A Very Sustainable Chanukah
This year, beginning sundown of December 15th and lasting
until December 23rd, Jews across the world will gather
with family and friends to celebrate the eight nights
of Chanukah.
A festive holiday of blessings, remembrance and games,
Chanukah commemorates the religious and military victory
of ancient Jewish heroes, as well as a subsequent miracle.
Upon reclaiming their ransacked temple, the victorious
soldiers discovered only a small amount of oil to light
the candles with. Expected to run out after one
night, the same small amount of oil kept burning for
eight nights – hence, the modern eight-night holiday.
Like so many communal gatherings, food plays an integral
part to today's festivities, with plates usually
covering the dining room table! Chanukah
foods vary widely from country to country, and even
from family to family, so the possibilities are endless.
Whatever the menu, however, the holiday provides an
ideal opportunity to look beyond the supermarket for
ingredients.
If there is one uniting theme in Chanukah food, it
is oil. Many traditional Chanukah foods involve
oil in their preparation, as a symbol of the miracle
in the temple, including most notably the latke, or
fried potato pancake. And if there are latkes
on the table, there's a good chance there's also a bowl
of sour cream sitting nearby as an accompanying garnish.
Instead of stocking up on the usual brand of sour cream
this year, however, families might think about purchasing
an all-natural or organic sour cream.
Josef Heinzle, owner of Pinehedge Farms in St. Eugene,
Ontario, says there's a noticeable difference between
commercial sour cream, which often has powdered milk
and gelatin added to it, and the natural sour cream
he makes on his family's farm. The only two ingredients
in Pinehedge's certified organic sour cream are fresh
cream and a live bacterial culture.
It's much, much better,” Heinzle explains, “Our
sour cream has a naturally thinner consistency, but
it's richer and more flavorful.”
Plus, Heinzel's herd of 55 Holstein and Brown Swiss
cows is treated much differently than cows from commercial
feedlots. The cattle at Pinehedge Farms munch
on grass and hay year-round, leading to subtle changes
in color and flavor as the seasons progress, another
traditional effect not evident in factory-produced dairy.
The farmstead sour cream is made exclusively from his
cows' milk, and both the pasteurization and bottling
occur on the farm.
What else might be on the table? Dan Barber,
chef and owner of sister restaurants Blue Hill, located
in New York City, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico
Hills, New York, plans on serving one of the most famous
Jewish comfort foods--chicken soup-- at a special Chanukah
dinner at Blue Hill. The dinner, slated to be
held on the first night of Chanukah, will be a “traditional
take on good Chanukah food,” using pasture-raised
poultry from the farm at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
For Barber, the holiday is the perfect opportunity
to unite his religious heritage with his ardent belief
that naturally raised meat is best. “A lot
of my clientele is Jewish, and I'm Jewish. I love
the traditions and food of Chanukah,” Barber says.
“This dinner is a way for me to expound on the
same themes of local, natural food, while incorporating
religious themes.”
For those who choose to celebrate at home, however,
all-natural meat is still a good choice, says Ann Bell
Stone of Elmwood Stock Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky.
“The taste is just cleaner and better,”
she says.
Stone explains that all Elmwood Stock Farm chickens
are raised outdoors in an old-fashioned pasture system
that provides a diet enriched by grasses, clover, wholesome
grains, fresh air, adequate exercise, and sunlight.
These conditions lead to healthier, happier birds, she
says.
And for those families thinking about serving beef
as a main course, Stone says her cows receive the same
level of respect and attention. "The beef
is hand-cared for," she says. "We maintain
the environment in a thoughtful and considerate manner.
Our cattle are not transported thousands of miles, and
they are not wallowing in their manure in a feedlot."
For some Jews, the difference between supermarket meat
and local, organic meat may be more significant than
just taste. Rabbi Chaim Adelman, a Jewish chaplain
at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, says
that fair treatment of animals is an integral part of
leading a sound life as a human. "Organic
farming helps to create a spiritually better animal.
There is a spiritual energy that transfers into the
food itself--the animals give us life."
The former director of Ertz ha'Chaim (Hebrew for the
"living land"), a kosher organic farm in central
Massachusetts, Adelman adds that the roots between agriculture
and Judaism run deep. Historically, the Bible
outlined many rules for farming, including fair treatment
of animals. Chanukah gatherings are a significant
time to think about the origin of the meat and dairy
products being served, Adelman adds.
Whether chicken soup, beef brisket or anything in between,
the Eat
Well Guide lists farms and stores in every state
and Canadian province where consumers can purchase meat
like the kind Pinehedge Farms, Blue Hill at Stone Barns
and Stockwood Elm Farms raise. Simply visit the
Eat
Well Guide and type in your postal code. In
just a matter of seconds, a list of farmers, stores,
restaurants and other organizations in your area will
appear, all of whom provide a healthy alternative for
the Chanukah season.
Chanukah Recipes
It is traditional to eat fried foods on Chanukah
because of the significance of oil to the holiday. Among
many Jewish people, this includes potato pancakes, called
latkes.
- By Rachael Ryan
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