Kugel (
YiddishYiddish is a non-territorial High German language of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world...
: קוגל
kugl or קוגעל, pronounced either
koogel or
kigel, as was pronounced in
GaliciaGalicia is a historical region in East-Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after the Ukraіniаn city of Halych. The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk.-Tribal area:The region has a turbulent...
) is any one of a wide variety of traditional baked
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish side dishes consisting of ground or processed vegetables, fruit, or other starches combined with a thickening agent (such as oil, egg, or flour). It is sometimes translated as "
puddingPudding most often refers to a dessert, but can also refer to a savory dish in some dialects.In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, pudding refers to rich, fairly homogeneous starch- or dairy-based desserts , or, informally, is used to refer to any dessert...
" or "
casseroleA casserole, from the French for "saucepan," is a large, deep pot used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a "casserole dish"...
".
Kugels may be sweet or savory.
Kugel (
YiddishYiddish is a non-territorial High German language of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world...
: קוגל
kugl or קוגעל, pronounced either
koogel or
kigel, as was pronounced in
GaliciaGalicia is a historical region in East-Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after the Ukraіniаn city of Halych. The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk.-Tribal area:The region has a turbulent...
) is any one of a wide variety of traditional baked
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish side dishes consisting of ground or processed vegetables, fruit, or other starches combined with a thickening agent (such as oil, egg, or flour). It is sometimes translated as "
puddingPudding most often refers to a dessert, but can also refer to a savory dish in some dialects.In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, pudding refers to rich, fairly homogeneous starch- or dairy-based desserts , or, informally, is used to refer to any dessert...
" or "
casseroleA casserole, from the French for "saucepan," is a large, deep pot used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a "casserole dish"...
".
Kugels may be sweet or savory. The most common types are made from
eggAn egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of any number of different species, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves...
noodleA noodle is food made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid. Depending upon the type, noodles may be dried or refrigerated before cooking. The word noodle derives from the German Nudel and may be related to the Latin word nodus...
s (called
lochshen kugels) or
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food...
es and often contain potatoes, but there are recipes in everyday use in modern Jewish kitchens for a great diversity of kugels made with different vegetables, fruit,
batterBatter is a liquid mixture, usually based on one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or beer. Egg is a common component. Often a leavening agent is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose as well as to...
s,
cheeseCheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into...
, and other flavorings and toppings.
Some modern cooks add a small amount of
baking powderBaking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and North American biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...
. In addition to lightening the dish, the powder's alkaline chemistry breaks down the potatoes and produces a smoother texture while promoting browning.
Germanic origin
The name of the dish comes from the
GermanicGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
root meaning "ball" or "globe" (see :de:Kugel), thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round, puffed-up shape of the original dishes (compare to German
GugelhupfA Gugelhupf or Kugelhupf is a southern German, Austrian, Swiss and Alsatian term for a type of cake. As with the Jewish dish kugel, the name "Gugelhupf" is related to the Middle High German word Kugel meaning "ball" or "globe"...
— a type of ring-shaped cake), however nowadays kugels are often baked in square pans. There is a common association of this word to the
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
k'iygul ("as a circle"), but this is a folk etymology.
History of kugels
The first kugels were made from
breadBread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and possibly more ingredients. Doughs are usually baked in the Western world , but in some cuisines breads are steamed, fried, or baked on a hot skillet. It may be leavened or unleavened...
and
flourFlour is a powder made of cereal grains or roots. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
and were savory rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, their flavor and popularity improved when cooks in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
replaced bread mixtures with
noodleA noodle is food made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid. Depending upon the type, noodles may be dried or refrigerated before cooking. The word noodle derives from the German Nudel and may be related to the Latin word nodus...
s or
farfelFarfel are small pellet-shaped noodles, made of flour mixed with egg, similar to egg barley....
. Eventually
eggsAn egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of any number of different species, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves...
were incorporated. The addition of
cottage cheeseCottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from...
and
milkMilk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It provides the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. The early lactation milk is known as colostrum, and carries the mother's antibodies to the baby. It can reduce...
created a custard-like consistency which is common in today's dessert dishes.
Sweet Kugels
In the 17th century,
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
was introduced, giving home cooks the option of serving kugel as a sweet side dish or dessert. In
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Jewish homemakers sprinkled
raisinRaisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world, such as Armenia, the United States, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Macedonia, Mexico, Greece, Syria, Turkey, India, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, China, Afghanistan, Togo, and Jamaica, as well as South Africa and Southern and...
s,
cinnamonCinnamon is a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka, or the spice obtained from the tree's bark...
and sweet farmer's cheese into noodle kugel recipes.
HungariansHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
took the dessert concept further with a hefty helping of
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
and some
sour cream Sour cream is a dairy product rich in fats obtained by fermenting a regular cream by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream...
. Most sweet Kugels are served cold or at room temperature. In the late 19th century,
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
ites combined
caramelCaramel is a beige to dark brown confection made by heating sugar. It is used as a flavor in puddings and desserts, a filling in candies and chocolates, and a topping for ice cream and custards....
ized sugar and
black pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
in a noodle kugel known as "Jerusalem kugel," which is a commonly served at Shabbat kiddushes and is a popular side dish served with
cholentCholent or hamin is a traditional Jewish stew simmered overnight, for 12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on the Sabbath. Cholent was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish religious laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath...
during Shabbat lunch.
Savory Kugels
While less renowned than their sweeter cousins, savory kugels have always existed. Early noodle recipes called for
onionOnion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the "garden onion" or "bulb" onion...
s and
saltA salt, in chemistry, is an ionic compound, and can result from the neutralization reaction of acids and bases. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and were tasty at
room temperatureRoom temperature is a common term to denote a certain temperature within enclosed space at which humans are accustomed. Room temperature is thus often indicated by general human comfort, with the common range of 68°F to 77°F , though climate may acclimatize people to higher or lower...
. Over the centuries, inspired cooks have skipped the noodles, substituting
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food...
es, matzah, cabbage, carrots,
zucchiniZucchini or courgette is a small summer squash. Along with some other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo...
,
spinachSpinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...
or
cheeseCheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into...
for the base.
Today many cooks top kugels with
corn flakesCorn flakes are a popular breakfast cereal originally manufactured by Kellogg's through the treatment of corn . A patent for the product was registered on May 31, 1894 under the name Granose.-History:...
,
graham crackerThe graham cracker was developed in 1829 in Bound Brook, New Jersey, by Presbyterian minister Rev. Sylvester Graham. Though called a cracker, it is sweet rather than salty and so bears some resemblance to a biscuit - digestive biscuits are the closest approximation...
crumbs, ground gingersnaps or caramelized sugar. Inspired cooks may layer the dish with sliced pineapples or apricot jam.
Kugels on Jewish festivals
Kugels are a mainstay of festive meals in
Ashkenazi JewishAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland valley and northern France...
(Jews of Eastern European descent) homes, particularly on the
Jewish SabbathShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night...
and other
Jewish holidayA Jewish holiday or festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as a holy or secular commemoration of an important event in Jewish history...
s. Some
HasidicHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
Jews believe that eating kugel on the Jewish Sabbath brings special spiritual blessings, particularly if that kugel was served on the table of a Hasidic
RebbeRebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
.
South African slang usage
Amongst
South African JewsThe history of the Jews in South Africa mainly begins with the general European settlement in the 19th century. The early patterns of Jewish South African history are almost identical with the history of the Jews in the United States but on a much smaller scale, including the period of early...
, the word "kugel" was used by the elder generation as a term for a young Jewish woman who forsook traditional Jewish dress values in favor of those of the ostentatiously wealthy, becoming overly materialistic and over groomed, the kugel being a plain pudding garnished as a delicacy. The women thus described made light of the term and it has since become an amusing rather than derogatory
slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
term in
South African EnglishThe term South African English is applied to the first language varieties of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots....
, referring to a materialistic young woman. As the term originated from Jewish cuisine, the word "
bagelA bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
" has been adapted by some to denote the male counterpart of a "kugel".
Similar dishes
A similar traditional Lithuanian dish made with potatoes is called '
kugelisKugelis is a baked potato pudding that is a Lithuanian national dish. The main ingredients are potatoes, bacon, milk, onions, and eggs. It may be spiced with salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and/or marjoram...
'. It is definitely not Kosher, as it is made with
baconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured in a brine or in a dry packing, both consisting largely of salt; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months , boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
fat.
A similar Belarusian dish is
potato babkaPotato babka is a savoury dish, popular especially in Belarus. It is made from grated potatoes, eggs, onions, and pieces of smoked, boiled or fried bacon. It is oven-baked in a crock, and often served with a sauce of sour cream and pork flitch...
.
External links