Kugel ( kugl, pronounced ) is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen (לאָקשן קוגל lokshen kugel) or potato (קארטאפל קוגל kartufl kugel). It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine dish, often served on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.
Etymology
The name of the dish comes from the Middle High German kugel meaning 'sphere, globe, ball'; thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round, puffed-up shape of the original dishes (compare to
German language Gugelhupf—a type of ring-shaped cake). However, nowadays kugel is often baked in square pans.
Litvaks (Jews from Lithuania, northeastern Poland and northern Russia) call the pudding kugel, Galitzianers (Jews from southeastern Poland and western Ukraine) call it kigel.
History
The first kugels were made from
bread and
flour and were savory rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, Jewish cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with
lokshen noodles or
farfel.
Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of
cottage cheese and
milk created a custard-like consistency common in today's dessert dishes. In
Poland, Jewish homemakers added
,
cinnamon and sweet
curd cheese to noodle kugel recipes. In the late 19th century,
combined
sugar and
black pepper in a noodle kugel known as the Jerusalem kugel (), which is a commonly served at Shabbat
and is a popular side dish served with
cholent during Shabbat lunch.
In Romania, this dish is called Budinca de macaroane ("macaroni pudding") or Baba acolo. It is made with or without cheese, but almost always includes raisins.
Savory kugel may be based on potatoes, matzah, cabbage, , zucchini, spinach, or cheese.
Romani people call it pirogo. The Romani version is made with raisins, cream cheese, and butter.
Varieties
Jerusalem kugel
, (ירושלמי קוגל 'Jerusalem kugel'), also known as
Galilean kugel, is an
Israeli Jews kugel dish originating from the
Old Yishuv community of
Jerusalem in the 1700s.
Noodle kugel
Noodle kugel () is an
Ashkenazi Jewish casserole, side dish and popular variety of kugel made with
lokshen noodles and either a variety of dairy or
pareve ingredients.
Potato kugel
Potato kugel is a potato-based kugel of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, made with grated or pureed
,
, eggs,
flour or
Matzah meal,
Cooking oil,
Edible salt and
Black pepper.
Vargabéles
A Hungarian sweet dish made with angel hair pasta, curd, eggs, raisin, and phyllo pastry.
Jewish festivals
Kugels are a mainstay of festive meals in Ashkenazi Jewish homes, particularly on the
Shabbat and other
or at a tish. Some
Hasidic Judaism Jews believe that eating kugel on the Jewish Sabbath brings special spiritual blessings, particularly if that kugel was served on the table of a Hasidic
Rebbe.
South African slang usage
Among South African Jews, the word
kugel was used by the elder generation as a term for a young Jewish woman who forsook traditional Jewish dress values for those of the ostentatiously wealthy and became overly materialistic and overgroomed, mirroring how the kugel is a plain pudding garnished as a delicacy. The women thus described
reappropriation, and it has since become an amusing rather than derogatory
slang in South African English for a materialistic young woman.
Similar dishes
See also
External links
