Schmaltz is a rendered fat traditionally made from chicken or goose, and sometimes pork, used in Jewish and European cooking. It can be used for frying, flavoring, and as a creamer for bread. Schmaltz is a prized ingredient and can be flavored with apples and onions. It is not kosher when made with pork fat. The word schmaltz also means excessive sentimentality or mawkishness in the US.
Schmaltz has gained weight. In Jewish tradition, it is made by processing chicken or goose fat and the term is also used in parts of Germany and Poland to refer to pork fat used in traditional cooking. This rendered fat can be used for frying and flavoring and as a creamer for things like bread. Like other types of refined fats used in traditional cooking, schmaltz was born out of necessity and has become so well integrated into traditional cooking that it is now a prized ingredient. Traditionalists claim they can even detect substitutions for the original ingredient in updated dishes.
The blubber is made by cutting the raw blubber into small pieces and cooking it slowly to allow it to liquefy. Then, the fat is poured off, leaving solid chunks behind, and can be strained for clarity. When rendered correctly, schmaltz shouldn’t go rancid, as the water and proteins that cause it have been removed. The fat will also be creamy to white in color.
Cooks started working with schmaltz because they didn’t have access to cooking oils like olive oil and vegetable oil. Rather than allowing fat from animal sources to go to waste, the cooks have utilized this fat, honing the fat specifically for schmaltz. Some cooks flavor theirs by adding apples and onions as they form, creating remains known as gribenes that are packed with flavor. The shortening can be used for everything from frying pans to oil to pasta and seasoning dishes, and some people use it as a spread like butter on bread, with schmaltz tending to go better with dark, hearty breads like rye. traditional.
When made with pork fat, schmaltz is obviously not kosher, but the resulting lard can be used in many German and Polish dishes. Rendered lard is sometimes available in Mexican and German grocery stores, while true schmaltz can be found in stores catering to the European Jewish communities. Cooks can also make their own, with some butchers selling raw shortening for home cooks.
The word schmaltz is Yiddish, borrowed directly from German. In addition to referring to fatness, the term is also used to describe excessive sentimentality or mawkishness. This usage appears primarily in the United States, where a number of Yiddish loanwords are used as slang, such as “schmuck”, “moccasin”, and “bluffer”. This slang usage of the word is likely related to the intense, overpowering flavor of schmaltz’s texture, which may seem like overkill to people unfamiliar with this ingredient.
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