By Eliya Barak ~
Dinner in Israel is not an empty belly; it is celebration, history, and culture. Perhaps nowhere is that more appetitively evident than in the holiday meals and traditional sweets of the country’s reputation. From jelly-filled sufganiyot that light up Hanukkah nights to sweet creamy malabi eaten all year round, Israeli sweet treat is a culinary journey of traditions and histories of every kind.
Sufganiyot: A Hanukkah Star
Each winter, in Hanukkah’s countdown of nights, Israeli markets and bakeries are lined with consumers waiting to taste a sufganiya—jelly-filled fried doughnut powdered sugar-covered. The snack is strongly associated with Hanukkah symbols of miracles and eight days of miraculous Hanukkah oil surviving.
Hanukkah cuisine persists with sufganiyot taking over its role as Israel’s festive symbol food. Suvganiyah, according to the Times of Israel, has its origins in Jewish culture in Eastern Europe, evolving over time into the dessert that brings joy and light into Israeli homes.
Malabi: Creamy Comfort with a Middle Eastern Twist
Among holidays, though, there’s one custard being malabi that betrays Middle Eastern heritage in Israeli sweets. The scented milk custard, lightly perfumed, is traditionally orange-blossom-water- or rose-perfumed and topped with ground pistachios, scrambled coconut, or pomegranate syrup glazes.
Malabi is consumed in the majority of communities and towns across the nation. Its origins are not very well documented, but the popularity of the dessert is most commonly attributed to Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. Malabi is one of the favorite foods for cafes and street stalls along the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem route, where it is consumed for its divine blend of cream and flowers. Malabi is “a delicious symbol of Israel’s multicultural culinary heritage,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
Knafeh and Other Israeli Desserts
Israeli desserts also illustrate Israel’s ethnically diverse origins. Palestinian and Levantine in origin, the nut-encrusted syrup-glabed sweet cheese pastry is consumed and served throughout the country during celebratory meals and gatherings.
Other pastries like rugelach, basbousa, and halva add texture and flavor to the sweet culture of Israel. These, along with strong Arabic coffee or herbal tea, convey the new histories and shared traditions of this nation’s people.
Festivals and the Sweetness of Celebration: The Role of Festivals
Jewish life cycles and holidays in Israel are normally punctuated by such festive special sweets. Purim, for example, is celebrated with full-out baking hamantaschen. Full-ahead festive equipment is used to make triangular pastry pastries. Flourless cake and macaroons are the crème de la crème. Passover is observed in piety to dietary laws with sweet indulgence.
Food writer and food critic Gil Marks describes in My Jewish Learning how bites not only comprise holiday treats but are also turned into bite-sized religion, family, and identity strands—transmitted through the passing of generations.
The New Wave: Sweet Innovations Today
As strong as tradition is, Israel’s sweets reputation evolves with the influx of neo chefs serving new-school spins on old-school sweets. Hip chocolatiers and trendy bakeries experiment with indigenous ingredients like Medjool dates, za’atar, and sumac to create unorthodox flavor profiles with one eye in the rearview mirror but a visionary outlook.
Such a tradition as the Jerusalem Chocolate Festival biennially and Tel Aviv Dessert Week pays tribute to such innovation that attracts food enthusiasts who are ready to taste harmony of tradition and innovation.
