New York Times food critic and cookbook authorMelissa Clark helps us untangle a century-old gastronomic mystery. In 1901, an enterprising Lower East Side restaurant keeper named Hinde Amchanitzky published America’s first Yiddish language cookbook. Mysteriously, eight years after Hinde’s death, a “new and augmented edition” of her cookbook, a departure from the original in both tone and content, appeared in neighborhood bookstores. From schmaltz-laden noodle puddings and stuffed breast of veal to “hygienic” bread and celery cutlets, the two cookbooks could hardly be written by the same woman. Or were they? Jane Ziegelman, author of 97 Orchard and the Tenement Museum's Annie Polland present the culinary clues--translations of the recipes, newspaper ads, and food samples from the cookbooks as we try to solve the mystery, and at the very least, learn more about immigrant women and cooking.
This event is free and seating is first-come, first-served. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Reserve two seats with the purchase of a featured book.
97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement, by Jane Ziegelman
Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook, by Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez and Julia Turshen
The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook, by Fania Lewando and Eve Jochnowitz
Modern Jewish Cooking, by Leah Koenig and Sang An
The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook, by Danny Bowien and Chris Ying
Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking, by Maangchi
Eating Delancey: A Celebration of Jewish Food, by Aaron Rezny and Jordan Schaps
If you have questions, contact Laura Lee at llee@tenement.org or 646.518.3032.
