water, which remind us of our ancestors’ suffering. Every family has its own special charoset recipe, and each year my mother makes ours, which is […]

(JNS) – Butchers in the United Kingdom are hustling to meet an unprecedented demand for kosher meat in light of the many canceled Passover trips due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Jewish News reported. Sarah Mann Yeager from the British company Louis Mann & Son said local butchers are “already stretched to capacity on Passover.” She estimates a 20 percent increase […]

BY EMILY PASTER This story originally appeared on The Nosher. On Passover, Jews are prohibited from consuming any foods made with five familiar grains: wheat, oats, rye, spelt (which is actually just an ancient form of wheat) and barley. These grains are considered chametz because of their ability to ferment and rise. The only exception to this rule is, of […]

By PHILISSA CRAMER NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Few people have any great solutions for this difficult moment in human history, but Sudeep Agarwala is one of them. As a yeast scientist, Agarwala spends much of his time thinking about the single-celled fungi that allow bread to rise. So when he learned that home bakers had bought out the world’s […]

By ETHEL G. HOFMAN (JNS) – Purim is quite a holiday. During the chanting of the megillah, the noise level can be deafening. Young and old shout aloud—hissing, pounding tables, stamping feet, whirling groggers and boo-ing when Haman is mentioned, behavior never permitted in synagogue on any other day. The riotous celebration marks the triumph of Persian Jews over their nefarious […]

SCHENECTADY–Congregation Gates of Heaven invites the public to a two-part introduction to the Shmaltz Brewing Company. A community beer tasting is slated for Saturday, March 14,  at the temple,  852 Ashmore Ave., Schenectady from 4 to 6 p.m. The next day, March 15, a breakfast discussion with its founder Jeremy Cowan will be featured by the congregation’s brotherhood at its […]

SCHENECTADY–Each January Congregation Gates of Heaven commemorates the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an annual community Shabbat event, which will be held this year on Friday, Jan. 24, at the temple, 852 Ashmore Ave., Schenectady. Prof. Sarah Rogerson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at Albany Law School will be the guest speaker. The […]

By LAURA E. ADKINS NEW YORK CITY (JTA)  – Eight unassuming gourmet latkes have become the latest controversy on Jewish Twitter. A recent holiday issue of Food & Wine magazine featured a piece titled “8 Ways to Make the Best Potato Latkes of Your Life.” The problem? Two of those luxe latkes featured decidedly non-kosher toppings. One latke calls for […]

To celebrate the miraculous Maccabee victory, Boys Town Jerusalem Chef Avi Chamal recommends this golden semolina cake. Native to the Middle East (and Greece), this cake is moist, easy to prepare, and truly delectable. The school’s 950 students anxiously await this very special dessert to highlight the festive Chanukah meal. Israeli born Avi Chamal has headed the Boys Town Jerusalem […]