The Gefilte Fish Line: A Sweet And Salty History Of Jewish Identity

NPR | CULTURE 
By Deena Prichep

Image courtesy of Religion News

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a day when everything tastes like dessert. In symbolic hope of a sweet year to come, the table is positively sticky — honey marinades, honey cakes, raisin-studded challah bread. And, depending on where your family is from, sweet gefilte fish. Gefilte fish, those oft-reviled patties packed in jelled broth, can be a hard sell even in the standard savory form. On one side of the divide: sugared sweet gefilte. On the other — the side whose gefilte became standard in American Jewish cuisine — the fish is savory, seasoned with salt and lots of pepper. [link]