At Sunday’s Big Nosh, ‘everyone is there to eat’

For many, The Big Nosh could be the first time they “make challah, eat a latke, bite a knish, blow a shofar, dance the hora.”

Not to mention discover what challah, latke, knish, shofar and hora are. Or nosh.

The Big Nosh is a local Jewish food and cultural festival held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Tree of Life Congregation on North Trenholm Road.

“We’ll have all different types of Jewish traditional food,” said Rick Cohn, president of the Tree of Life Congregation. There also will be peeks at a few Jewish customs and an invitation to see the sanctuary. There will be a mock wedding and a mock bar or bat mitzvah, as well as a class on making challah.

“People love it!” Cohn said. “You get an idea of what Jewish life, the customs and food, is about. You get to experience it.”

But despite interest in the cultural side of the festival, Cohn knows the real draw for the more than 2,000 people they expect to attend:

“Everyone is there to eat,” he said.

A nosh is a small bite to eat, a snack. Popular Jewish noshes include the following and can be enjoyed at The Big Nosh:

Brisket. In traditional Jewish cooking, brisket is most often braised as a pot roast.

Chicken soup. The Tree Of Life includes hand crafted Matzo Balls to savor the flavor.

Chopped liver. A spread made by sautéing or broiling liver and onions in schmaltz (kosher chicken fat), adding hard-boiled eggs, salt and pepper, and grinding that mixture.

Corned beef. Brisket cured or pickled in brine, then boiled or baked.

Kasha. Buckeheat served over bow-tie pasta.

Kugels. A casserole-style dish, either savory (with grated vegetables and cheese) or sweet (with noodles and custard). The Big Nosh version contains noodles, milk, cheese, sugar, and raisins.

Latkes. Potato pancakes.

Pastrami. Brisket of beef that has been cured in a mixture of garlic, peppercorns, sugar, coriander seeds, etc., and smoked before cooking.

Pickled beets.

Potato knish. Consists of a mashed potato filling covered with dough that is either baked, grilled, or deep fried.

Rye bread

Tzimmes. A sweet stew, typically made from carrots and dried fruits such as prunes or raisins, often combined with other root vegetables. The dish is cooked slowly over low heat and flavored with honey or sugar and sometimes cinnamon or other spices.

Lezlie Patterson, Special to The State

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "At Sunday’s Big Nosh, ‘everyone is there to eat’."