The origins of the custom are suggested in the Bible, in the passages of
"kid in its mother's milk". The passage appears in the Bible three times
(Exodus 23:16, 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21); twice it is mentioned in
conjunction with the harvest celebration - Shavouth - Chag Ha'bikurim, is the
festival that celebrated the beginning of the grain harvest. This indicates
that an ancient pagan tradition of eating milk or milk products at the celebration
of the harvest. The Jewish tradition absorbed the custom and gave it a new
meaning associating it with the other significance of the holiday - Matan Tora
- the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. As usual in these cases there is another,
more practical reason. The holiday is celebrated at the beginning of summer,
when nature is at its most generous, the grass is green and tender and the
milk is rich and plentiful

The first time that cheese was mentioned in the Bible is in the list of foods
sent by Yishai, to the battlefield (Samuel 1, 17:18). An action that decided
the fortune of the battle,because the messenger, the future King David, slew
the giant Goliath with a well aimed single stone.

Cheese is mentioned only once more in the Bible (Job 10:10), but probably,
like all over the Middle East, goat and sheep curds and cheeses constituted
the main animal protein supply in the poor man's diet. We do not know how
the cheese was shaped - although it was probably drained in reed or straw
baskets, which shaped it into flat cakes, and gave it a characteristic pattern.

Curds and young cheese were probably eaten in the milking season and the
surplus was preserved for use throughout the year. Salting and drying cheese
in the sun produced a durable and concentrated food that could be either
dehydrated or grated into or on food. Dried cheese was so important
in Talmudic time that there is a special dispensation to carry a cheese
grater on the Shabbat (Sabbath 16:2).

Fresh salted curds were also preserved in oil. Even now, one of the most
delicious Middle Eastern fresh yoghurt cheeses (labane) is still preserved
in fragrant olive oil.

As a result of the way that butter was churned in the Middle East an
interesting by-products was created. Unlike in Europe with its cool climate
where butter was made from cream, in the hot climate of the Middle East,
soured milk or yoghurt was used. The churned yoghurt was poured over a
layer of bulgur, which absorbed the curds and liquid leaving the butter on top
- easy to collect, melt, clarify and store. The bulgur mix was then shaped
into a ball and dried in the sun. These were eaten in hard times.

Dairy products were also essential to the weekly diet of the Ashkenazi
Shtetl. Meat was expensive and in many isolated communities the Shochet
rarely visited so the tendency was to eat meat only on Sabbath and holidays.
Dairy products have another advantage - they can be served with fish in the
same meal - although in some Orthodox communities they can't be served
in the same plate. This flexibility is still maintained by the popularity of dairy
restaurants in thelarge Jewish centres of North America where dairy
restaurants still serve bagel and lox along side gefilte fish, cheese blintzes,
milk-based barley soup and cheese filled Danish.

As milk is kosher only if supervised or milked by a Jew, many households
kept a milking animal, usually a goat although milch cows were occasionally
kept. Nevertheless milk was rarely drunk on its own by adults though it was drunk
with coffee or chikorya - a drink made from the roasted root of the chicory
plant (cichorium intybus). Milk together with barley, noodles or potato
was used to make satisfying, nourishing soups. The cream was skimmed
and was made into sour and Smetana and buttermilk. However it was
mainly made into a range of fresh soft cheeses; hard mature cheese was
rarely used.

Curd cheeses were used intensively as a base of a vast range of dishes
such as sweet & savoury kugles, noodle dishes, feather light semolina
dumplings, puddings, desserts, as stuffing for pancakes and Kreplach. The
list goes on and on but it is much better described in a charming monologue
by Shalom Alechem - Mata'amim shel chalav (milk delicacies).

For Shavouth, triangular cheese Kreplach was made. This tradition is a
reference to the numerous times the number three appears in association
with the giving of the Torah: three parts of which were given to Israel (Torah,
Prophets and Hagiography (writings); it was given to a triple nation: the
nation was comprised of thee classes Cohen, Levi and Israel; the nation
sprung from the loins of three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob);
the Torah was given to Moses who was the third born in his family; and it
was given in Sivan which was the third month in the ancient Jewish calendar.

Fresh curd cheese was also used for cheesecake - one of the definitive
dishes of the Ashkenazi Kitchen. But what is a Jewish cheesecake? Is it
the fluffy, lighter than light creation which is so popular in Israel and North
America or the dense, tart and lemon scented cheese cakes that are favoured
by German Jews?

After many years of research I've come to a conclusion that there is no
definitive Jewish Cheesecake and therefore the Cheese and Passion Fruit
Cake is my own version. It is quick and easy to make and the results are light, fragrant
and refreshing.

And finally, there is also a tradition, probably Medieval, of serving cheese
and milk products on Chanukah. The origins of this custom are ancient and
obscure. A Medieval Jewish folk tradition associates Chanukah with the
story of Judith; a daughter of the Hasmonean dynasty who served cheese
that was probably preserved in salt to a Greek commander. As a result he
got very thirsty and consumed too much wine that put him to sleep. Judith
used the opportunity to behead him, thus saving the nation from destruction.

Related Recipes

Mama's Cheese Dumplings

Kreplach

Cheese and Passion Fruit Cake

Cottage Cheese Noodels

Other Recipes by Oded Schwartz

Ashkenazi Cholent

Moroccan Hamin

Stuffed Aubergines

Toby's Kneidlach

Stuffed Leg of Lamb for Pesach

Masapan - Marzipan

Mixed Fruit Tzimmes

Stuffed Dates

Megadarra

Ask your culinary question here

About the Author
Oded who is the author of seven books is best known for his hugely
popular cookery and food-related writing. Oded's first book
'In Search of Plenty - a history of Jewish food' (1992) was short-listed
for the British Andre' Simon award and won a special mention in the
international "Lenghe Ceretto Prize" for food and wine culture. He
now lives in Cape Town and contributes occasionally to Al'Hashulchan
(a leading Israeli food & dining magazine). He is still researching and
writing about the history and culture of Israeli & Jewish food.