Bringing Israeli cuisine into your home

Yes, yes, we’ve all heard it before, they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat. But there is a reason food sits at the centre of Jewish life. It is the language we speak before we have words for what we feel – on Shabbat, at the seder table, at a shiva.

And nowhere is this truer than in Israel, where the national cuisine is less a single tradition than a conversation between dozens: Yemeni flatbreads alongside Moroccan spiced fish, Persian herb frittatas next to Ashkenazi stuffed cabbage, all of it bound together by olive oil, tahini, and the extraordinary produce of the Middle Eastern sun.

Finding the ingredients

The good news for Australian Jews is that the building blocks of Israeli cooking are more accessible than ever. Tahini, za’atar, sumac, pomegranate molasses and dried chickpeas are now stocked by most large Coles and Woolworths supermarkets, as well as any Middle Eastern grocery store.

For specifically Israeli and kosher-certified products, Melbourne is exceptionally well-served. Kosher Kingdom at 482B Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick, is a licensed supermarket stocking imported Israeli wines, kosher pantry staples, and specialty products difficult to find elsewhere.