Kugel is a traditional Jewish dish that originated in Eastern Europe over 800 years ago. It can be sweet or savory and is often made with noodles, eggs, cheese, and/or milk. Sweet kugel is more popular today and can include fruit. It is considered lucky in some Jewish sects and is a comfort food for many.
Kugel is a famous Jewish dish, specially made by the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. There is evidence that the dish was made over 800 years ago, although it has gradually been modified and improved upon over time. Many are used to thinking of Kugel as a dessert and you are sure to find many styles of Kugel desserts. It can also be prepared as a side dish or savory appetizer.
The first kugels would have been savory, as sugar hadn’t made its way into Europe, especially for those who weren’t of the nobility, until the 1600s. The first kugel, like many foods at the time, was essentially a baked pudding, which it looked a bit like 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 could use potatoes or matzo flour instead of noodles. To add extra flavor to the dish, Kugel might include greens of all kinds as well as onions. Kugel casseroles would not contain meat, since mixing meat with milk and eggs was not Kosher.
In the 1600s sugar inspired many cooks to develop the sweet kugel. Here you could just have a plate of baked noodles in cream or egg topped with a little sugar. Eventually, fruit, especially raisins, were common additions to sweet kugel. Sweet kugel is even more popular today than its savory older relation and can be cooked in round pans or more commonly in regular rectangular pans. It is very popular not only with people of Eastern European and Germanic ancestry, but also with 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 baked puddings made by the British, such as spotted cock. There are a number of internet recipes to try, as well as great recipes in many Jewish and German cookbooks. If you travel, you’ll find Kugel in most of Eastern Europe.
In some Jewish sects, Kugel is considered lucky and/or bestows spiritual blessings. This is specifically the case in the Hasidic Jewish tradition, especially when a rabbi offers the kugel. To many others, Kugel simply speaks of supreme comfort, and few celebratory meals would be complete without it.
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