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Let’s Talk Cholent by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS
Life C ach Let’s Talk Cholent!
By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS
There are addictions and aversions. And there’s rarely an in-between.
People either love it and must have it, or they literally can’t take the smell or the look of it.
Though, you’ve got to give them that the look is not it’s winning quality. This will never show up in a gourmet magazine. Except maybe as a “don’t serve”!
Still, there are the true devotees. Someone once told me they had to put a venting system in their home because the smell of the cholent kept them up wanting it all night. They wanted to have it but had to wait, of course. So the expense of their venting system was well worth it.
People start consuming it as early as Thursday evening! Kiosks and all-night marts offer it then for cholent enthusiasts
And high school kids have been known to bring it to school, pot and all, Friday morning as a pre-Shabbos night specialty.
By Friday evening, many have it as an after-meal treat. Hey, what better sleeping pill exits?! And Shabbos is, after all, the day of rest! The heaviness of this stuff usually puts you out.
Even throughout the night Friday, little mice-like scurrying can be heard around the crockpot. Usually, a condemning open newspaper alongside a used bowl is a telling proof in the A.M. that someone couldn’t resist it last night.
On Shabbos morning, many gladly trade their bowl of cornflakes for a bowl of cholent. Even infants and tots are on board for this breakfast, I guess cause it tastes good to them, and truthfully, their food never looks much more inviting anyway. rarely alike. Everyone has their own formula. Culturally and personally, everyone has their little tweaks and secrets.
For instance, hardboiled eggs usually used for an egg salad or hotdogs often saved for ball games are often discovered camouflaged in this very monochromatic stew.
Interestingly, the three main ingredients, beans, potatoes, or meat, may or may not be present. They may be sub-
stituted with barley, sweet potatoes, onions, and rice or any other interesting element. It mostly depends on your family history or traditions.
Of course, there’s one essential ingredient they all wisely share: water. Because, that way there’s some hope this heavy stew will actually migrate through your system. Fortunately, many cholents have a healthy dollop of grease to guarantee this!
And definitely no self-respecting kiddush will be thrown without it!
Finally, lunch would be completely deficient if cholent weren’t offered as a reliable staple on the menu. It’s almost like the 614th commandment: serve cholent!
Now, just like no two people are exactly the same, no two cholents are the same either!
The ingredients for this dish are somewhat limited, yet the outcome is
I’ve witnessed some other ingredients floating around in there, too. I’m sure many have their own little tricks to make it taste just the way they like. For instance, when no one’s looking, my dad likes to experiment. He throws in things like breakfast cereals or nuts to see the effect the surrounding ingredients will have on them. Honestly, I’m not sure how the taste gets affected, but they all wind up the same color. That’s cholent – the aroma and the taste, not the color, is its appeal.
The bottom line is that once you’re hooked on cholent, in whatever form it speaks to you, there’s no way you can easily go a weekend without it!
Just supports the saying that love can be blind, as long as there are other features you find to focus on!
Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples
and individuals and is a certified relation-
ship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and
creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be