Round jelly-filled doughnut served at Hanukkah
Sufganiyah
|
Alternative names
| Sufganiot
|
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Type
| Jelly doughnut
|
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Place of origin
| Central Europe
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Main ingredients
| Dough, jelly filling, powdered sugar
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Sufganiyah
(
Hebrew
:
????????
or
???????
,
Hebrew:
[?suf?ani?ja]
;
pl.
:
sufganiyot
, Hebrew:
????????
,
Hebrew:
[?suf?ani?jot]
, or in Yiddish
pontshke
?????????
) is a round
jelly doughnut
eaten in
Israel
and around the world on the
Jewish
festival of
Hanukkah
. The doughnut is deep-fried, injected with
jam
or
custard
, and then topped with
powdered sugar
. The doughnut recipe originated in Europe in the 16th century, and by the 19th century was known as a
Berliner
in Germany.
Polish Jews
, who called it a
ponchik
, fried the doughnut in
schmaltz
rather than
lard
due to
kashrut
laws. The
ponchik
was brought to
Israel
by Polish Jewish immigrants, where it was renamed the
sufganiyah
based on the
Talmud
's description of a "spongy dough".
Background
[
edit
]
On Hanukkah,
Jews
observe the custom of eating fried foods in commemoration of the
miracle
associated with the
Temple
oil.
[1]
The tradition of eating deep-fried pastries on Hanukkah was considered ancient even in the time of the 12th-century rabbi
Maimonides
, whose father, Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef, wrote that "one must not make light of the custom of eating
sofganim
[fritters] on Chanukah. It is a custom of the
Kadmonim
[the ancient ones]". These
sofganim
were likely syrup-soaked fried cakes, akin to modern
zalabiya
in the
Arab world
.
[2]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The Hebrew word
sufganiyah
is a
neologism
for pastry, based on the
Talmudic
words
sofgan
and
sfogga
, which refer to a "spongy dough".
[3]
The word is built on the same root as the Modern Hebrew word for sponge (
????
,
sfog
), which is derived from
Koin? Greek
:
σπ?γγο?
,
romanized:
spongos
.
[4]
[5]
Sfenj
, a
Moroccan
doughnut, comes from the same root.
[6]
A popular Israeli
folktale
holds that the word "
sufganiyah
" comes from the Hebrew expression "
Sof Gan Yud-Heh
" ("
??? ?? ??
"), meaning "the end of the Garden of the
Lord
" (referring to the
Garden of Eden
). According to the legend, when
Adam and Eve
were cast out of the Garden by the Lord, He cheered them up by feeding them
sufganiyot
. No known commentator on the
Tanakh
supports this interpretation.
[6]
[2]
History
[
edit
]
According to food historian
Gil Marks
, the recipe for a filled jelly doughnut was first published in a 1485 cookbook in
Nuremberg
. The "Gefullte Krapfen" consisted of "a bit of jam sandwiched between two rounds of yeast bread dough and deep-fried in lard". This doughnut became popular in northern European countries from Denmark to Russia during the 16th century. In 19th-century Germany it began to be called a
Berliner
or a Bismarck, after German Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
.
[7]
Among
Polish Jews
, the jelly doughnut was fried in oil or
schmaltz
rather than lard, due to
kashrut
laws. In Poland, these doughnuts were known as
ponchkis
. Polish Jewish immigrants to
Mandatory Palestine
brought along their recipe as well as the tradition of eating them on Hanukkah. In
Israel
, however, they took on a new name?
sufganiyot
?based on the Talmud's description of a "spongy dough" (see the
Etymology section
).
[7]
Description
[
edit
]
The
ponchik
-style
sufganiyah
was originally made from two circles of dough surrounding a jelly filling, stuck together and fried in one piece.
[8]
Although this method is still practiced, an easier technique commonly used today is to deep-fry whole balls of dough, and then inject them with a filling through a baker's syringe (or a special industrial machine).
[2]
Modern-day
sufganiyot
in Israel are made from sweet yeast dough, filled with plain red jelly (usually strawberry,
[9]
sometimes raspberry), and topped with powdered sugar. Fancier versions are stuffed with
dulce de leche
, chocolate cream, vanilla cream, cappuccino,
[10]
halva
, creme espresso,
chocolate truffle
,
[7]
or
araq
, and topped with various extravagant toppings, from coconut shavings and tiny vials of liquor to
meringue
and fruit pastes.
[11]
In 2014 one Jerusalem bakery produced
sufganiyah
dough saturated with flavored
vodka
.
[12]
Mini sufganiyot
[
edit
]
In 2016, Israeli bakeries began downsizing
sufganiyot
to appeal to health-conscious consumers, following an anti-junk food campaign by Health Minister
Yaakov Litzman
.
[13]
The usual 100-gram (3.5 oz) size, packing 400 to 600 calories (1,700 to 2,500 kJ),
[10]
now appears in 50-gram (1.8 oz) size with different fillings and toppings, earning the name "mini".
[14]
Popularity
[
edit
]
In Israel
[
edit
]
Until the 1920s,
sufganiyot
and
latkes
were of comparable popularity among Jews in
Mandatory Palestine
during the Hanukkah holiday. The
Histadrut
, Israel's national labor union formed in 1920, pushed to replace the homemade latke with the
sufganiyah
as Israel's quintessential Hanukkah food in order to provide more work for its members. Commercial bakeries began selling
sufganiyot
days and weeks before Hanukkah began, lengthening the employment period. Their effort was successful, and
sufganiyot
became the most popular food for Hanukkah in Israel.
[a]
[3]
[6]
[2]
[7]
By the 21st century, more Israeli Jews report eating
sufganiyot
on Hanukkah than fasting on
Yom Kippur
.
[2]
[17]
Today
sufganiyot
are sold by Israeli bakeries as early as September.
[18]
Angel Bakeries
, the largest bakery in Israel, reportedly fries up more than 25,000
sufganiyot
every day during the eight-day Hanukkah festival itself. Each batch uses 100 kg (220 lb) of dough and makes 1,600
sufganiyot
.
[19]
Local newspapers add to the excitement by rating the "best
sufganiyah
in town".
[18]
[11]
[20]
The
Ministry of Defense
buys upwards of 400,000
sufganiyot
for its soldiers each Hanukkah.
[21]
[22]
As the troops overwhelmingly prefer jelly-filled doughnuts, the Defense Ministry purchases 80% with jelly filling and 20% with chocolate filling.
[22]
In other Jewish communities
[
edit
]
Sufganiyot are a relatively recent introduction to the United States, where
latkes
are the traditional Hanukkah food.
[23]
According to
Gil Marks
, latke was still the dominant choice in American Jewish homes in 2012.
[23]
Rabbi
Levi Shemtov
in 2019 said "Latkes used to dominate in the U.S., while doughnuts dominated in Israel. Now, I think both are equally popular in the U.S."
[24]
The
sufganiyah
was introduced by American Jews who had visited or studied in Israel, and by Israeli Jews who had settled in the U.S. While
sufganiyot
were not commercially available in the United States before the 1970s, today bakeries in many Jewish communities sell
sufganiyot
, as do non-kosher bakeries.
[23]
[24]
The doughnut chains
Dunkin' Donuts
and
Krispy Kreme
purvey
sufganiyot
in their
kosher-certified
outlets.
[23]
[24]
Sufganiyot
are also sold in kosher shops in Europe. Smaller Jewish communities in Russia and Ukraine organize special "community bakes" to prepare
sufganiyot
for school and kindergarten parties.
[25]
Savory varieties
[
edit
]
Savory
sufganiyot
also exist. In 2018,
The Jerusalem Post
reported on a new trend of savory
sufganiyot
in
Manhattan
eateries, in which the dough is filled with chicken
schnitzel
, lamb bacon, liver, or pastrami.
[26]
Other savory varieties include:
- Panzerotti
in Italy, filled with mozzarella and tomato sauce.
[9]
- Lachmazikas
in Spain, filled with everything from lamb and mushrooms to whitefish, ricotta, peppers, and herbs.
[9]
- Sambusa
-inspired savory
sufganiyot
, filled with lentils and peas, are popular among
Iraqi Jews
in Israel.
[9]
Gallery
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Some sources report that something similar happened with
sfenj
and
sufganiyot
, though this is less well-supported.
[15]
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Shurpin, Yehudah (2018).
"Why Eat Latkes and Sufganiyot (Doughnuts) on Chanukah?"
.
Chabad.org
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Ungar, Carol Green (Winter 2012).
"The 'Hole' Truth About Sufganiyot"
.
Jewish Action
. Orthodox Union
. Retrieved
2018-05-31
.
- ^
a
b
Goldstein, Darra, ed. (2015).
The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets
. Oxford University Press. p. 326.
ISBN
978-0-19-931361-7
.
- ^
The New Even Shoshan Dictionary
. Vol. II. p. 932.
- ^
Philologos (January 8, 2009).
"A Baker's Dozen: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Doughnut"
.
The Forward
. Retrieved
November 30,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
Rude, Emelyn (9 December 2015).
"Why Jelly Doughnuts Are Eaten During Hanukkah"
.
Time
. Retrieved
28 November
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Marks, Gil
(2010).
Encyclopedia of Jewish Food
. HMH. pp. 1725?1727.
ISBN
978-0-544-18631-6
.
- ^
Roden, Claudia (1996).
The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Kessler, Dana (December 20, 2016).
"Savory Sufganiyot Offer a Different Taste of Hanukkah"
.
Tablet
. Retrieved
June 2,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Minsberg, Tali; Lidman, Melanie (2009-12-10).
"Love Me Dough"
.
The Jerusalem Post
. Retrieved
2009-12-17
.
- ^
a
b
Maimon, Rotem (1 December 2015).
"????? "????": ???? ????????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????"
[Haaretz Rating: The best and worst sufganiyot of the year].
Haaretz
(in Hebrew)
. Retrieved
27 December
2015
.
- ^
City Mouse Online (24 November 2013).
"Rolling in Dough: The 8 Best Hanukkah Sufganiyot in Israel"
.
Haaretz
. Retrieved
27 December
2015
.
- ^
Kamisher, Eliyahu (December 26, 2016).
"THE SUFGANIKING DETHRONED"
.
The Jerusalem Post
. Retrieved
2 June
2018
.
- ^
Yefet, Orna (2006-12-04).
"Hanukkah: Doughnuts go healthy"
.
Ynetnews
. Retrieved
2010-04-06
.
- ^
Kaufman, Jared (21 February 2018).
"Never Underestimate the Doughnut Lobby"
.
Roads & Kingdoms
. Retrieved
28 November
2018
.
- ^
Solomonov, Michael (1 December 2016).
"Why Sfenj Couldn't Be the Official Dessert of Hanukkah"
.
Food52
. Retrieved
28 November
2018
.
- ^
Nachshoni, Kobi (September 13, 2013).
"Poll: 73% of Israelis fast on Yom Kippur"
.
Ynetnews
. Retrieved
31 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Yedioth Ahronoth
(November 30, 2018).
"To eat or not to eat? Here are the best sufganiyot for Hanukkah"
.
Ynetnews
. Retrieved
December 24,
2019
.
- ^
Mietkiewicz, Mark (2003-12-20).
"Sufganiyot"
. Food-Lists.com. Archived from
the original
on 2010-01-17
. Retrieved
2010-04-06
.
- ^
"Sufganiyot with the Jerusalem Foundation"
.
Jerusalem Foundation
. 2016. Archived from
the original
on November 28, 2018
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
Ahronheim, Anna (November 25, 2018).
"Doughnut Delights: Happy Hanukkah IDF!"
.
The Jerusalem Post
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Heikishman, Reuven (December 6, 2015).
"Sufganiyot and More for IDF Soldiers"
.
Hamodia
. Retrieved
November 27,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Cohen, Debra Nussbaum (December 3, 2019).
"America Discovers the Sufganiyah"
.
Haaretz
. Retrieved
December 24,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
Tan, Rebecca (December 23, 2019).
"
'People wait all year': At a Jewish bakery, desperate demand for Hanukkah doughnuts"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
December 24,
2019
.
- ^
Liphshiz, Cnaan (December 18, 2016).
"How Hanukkah sufganiyot became a national treat in the Netherlands"
.
The Times of Israel
. Retrieved
December 24,
2019
.
- ^
Spiro, Amy (December 9, 2018).
"Savory sufganiyot take New York by storm"
.
The Jerusalem Post
. Retrieved
December 24,
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Sufganiyah
.
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