The 2013 championship word in the National Spelling Bee was “knaidel,” the Yiddish word for matzoh ball. The fact that a Yiddish word was even in the National Spelling Bee was a cause of consternation for many people who cherish European Jewish culture.
Yiddish, after all, is written in Hebrew characters, and there are many ways to transliterate it into English. For the Spellilng Bee word, varients include “kneydl” (the spelling preferred by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Culture), “knaydel” and “kneidel.” (The “k” is not silent, and the emphasis is on the first syllable. It rhymes with “cradle.”)
What other Yiddish food word will make it onto the spelling bee list? I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them is “schmaltz” – literally chicken or goose fat, but a word that has come to mean something overly emotional or corny. If you want to stick with food-related similes, you could say “cheesy,” though a kosher cook would never mix schmaltz with cheese.
A related word that I don’t think we’ll ever see on spelling lists is gribbenes, again because there are so many ways to spell it in English, including grieven and grievenes.
A rare treat
Growing up, we called it “gribbies” – and it was a real treat.
Gribbenes (rhymes with CRIB-a-miss) is what was left when thrifty homemakers of yore rendered chicken or goose fat. The word literally means “scraps.” Most Jews in those days observed the dietary laws separating milk and meat. For meat meals, they couldn’t use butter for frying, there was no such thing as margarine, and oil was a luxury, so most Jewish housewives kept a crock of schmaltz to use in cooking.
Gribbenes are completely unhealthy – but oh so delicious! Eating them once or twice a year won’t kill you. Eat them as is as a snack, or mix into noodles or a cooked vegetable as a side dish.
Here’s how to make schmaltz and gribbenes. Save the schmaltz (you can freeze it) for the next time you make knaidlach (the plural of the infamous “knaidel”).
Schmaltz and gribbenes
Ingredients
- 4 cups of chicken fat and fatty skin (from 4 chickens; you can save it up in the freezer till you have enough)
- ½ cup water
- 1 large onion, sliced thin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the chicken fat and skin into ½-inch pieces.
- Place them in a skillet with the water and bring to the boil. The water will evaporate and the fat will start to melt.
- Reduce heat to simmer and add the sliced onion.
- Continue cooking until all the fat is melted and clear and the skin and onions are dark brown.
- Strain to separate the fat from the solids and store the fat in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
- Drain the gribbenes on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!
Boy, did you bring back memories of my mother’s kitchen and gribbenes—I know they were a delicacy—but I never liked them. But it was fun remembering something from my childhood
Thanks
Elaine