Kugel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Kugel (disambiguation).
Kugel (Yiddish: קוגל kugl or קוגעל, pronounced koo-gel or ki-gel, also often referred to in the diminutive kugele, kigele) is any one of a wide variety of traditional baked Jewish side dishes or desserts. It is sometimes translated as "pudding" or "casserole".
Kugels may be sweet or savory (salty). The most common types are made from egg noodles or potatoes and often contain eggs, but there are recipes in everyday use in modern Jewish kitchens for a great diversity of kugels made with different vegetables, fruit, batters, cheese, and other flavorings and toppings. Kugel-making seems to be continually changing and evolving.
The name of the dish comes from the Germanic root meaning "ball" or "globe" (see de:Kugel), thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round, puffed-up shape of the original dishes (compare to German Gugelhupf — a type of ring-shaped cake), however nowadays kugels are often baked in square pans. There is a common misconception linking the Hebrew k'iygul ("as a circle") to the word, but this is a false folk etymology.
The first kugels were made from bread and flour and were savory rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, their flavor and popularity improved when cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with noodles or farfel. Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese and milk created a custard-like consistency which is common in today's dessert dishes.
In the 17th century, sugar was introduced, giving home cooks the option of serving kugel as a sweet side dish or dessert. In Poland, Jewish homemakers sprinkled raisins and cinnamon into noodle kugel recipes. Hungarians took the dessert concept further with a hefty helping of sugar and some sour cream. In the late 19th century, Jerusalemites combined caramelized sugar and black pepper in a noodle kugel known as "Jerusalem kugel."
While less renowned than their sweeter cousins, savory kugels have always existed. Early noodle recipes called for onions and salt and were tasty at room temperature. Over the centuries, inspired cooks have skipped the noodles, substituting potatos, matzah, carrots, zucchini, spinach or cheese for the base.
Today many cooks top kugels with corn flakes, graham cracker crumbs, ground gingersnaps or caramelized sugar. Inspired cooks may layer the dish with sliced pineapples or apricot jam.
Kugels are a mainstay of festive meals in Ashkenazi Jewish (Jews of Eastern European descent) homes, particularly on the Jewish Sabbath and other Jewish holidays. Some Hasidic Jews believe that eating kugel on the Jewish Sabbath brings special spiritual blessings, particularly if that kugel was served on the table of a Hasidic Rebbe.
In 1950, the Bundt pan was developed for cooking kugel, though it eventually became known as a pan used for a variety of cakes.
[edit] South African slang usage
Amongst South African Jews, the word "kugel" was used by the elder generation as a scornful term for a young Jewish woman who forsook traditional Jewish values in favor of those of secular high society, becoming overly materialistic and excessively groomed; the kugel being a plain pudding garnished as a delicacy. The women thus described made light of the term and it has since become an amusing rather than derogatory slang term in South African English, referring to a materialistic young woman. As the term originated from Jewish cuisine, the word "bagel" has been adapted by some to denote the male counterpart of a "kugel".
