Gefilte fish, a staple at Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, which begins Wednesday at sundown, does not always come in a jar. But most Jewish children think it does, and they are not thrilled to see it on their plate.
Many modern cooks don’t make gefilte fish, because in the past preparing and cooking it was an arduous and time-consuming task. Watching my mother make it convinced me that I would have to seriously simplify the preparation if I was to carry on the gefilte fish tradition.
Like most Jewish cuisine, gefilte fish was born out of religious obligation and financial hardship. In the late Middle Ages, Eastern and Central European Jews prepared their fish for Sabbath on Friday. According to Jewish law, on Sabbath, the day of rest, Jews are forbidden from separating the edible parts of an animal from the inedible.
Separating the bones from the fish falls into this category. Impoverished Jews solved this dilemma by tediously removing the bones from the fish on Friday. They carefully skinned the fish, removed the bones and ground the flesh. They added onions to help preserve the fish; carrots, eggs and matzo meal to help extend it; and a smidge of sugar to heighten the taste. They stuffed this mixture back into the skin, poached it and ate it cold on Sabbath.
By grinding, a fish that might have served four could be stretched to serve twice that many, and by stuffing it back into the skin, it resembled the fish that wealthier Jews ate. “Gefilte” is Yiddish for stuffed.
Fast-forward to the 1950s. My mother is making gefilte fish for Rosh Hashanah. Although traditionally it is served on Sabbath, it is so much work that my mother made it only on Rosh Hashanah and Passover.
Her gefilte fish marathon began at the fish market early in the morning two days before the holiday. She pushed her way through the throngs of cooks to purchase the freshest carp, pike or whitefish available. She brought the fish home, plunked them on the table, took out her cleaver and, with gritted teeth, whacked off the fish heads.
With an outstretched arm, she dropped the heads into a stock pot, added the fish skin and bones, some carrots, onions and water, and simmered this mixture for hours. She then strained the
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