SETTING THE TABLE

The dish I am making is called Sufganiyot. It is a fried donut sprinkled with powdered sugar and filled with pudding, or jelly, or chocolate ganache. My dish is from Jewish heritage and tied specifically Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a Hebrew celebration about the festival of lights and is celebrated for about a week or so, that takes place in December. The middle ages is when the fried donuts officially became tied with Hanukkah because they were seen as a special and savory dish because the ingredients especially sugar were expensive(Marks). When sugar became cheaper they were more common. This dish is important because in 1920, the Israeli labor federation declared Sufganiyot the official food of hanukkah and it became the most popular. It was tied with labor because it gave Israelis jobs(Rude). To make the donuts, market them, and sell them. Anyone can make Sufganiyot it is common to make them together to practice celebration. They are made in the weeks becoming of hanukkah to prepare for the demand. Making the dish requires mixing flour and yeast, later letting the bread rise several different times for a period of time. After the bread has fully risen you heat up a pan with oil and drop the bread for a couple minutes on each side to fry it. After the bread is fried, you need to let it cool so it is not too hot for the filling and sugar to melt. You cut a small slit on the top with a knife less than an inch wide or poke a wide hole with a toothpick. Once you get a slit big enough you fill it with most commonly jam, or you can use chocolate ganache such as Nutella, as well as pudding(video). When Sufganiyot is filled you then top it off with powdered sugar. Making donuts is not a difficult task and is fun to make, but I have never made donuts before and in this case letting the bread rise could take time and I could make a mistake and it could not rise properly. I could also fry the donuts too long and accidently burn it. These jelly donuts can also be prepared kosher as well as dairy free. Which can be crucial to the ones who practice a kosher and dairy free diet due to religious beliefs and circumstances. Sufganiyot is a religious dish because it is eaten during Hanukkah, and has become more common because it is no longer expensive and does not have expensive ingredients anymore. Furthermore, creating this dish created jobs and a booming business. It is easy and fun to make, and is a time to cook and celebrate with your family. Family and baking which is a tradition associated with Hanukkah is significant. It is not the people that makes it religious it is the dish and its history, as well as how it is made and who it is celebrated with in which it makes it religious. I wanted to make this because I love donuts, all kinds. I have a big sweet tooth and love to bake in my spare time.I was interested in doing something I have never made before and wanted to try and make it. Also I wanted to tie it with a religion I am intrigued in. A dessert associated with Judaism is a perfect dish for me. I am also very fascinated with jewish culture and the religion and wanted a dish specifically tied with judaism.

NUTRITION FACTS

My dish is called Sufganiyot, a Hebrew dish. This dish celebrates Jewish Culture. Sufganiyot is from the Jewish heritage and tied specifically to Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a Hebrew celebration about the festival of lights and is celebrated for 9 nine days. Festival of lights takes place in December. The middle ages is when the fried donuts officially became tied with Hanukkah because they were seen as a special and savory dish because the ingredients especially sugar were expensive. When sugar became cheaper they were more common. Credit is given to Israelis in 1920 when Palestines, (the national labor group) was trying to plan the economic activities of Jewish workers located in the area. This dish is important because in 1920, the Israeli labor federation declared Sufganiyot the official food of hanukkah and it became the most popular dessert celebrated during Hanukkah. It was tied with labor because it gave Israelis jobs. (Rude, 2015). “Sufganiyot in Hebrew translates to pastry and in Talmudic means spongy dough. During the time of Hanukkah, Jews celebrate this holiday by eating fried foods in correlation to the miracle linked with temple oil. This tradition goes all the way back to the 12th century” (Wikipedia, 2019).

Hanukkah means dedication and symbolizes the rededication to the temple. Sufganiyot are jelly or custard filled donuts and are cooked in oil. “The oil represents the oil lamps that are burned for 8 days straight” (Marks, 2018). Olive oil is important because this particular oil was used to light the menorah in jerusalem. That's why during hanukkah fried foods can be the main objects, because frying in oil has historic and religious meaning with an important background. “Sufganiyot dates back to Israel and there is an Israeli folktale that says when God had Adam and Eve kicked out of the garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit, God tried to cheer them up with jelly donuts” (Rude, 2015).

“One of the first Sufganiyot recipes ever recorded was by the Germans. In 1532 Germans placed this dish in a cookbook called Kuchenmeister. This German word translates to master of the Kitchen. This cookbook is significant because it was historically one of the firsts cookbooks printed of the Gutenberg's family printing press” (Marks, 2018). As well, European countries first had sufganiyot with different meats and mushrooms, not a sweet filling. In the 16th century, Caribbean colonies brought sugar that was cheap because it was produced by slaves, led to the production of jam and fruit preserves. And from there on became more popular and cheaper to fill the pastries with jam. "Originally they were made by having two slices of bread and putting the jam in between them before deep frying them in lard" (Marks, 2018).

Today they are cooked with yeast, flour, sugar, eggs, and more. You mix the dry and wet ingredients into separate bowls then mixing them and combining them together to form dough. The dough is then pressed and rounded and cut into smaller shapes, and finally rolled into a ball form. They are then fried on oil, and let them cool for a few minutes and filing them with jam, custard, and other sweet fillings. They are best served warm and fresh cooked. (Editors, H., & Networks, A. T)

The definition of well being means to be happy and healthy and Sufganiyot can be related to well being because donuts are a sweet treat that makes people feel happy and with a healthy diet it is good to have sweets every so often. This dish is also a happy dish because it is eaten in celebration of culture and history and to be with loved ones and family.

Sufganiyot can be considered social justice because the making and preparation of the dish created jobs, and increased the number of people working and earning money. Furthermore, creating this dish created jobs and a booming business. It is easy and fun to make, and is a time to cook and celebrate with your family. Family and baking which is a tradition associated with Hanukkah is significant. This dish is important not just because of the religious meaning but to also how it is made and what it can do for a community.

Environmental justice is a factor as well because with the cheaper products, more sugar and fruit preserves were being produced and benefiting the environment. Slaves used to produce the sugar, but with the demand they had more acceptable ways of getting the sugar and benefiting the people as well. To make the donuts, market them, and sell them. Anyone can make Sufganiyot it is common to make them together to practice celebration. They are made in the weeks becoming of hanukkah to prepare for the demand.

Sufganiyot resembles religious freedom because with this dish they are celebrating their religion and their culture. In which they are free to do so and can celebrate Hanukkah by eating this dish.

Indigestion

Sufganiyot can encourage well-being because it is a “happy” dish and a delicious, sweet treat. Sufganiyot is also a happy and celebratory dish because of its history, its culture, and the tradition it carries. It can also be considered socially justice because of the history it carries. With the cheaper production and increased availability of the dish, it produced more jobs and helped the environment and culture. Environmental justice is a factor as well because with the cheapened sugar and safer production. Slaves used to make the sugar, and it was not easy to make. It was also expensive. Once the sugar was produced cheaper and easier it was in high demand and the economy grew immensely from that. Religious freedom is resembled because it is a religious dish made at a religious time. America has the freedom of religion and Jews celebrating Hanukkah while creating this dish is a prime example of religious freedom.

In disagreement, Sufganiyot cannot resemble well-being because it is not a healthy dish. It is fried and filled with sugar, made with sugar, and topped with sugar. If eaten excessively and regularly with an unhealthy diet, it could increase the risk of diabetes and even cause it. The risk of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases also increases. If the dish is cooked improperly and not cooked thoroughly it could cause someone to become sick and possibly get food poisoning. If made in big batches, it could cause many people to become sick, they could potentially miss work and create chaos. In strong Jewish cultures, many Jews run Jewish centers, businesses, factories, and Jewish friendly work environments together. If a bad batch was eaten between them, it could stop work for a short amount of time and halt business.

Environmental justice could be an issue because during Hanukkah thousands and thousands of Sufganiyot batches are produced. Hanukkah lasts several weeks and with this, it could halt production of other baked goods and desserts, which would mean that other religious dishes could be not made, causing distress to other religions. With the holiday time during December, people celebrate with desserts, and there is a high demand for the ingredients. Production of Sufganiyot could cause over production in farms and factories or cause a focus on the ingredients for Sufganiyot and not on other desserts, potentially causing a shortage.

Social IN-justice in relation to this dish is probable because with the production of sugar made by slaves, some people think that the indigestion of this food is not justifiable because it used to be made by slaves. Slavery is not ethically or morally right. I, and many people, believe that the use of slavery is inhumane.

Religious freedom can be evaluated for moral disagreement because it is a Hanukkah dish, and other religions are not really allowed or suggested to eat it for their religious holidays because Judaism is not their religion. It is not a religious-wide friendly dish. The only people, businesses, or factories one sees make this dish are that of Jewish heritage. Therefore, if other religions were to make it or produce it, and sell it knowing they are not Jewish, it could potentially go very wrong. Judaism is the only religion Sufganiyot is linked with, so other religions and practices cannot make it because it is not their religious dish to make. It can be unjustifiable for Sufganiyot to be prepared because it is not considered freedom for all religions to make. If it was not a religious dish, any religion and anybody could prepare it without being accused of injustice.

Just Desserts

From the get-go I wanted to pick a dish that was from the Jewish religion. I think the Jewish/Hebrew religion is incredibly fascinating. Jesus was a Jew which is a fact some Christians do not want to admit. Hanukkah seems like a beautiful holiday and I love to read and watch things about the holiday. At my previous church we had “Jews for Jesus” representatives come to our church and held a traditional seder meal. It was a very interesting time to listen to them talk about Jews and Hanukkah. Making the dish and tasting my product made me realize that I was not making it for a holiday, just a fun class requirement. I did not celebrate the dish and did not feel it was for religious purposes because I was not celebrating Hanukkah. Although, I did have fun trying to make it with a friend just like the Jewish culture does. They make it to celebrate the tradition and culture of their history. Compared to the food I normally eat it was not very tasty, only because I cooked it incorrectly. But I do love to eat sweets and if it was cooked correctly I would have loved it and would love to eat it every chance I get. Donuts are one of my favorite desserts and I found out that they are not very easy to make at home and are probably best when they come from a professional bakery. The religious significance of this dish comes from the ingredients, specifically sugar. It became cheaper and easier to make and produce when slaves stopped making the sugar and they got it from a better and cheaper source. The dish was a original Hanukkah dish because it gave Israelis jobs to produce sugar and make these treats. Religion played a role in the making of this dish because it was for a religion requirement and was required in order to realize the importance of religion and what it signifies.

Kitchen Time

*errors I made were using all purpose flour for all the flour needs. instead of using whole wheat flour for half of it

***Use a roller to spread dough evenly***

This would of helped smooth it out so it was one solid shape. My nephew uses our roller as a toy and could not find ours. I used a cup and it did NOT work.

**Use a skillet or deep fryer to fry the donuts.

**I got oil way WAY too hot and burned 3 and my house still smells burnt.