A Drizzle of Honey: The Life and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews

Rating:
Summary: Preoccupied with the Inquisition
Review: A Drizzle of Honey is many books at once. While it is often featured in cookbook sections, that is a tiny part of what makes it great. Indeed, as a cookbook it is strange, because like most pre-columbian european cuisine, the food does not seem very apetizing. What is wonderful is that the book is a great social history, telling how crypto Jews who remained in Spain after the inquisition were often caught because of foods that they ate and when they ate them. One can imagine the inquisition puzzling over recipes to identify some as "jewish" and therefore suspect.

The stories that the author gives along with the recipes are extremely moving and tell the tale of a people struggling to hold onto their identity in the face of adversity. While you may not want to eat the food, it will certainly want to make you cry.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent piece of scholarship; so-so as a cookbook
Review: David Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson have successfully compiled numerous recipes from the medieval timeperiod. As a vegetarian, this book was of little use to me in the kitchen (three-quarters of the recipes are meat based) but if I did eat meat, some of the stews would probably be delicious and easily adapted to a crockpot! The real strength of this book comes from the meticulous scholarship of the authors who give a fascinating glimpse into the lives of conversos (Jews living as Christians for survival). In many of the stories (and a little vignette accompanies each recipe), jealous neighbors or suspicious gentile servants reveal the outcomes of their spying on their neighbors (my favorite being the servant who noted that her mistress must definitely be a Jew since she uncomplainingly leapt into bed with her husband on Friday night in contrast to all the other days of the week!). Gitlitz and Davidson pain an excellent picture of medieval life in close quarters and successfully transmit the constant stress and tension in the lives of these individuals trying to straddle two worlds.

Rating:
Summary: When chicken soup got you killed instead of healed
Review: I came across this in the shelves the other day and was mesmerized. David Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson are a husband and wife team and teachers at the the University of Rhode Island. David is a past winner of the 1996 National Jewish Book Award, and he is a specialist in aljamas (jewish neighborhoods), the converso/crypto Jews, the anusim (forced converts) and the meshumadim (willing coverts). Using cookbooks and Inquisition documents in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan (including the rare 13th Century Al Andalus cookbook of the Cocina Hispano-Magribi), the authors have recreating over 90 recipes of the Converso jewish community. During the Inquisitions in the Iberian peninsula, Jews and Moslems were killed, exiled, or converted. Some of the converted remained Jewish or Moslem and became Crypto-Jews, Crypto-Moslems, or Conversos. Spain expelled Jews in 1492 (you know, when Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue); Portugal expelled Jews in 1497. The recipes are well categorized, and make use of lamb, beef, fish, eggplant, greens, turnips, chickpeas, as well as mace, cinnamon, ginger, lavender, rue, portulaca, and dozens of other spices. Most recipes include histories and characters of the period, which is the prime motivation to purchase this book. For example, along of the recipes of Beatrice Nunez, we learn that she was arrested in 1485. Her maid turned her in to the Inquisition for the crime of maintaining a kosher kitchen. She also prepared a Sabbath stew of lamb, chickpeas and eggs. Proof enough to have her burned at the stake. Among my favorite recipes is Mayor Gonzalez's Egg and Carrot Casserole. She was imprisoned in 1483 for killing a goose in "the Jewish way." Then there is Juan Sanchez's hamin of chickpeas, spinach and cabbage; and Maria de Luna's rasquillas, honey pastries that she prepared for the post-Yom Kippur fast. She was arrested in 1505 for this crime. There is also Juan de Teva's Roast Lamb dish. Juan's father was a rabbi who was burned to death i n1484. The authors also include the Roast Chicken with Fruit and Almori recipe of Anton de Montoro. Senor de Montoro was a rag merchat in Cordoba, but is most well known as being the converso poet to the Court of Queen Isabel of Castile. De Montoro was accused of preparing stuffed radishes (a Jewish dish) and Pollo Judio (jewish chicken). Easily, this is among the top three Jewish Cookbooks of the year.

Rating:
Summary: Highly readable history and cookbook that really works
Review: In a book that is equal parts history and cookbook, authors Gitlitz and Davidson explore the world of the Crypto-Jews or Conversos - Jews who converted to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition but who continued to practice their religion in secret. Inquisitors were tireless in their efforts to uncover these clandestine Jews, and one of their means was to identify characteristically Jewish traditions in food preparation and eating. Their records provide part of the basis for this fascinating look at how the sweep of world history intersected with the mundane details of ordinary lives. The introduction includes a discussion of characteristic ingredients and techniques, and each recipe is accompanied by the story of the person who was implicated by the simple act of preparing a meal. Most of the recipes are too exotic for my family's taste, but the ones I tried worked well. If you like to encounter history through taste and smell and the experience of re-creating your ancestors' dinners - or just want to imagine what those meals were like - then you will relish this book.

Rating:
Summary: distinctive Crypto Jewish cusine
Review: One of the ways I became pretty certain that my family were of Spanish-Jewish origin was an outline of their eating habits. I had heard that if one ate or prepared various foods, or omitted others, it could be used as evidence against him or her at an Inquisition trial. A Drizzle of Honey could have served as a map of my grandmother's kitchen, and I had some intensely personal reading experiences.

My grandmother, for example, prepared the fairly unpopular vegetable, Swiss Chard, at least once, if not two times, a week and I linked it to the fact that Swiss Chard was one of those foods that could incriminate one as a crypto Jew. From among the Swiss Chard recipes in the book, I found to my delight that one is a version of a dish my grandmother regularly cooked.

The strongest points of this work are the usability of the recipes and the commentary--a history, in fact--accompanying them. The recipes are clear and "followable," unlike some found in similar cookbooks, that is, cookbooks that claim to resuscitate an ancient cusine in the present-day idiom but cause you to find yourself searching for arcane ingredients through mail-order houses that no longer exist. All recipes are "doable."

But it is more than a cookbook--it is a history book, bringing readers into close, personal contact with actual historical figures through their Inquisition testimony, or the testimony of their accusers. It was particularly chilling for me to read, knowing that my forbears could easily have been among the "criminals." These recipes honor their original authors by assuming their names, a personal touch that links readers to a tasteful tradition composed of distinctive individuals whose stories finally get told through what they cooked.

Rating:
Summary: I Lost my Appetite
Review: Sorry, I was looking for cool kosher Spanish recipes. The title "A Drizzle of Honey" sounded good but....

In front of each recipe is a story about someone who was tortured or burned at the stake or persecuted. Some of the descriptions are quite graphic, for example, a woman was tortured by putting a thin cloth over her mouth and then pouring water into her throat which gave her the sensation of drowning. At the last moment, they pulled the cloth out, and she told them anything they wanted. She begged only to die, but they did it to her again. Following is her recipe for heaven-knows-what -- I'm not hungry anymore.

In another vignette, a daughter turns her mother in to be burned at the stake, by reporting how her mother threw a crucifix down the latrine. Another recipe follows.

There are recipes for pork, and recipes by people dying of horrifically nauseating diseases. Other dinnertime conversation includes gouging people's eyes out, and the sanitary conditions of medieval Mexico. I never figured out what they were drizzling the honey on. Maybe it was some kind of torture.

It *was* a fascinating study of the Inquisition, but as a cookbook, it's terrible. Don't let the pretty picture on the cover fool you.

It would have been better if they had just wrote about the Spanish Inquisition, and then offered the cookbook as a smaller, separate companion.

I left this in the hallway for my neighbors to take. I was grossed out by it being in my kitchen.

For now, I'll stick with my 1,000 Jewish Recipes book, which contains some healthy Sephardic recipes.

Rating:
Summary: I Lost my Appetite
Review: Sorry, I was looking for cool kosher Spanish recipes. The title "A Drizzle of Honey" sounded good but....

In front of each recipe is a story about someone who was tortured or burned at the stake or persecuted. Some of the descriptions are quite graphic, for example, a woman was tortured by putting a thin cloth over her mouth and the pouring a jug of water in which gave her the sensation of drowning. At the last moment, they pulled the cloth out, and she told them anything they wanted. She begged only to die, but they did it to her again. Following is her recipe for heaven-knows-what -- I'm not hungry anymore.

In another vignette, a daughter turns her mother in to be burned at the stake, by reporting that her mother threw a crucifix down the latrine. Another recipe follows.

It *was* a fascinating study of the Inquisition, but as a cookbook, it's terrible. Don't let the pretty picture on the cover fool you.

For now, I'll stick with my 1,000 Jewish Recipes book, which contains some healthy Sephardic recipes.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Marvellous
Review: What a marvellous, marvellous book. Did I say it was marvellous? Well its simply marvellous. It would be a great asset for people who like historical recipes, but also for those that just like good food. I must admit I have a penchant collecting up old recipes. Up until now I have only ever read English recipes and I had never come across any Jewish cooking before let alone old recipes from Spanish Jews. I just can't believe how wonderful the recipes are and what a fantastic job the authors of this have done in presenting them.

The introduction to the book is brief and to the point . Its an interesting background on the period, the people and the ingredients that were used. I ought to say here that I don't really know if this is more history book or a recipe book, but whatever it is the authors get the balance right. They have interspaced each recipe with a pertinent story about the Spanish Jews prosecution for religion - or should I say persecution?

Each recipe has all the ingredients, which are as authentic as possible, as well as all the measurements and temperatures and so on to make it work for modern kitchens.

I have the book in hardcover but I notice the paperback version is now available, unfortunately I don't know if the paperback has the same production values. The Harcover has a wonderfully warm honey bright cover which I loved. The paper inside was also nice, it has the 'uncut' roughened look to the edges and they use a type face for the headgins which makes it seem more authentic. Its kind of picky but I wish they hadn't used the colour they did on the pages - its all done in this sort of browny/red colour. Its the only thing I didn't like about the book.

There are quite a few explanatory footnotes at the end of the book too for various dishes &c.. However there aren't any lavish pictures of the dishes which one would usually expect in a cookbook- all the printing is in one colour and it is just words and the odd line drawing, but then pictures just don't seem to be needed.

Most of the recipes seem really simple and with some 300 pages of them I haven't yet tried many- Aldonza Lainez's Turnip and Cheese Casserole (page 55) is my favourite so far - but quite a few of the desserts look too tempting for words (Mexican Almond cookies - page 276)

Rating:
Summary: Confusing scholarship and the culinary arts
Review: Who were the secret Jews of the Iberian Peninsula? I have heard the term "Marano", but this book talks about "Crypto-Jews" and "Conversos." There are other terms as well. They were Jews who forcibly or willingly converted to Christianity during the Inquisition and continued to live in Spain, Portugal, and their colonies after the 1492 expulsion. "Crypto" refers to those who tried to still live as underground Jews, at least in the first two generations, and to preserve something of their Jewish heritage, always in danger of being informed on and subject to the Inquisition. Even today, there are people who can trace their ancestry to the Maranos or conversos.

This is a meticulously researched historical cookbook by a husband and wife team who are professors at the University of Rhode Island. The documentation comes from medieval cookbooks and surprisingly from Inquisition trial records, where we have the actual names of the accused. The culinary influences span the 14th through the 17th centuries, but the focus of this book is on the recipes of conversos, converted Jews who continued under Spanish and Portuguese rule after the the 1492 expulsion.

In many cases, the original recipes of those on trial were only lists, but through the medieval cookbooks, they were able to clarify a lot of the confusion. This is not a Kosher cookbook. There is even a recipe which includes pork, which shows the extent to which some of the conversos had assimilated. Indeed, as the authors point out, what makes these recipes Jewish and proof of the accused individuals' Jewish practice, is sometimes in doubt, as prior to the Inquisition period at the beginning of the 14th century, the three main religions lived side by side and all cooking was largely a mixture of Mediterranean and Arabic influences, and what was available in the region. The inquisitors, albeit not looking for true justice, must have recognized that, and appeared much more interested in obtaining "proof" of "Judaizing" through observance and practice - evidence of Kashering meats for example, not eating pork or shellfish, and evidence of preparation of special holiday foods, such as Matzoh, and preparing foods especially for Friday night.

The authors have lab tested the recipes and updated them for the modern kitchen, while preserving the text of the original. For example, they humorously tell you how they have altered receipes for Almori, a fermented down mess of rotted barley, vegetables, unleavened bread, salt, herbs, and spices. Lamb was a popular meat dish, and is replicated here in meat pies. Sausages, fish, cheeses, and various egg recipes are represented. There are several matzoah "Pan Cenceno" recipes and one for "Harotzet Balls."

This is an important contribution to a little known period of Jewish history and a tribute to those who died or suffered for their religion. Whether you try these recipes in your kitchen or not, without a doubt but you will want to read and relish this book from cover to cover.

Rating:
Summary: An important historical and culinary contribution
Review: Who were the secret Jews of the Iberian Peninsula? I have heard the term "Marano", but this book talks about "Crypto-Jews" and "Conversos." There are other terms as well. They were Jews who forcibly or willingly converted to Christianity during the Inquisition and continued to live in Spain, Portugal, and their colonies after the 1492 expulsion. "Crypto" refers to those who tried to still live as underground Jews, at least in the first two generations, and to preserve something of their Jewish heritage, always in danger of being informed on and subject to the Inquisition. Even today, there are people who can trace their ancestry to the Maranos or conversos.

This is a meticulously researched historical cookbook by a husband and wife team who are professors at the University of Rhode Island. The documentation comes from medieval cookbooks and surprisingly from Inquisition trial records, where we have the actual names of the accused. The culinary influences span the 14th through the 17th centuries, but the focus of this book is on the recipes of conversos, converted Jews who continued under Spanish and Portuguese rule after the the 1492 expulsion.

In many cases, the original recipes of those on trial were only lists, but through the medieval cookbooks, they were able to clarify a lot of the confusion. This is not a Kosher cookbook. There is even a recipe which includes pork, which shows the extent to which some of the conversos had assimilated. Indeed, as the authors point out, what makes these recipes Jewish and proof of the accused individuals' Jewish practice, is sometimes in doubt, as prior to the Inquisition period at the beginning of the 14th century, the three main religions lived side by side and all cooking was largely a mixture of Mediterranean and Arabic influences, and what was available in the region. The inquisitors, albeit not looking for true justice, must have recognized that, and appeared much more interested in obtaining "proof" of "Judaizing" through observance and practice - evidence of Kashering meats for example, not eating pork or shellfish, and evidence of preparation of special holiday foods, such as Matzoh, and preparing foods especially for Friday night.

The authors have lab tested the recipes and updated them for the modern kitchen, while preserving the text of the original. For example, they humorously tell you how they have altered receipes for Almori, a fermented down mess of rotted barley, vegetables, unleavened bread, salt, herbs, and spices. Lamb was a popular meat dish, and is replicated here in meat pies. Sausages, fish, cheeses, and various egg recipes are represented. There are several matzoah "Pan Cenceno" recipes and one for "Harotzet Balls."

This is an important contribution to a little known period of Jewish history and a tribute to those who died or suffered for their religion. Whether you try these recipes in your kitchen or not, without a doubt but you will want to read and relish this book from cover to cover.