Jewish Culinary Culture at POLIN

What’s Cooking?

A Close-up on Jewish Culinary Culture

March 10 – December 12 ‘What’s Cooking?’ - the new temporary exhibition at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews - looks at Jewish cuisine across the globe and throughout history, examining how typical Jewish dishes are prepared and the meanings they carry.

‘You are what you eat,’ as they say, but more than being a reminder of the importance of healthy eating habits, this common phrase aptly implies that food is inherently tied to identity. When it comes to Jewish identity, culinary culture has always reinforced and enhanced the sense of belonging to a wider community, while also highlighting Jewish diversity and distinctiveness. As this exhibition reveals, the story of Jewish cuisine is simultaneously the story of Jewish religion, culture and history.

At the root of Jewish cuisine is the religious foundation that holds it together - kashrut - and its strict rules for preparing meals. By understanding these religious dietary laws we see how they have informed the creation of certain dishes, alongside other influences such as the specific products available in an area, or the culinary traditions of neighbouring cultures.

The exhibition presents a variety of Jewish dishes from across the diaspora, looking at their origins and how they became widespread as a result of numerous migrations, from the Middle Ages to the great waves of migration in the 19th and 20th centuries. If you’ve ever wondered what potato pancakes have in common with latkes, how Polish gołąbki differ from holishikes, how chulent differs from adafina, or why New Yorkers consider pickled gherkins and borscht Jewish food - this exhibit not only asks, but answers these hard-hitting questions.

Finally, we see how some people are breaking away from Jewish cooking traditions today, while others are rediscovering their culinary roots. It all goes to demonstrate just how diverse and difficult to define Jewish culinary traditions are.

With all this talk about food, it should be noted that POLIN is one of the best places in town to taste Jewish cuisine. The buffet of the museum’s wonderful Warsze restaurant offers dozens of rich and aromatic dishes based on traditional Jewish recipes (including kosher options) every day. A culinary journey back to pre-war Warsaw, the current exhibit makes us more excited to eat here than ever. L’chaim!QD-4, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, ul. Anielewicza 6, MRatusz Arsenał, tel. (+48) 22 471 03 01, Admission 20/15zł, www.polin.pl. Open 10:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-20:00; closed Tue.