How have American Jews influenced the cuisine?
Joan Nathan: Like Italian Americans, Jewish Americans wanted everything to be bigger, richer, and especially sweeter than it was in Europe. Big sweet-and-sour braised briskets are definitely American. Also sweet noodle kugels with cornflake toppings, sweet challah and huge bagels, and cream-cheese cakes with cookie crusts. Unfortunately, we have a sweet tooth, and not just at Rosh Hashanah when you’re supposed to eat sweet things for a sweet New Year. Epicurious: What are you working on now? Joan Nathan: A book about the Jews of France, which will be full of history and delicious old recipes. It’s so exciting. I’ve met Jews from families that have been in France since the time of Julius Caesar. The geography of Judaism is fascinating, and sometimes you can trace it through food. If I want to know about stuffed matzoh balls, I look at South African cookbooks, because so many Jews from Lithuania, where they made them, moved there. To find out about Romanian smoked meat, I’ll go to Canada
