donut On the occasion of Hanukkah, the festival of hoods, fried things are definitely made, but in these days, the table is not complete without the ‘asfung’ made in ancient Andalusia.
donut Hanukkah literally means ‘dedication’ and is celebrated annually by the Jewish people to commemorate the event that led to their revolt against the Greek crown that led to their death around 168 BC. After freeing Jerusalem from the Greeks, he rededicated his sacred candlestick to the city’s second largest synagogue.
donut later in the religious books of the Jews, there is a mention of this historical event, where the miracle is also mentioned when the oil in the mentioned holy candlestick burned continuously for eight days and the walls of the Second Temple were illuminated for that number of days. Thus, during the seven days of Hanukkah, oil and fried foods became an integral part of the celebrations.
That’s why every year when Hanukkah, or the Jewish ‘Festival of Lights‘, comes around, you’ll find pancakes made with thinly sliced potatoes, onions and eggs, or latkes and donuts filled with sweet fruit jam. Sufgianiyot) are definitely served.
Instead of the traditional eight-branched candlestick, you’ll find nine-branched minorahs or candlesticks in Jewish households these days.
The week of Hanukkah dates back to the 13th century in Andalusia (present-day Morocco and Spain), when hot donuts called asfung were popular among both Jewish and Muslim communities.On the occasion of Hanukkah, it is common for Jewish families living in different parts of the world, whose ancestors were from ancient Spain,
to prepare fried dishes and sweets, in this sense, fried foods are on the table. The presence of sponge is also not surprising. In hindsight, sfung also seems to be a first cousin of the ancient sweet safgianiyot, popular among Jewish communities.You don’t need to have a special kind of pointed funnel to make sponge, just make a ball of dough,
stretch it long and pinch the two ends to form a circle. After that, throw it in hot oil and fry it for a minute on both sides. The hot sponge is ready. It will taste like a sweet, crunchy toast when chewed, and then your mouth will be filled with a hint of sweetness.
Hélène Joharia Piener not only has a PhD on the history of medieval and medieval cuisine, but is also the author of a book on the cuisine of ancient Spain. Many organizations have recognized Dr. Helen’s abilities.
donut SHARING FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN COUNTRIES
Dr. Hélène’s childhood was spent among natives in France, but on his father’s side he traces his ancestry to ancient Jewish families of Andalusia.
His second book ‘Jews, Food and Spain’ was published in November this year. The truth is, if you have anything to ask about the cuisine of ancient Spain, you couldn’t find a better expert than Dr. Helen.
In her ode to the sphinx, she says, “The sphinx is a giant donut with donut bubbles all over the top and bottom.” It is crunchy and crispy on the outside and airy on the inside.
She points out that asfung is also mentioned in the famous 13th-century food treatise Kitab al-Tabiq, which is the oldest food book in the Spanish and Portuguese peninsula, but says Dr. Hellen. The recipes for making sponges mentioned in such ancient books were completely different from today’s recipes. For example, there was no hole in the middle of the sponge of that time.
In history we find the reappearance of the perforated sponge in a famous 13th century book written in Spanish Arabic.
According to the recipe given in this book, in ancient times sponge was made by adding semolina, yeast and salt to hot water. This sponge required you to fry it in oil until golden on one side but leave it white on top.’
Although the tradition of making esfung began during the time of Muslim rule in Spain, the sweet spread to different regions of the world with the immigrants from Andalusia and today’s esfung can be found from North America to the Middle East. Food recipes are also mirrored.
In 1492, when Granada fell from the hands of the Muslims, donut Queen Isabella of Spain expelled the Jews and Muslims from Andalusia.
Most of them escaped to the area of North Africa that is now part of Morocco, and after a few changes, the tradition of making sponge arrived with them. donut Similarly, this tradition also reached Libya and Tunisia, where the sphinx is called snuffs and bombaloni, respectively.
And then when the state of Israel came into existence in 1948 after riots and massacres, people revived the tradition of Isfing here as well. Between 1948 and 2016, approximately 274,180 Jews immigrated from Morocco to Israel, and according to the latest data, the total number of Moroccan Jews in Israel has reached 472,800.If you consider the different names of esfing, you will discover the story of the sweet’s long journey. This ancient Andalusian festive dessert originated in the peninsula of Spain and Portugal, through North Africa to Israel. How did you arrive?
Dr. Helen explains that sponge is also called ‘esponja’ in Spanish and the origin of this word is the Arabic word ‘sponge’ and it has the same meaning in Urdu, meaning absorbent or sponge. This is also the source of another name for sphinx (safuj) in Hebrew.
Although the Jewish population in Morocco has dwindled significantly and is estimated to be around 3,000, you can still buy sponges from stallholders in Morocco.
Even the Jews who left Morocco and settled in Israel, do not enjoy Hanukkah unless they poke two or four sponges on a plate full of latkes. In the streets of Morocco, you can enjoy it all year round.
According to Dr. Hellen, the ‘asfung’ made in remote areas of the world is proof that it belongs to the common property of Muslims and Jews. This shared value existed in the past and is still there today.
