Description: Kugel is a famous Jewish dish, made especially by the
Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. Evidence exists that the dish was
made over 800 years ago, though it has gradually been modified and
improved upon over time. Many are used to thinking of kugel as a
dessert, and you will certainly find lots of kugel dessert styles. It
can also be made as a savory side dish or entrée.
Early kugel would have been savory, since sugar didn’t make its way to
Europe, especially not for those who weren’t of the nobility, until
the 1600s. The early kugel, like many foods at the time, was
essentially a baked pudding, bearing some resemblance to a savory
bread pudding. German Jews in the 1200s began adding noodles, eggs,
cheese and/or milk to the dish, creating a delicious creamy casserole.
The base of the kugel might use potatoes or matzo flour instead of
noodles. In order to add extra flavor to the dish, kugel might include
vegetables of all types, and onions. Kugel casseroles would not have
contained meat, since mixing meat with milk and eggs was not Kosher.
In the 1600s sugar inspired many cooks to develop sweet kugel. Here
you might simply have a dish of baked noodles in cream or egg topped
with a little bit of sugar. Eventually, fruit, especially raisins,
were common additions to sweet kugel. Sweet kugel is still more
popular today than its savory older relation, and may be baked in
round pans, or more commonly in standard rectangular baking dishes. It
is very popular not only among people of Eastern European and Germanic
descent, but also among those in America who were lucky enough to grow
up near a good Jewish bakery or restaurant.
In taste, sweet kugel is similar to bread pudding, and many find it
comparable to a variety of the baked puddings made by the English,
like spotted dick. There are a number of Internet recipes to try, as
well as fantastic recipes in many Jewish and in German cookbooks. If
you’re traveling you’ll find kugel in most of Eastern Europe.
In some Jewish sects, kugel is thought to be lucky and/or to confer
spiritual blessings. This is specifically the case in the Hasidic
Jewish tradition, especially when a Rabbi offers the kugel. To many
others, kugel merely speaks of ultimate comfort food, and few
celebratory meals would be complete without it.
