Lokshen mit kaese, ( yi, לאָקשן ), also known as ( he, איטריות ), Jewish mac and cheese, lokshen with cheese, or Jewish egg noodles with cottage cheese, is an

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

dish popular in the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of t ...

particularly in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, consisting of

lokshen Lokshen ( yi, לאָקשן ), also known as ( he, איטריות), locshen, lockshen, or Jewish egg noodles, is the common name of a range of Ashkenazi Jewish egg noodles that are commonly used in a variety of Jewish dishes including chicken so ...

, or Jewish egg noodles that are served with a

cheese sauce Cheese sauce is a sauce made with cheese or processed cheese as a primary ingredient. Sometimes dried cheese or cheese powder is used. Several varieties exist and it has many various culinary uses. Mass-produced commercial cheese sauces are also ...

typically made with

cottage cheese Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining the cheese, as opposed to pressing it to make cheese curd—retaining some of the whey and keeping ...

and black pepper, and sometimes farmers cheese may be used in place of the cottage cheese, and sour cream, butter, caramelized onions, garlic, tomatoes, mint, currants, parmesan, and other ingredients may be added. Sometimes a sweet variety is made with

cinnamon sugar Cinnamon sugar is a mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar used as a spice to flavor foods such as Belgian waffles, Snickerdoodle cookies, tortillas, coffee cake, French toast, and churros. It is also used to flavor apples, cereals, and ...

. It has been compared to a deconstructed noodle kugel and is considered by many to be a Jewish comfort food.

Etymology

''Lokshen mit kaese'' comes from the almost identical

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

term for the dish, ''Lokshen mit kaese'', meaning ''Lokshen (Jewish egg noodles) with cheese''.

History

According to the late Jewish culinary historian Rabbi

Gil Marks Gilbert Stanley Marks (May 30, 1952 – December 5, 2014) was an American food writer and historian noted for his reference and cookbooks on the subject of Jewish food. He was the founding editor of ''Kosher Gourmet'' magazine. He moved to Israel ...

, lokshen mit kaese originated more than 800 years ago in the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

communities of Eastern Europe sometime during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

as a relative of the lokshen kugel, and was a relatively cheap meal for the then impoverished Jewish population of the

shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

. The

Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas ...

preferred a savory version of the dish seasoned with salt and pepper while the

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lo ...

preferred a sweet version of the dish sprinkled with sugar and sometimes cinnamon. When Jews fled from the escalating

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and

pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

in Eastern Europe and sought refuge in the

and other countries in the

, as well as in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, they brought this dish with them. Lokshen mit kaese remained popular in the American Jewish community, though beginning in the late 20th century it began to decrease in popularity due to a growing mistrust of

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

due to its possible health effects, and a general desire to move away from old-fashioned tastes. Today lokshen mit kaese remains popular and is considered a comfort food comparable to

macaroni and cheese Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom BBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce. The ...

for many American Jews, some of whom introduced new ingredients into the dish such as Italian pasta, butter, parmesan cheese, mint, cherry tomatoes and currants, among others.

Overview

Two main types of the dish exist, a savory and a sweet. Both are typically made with lokshen noodles along with cottage cheese, sour cream and sometimes butter. The savory version of lokshen mit kaese usually includes salt, pepper and caramelized onions. While the sweet version is topped with cinnamon and sugar similar to a noodle kugel.

Melissa Clark Melissa Clark is an American food writer, cookbook author and ''New York Times'' columnist. She is the author of over 40 cookbooks and has received multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation and IACP (International Association of Culinary ...

makes a variation with mint, cherry tomatoes, scallions and dried currants.

Preparation

Lokshen mit kaese is typically prepared by boiling a variety of

or Jewish egg noodles. Traditionally longer homemade lokshen egg noodles were and are still sometimes used, however store bought lokshen as well as varnishkes also known as bowtie pasta are a popular choice as well, sometime various shape of Italian pasta such as

macaroni Macaroni (, Italian: maccheroni) is dry pasta shaped like narrow tubes.Oxford DictionaryMacaroni/ref> Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machines ...

elbows are used as well. The Jewish egg noodles are boiled until

al dente In cooking, al dente () describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The etymology is Italian "to the tooth". In contemporary Italian cooking, the term identifies the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking t ...

and then mixed with cottage or pot cheese, and sometime butter, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, chive, or other ingredients may be added, along with a fair amount of cracked black pepper. Sometimes it is made with broad lokshen and served with

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among other ...

In popular culture

*Lokshen mit kaese is used as a Yiddish slang phrase equivalent to hunky dory, or "everything is easy". *Lokshen mit kaese is mentioned in a song listing Jewish foods during the 2013

Broadway play Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

''When You're in Love the Whole World is Jewish'' by

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

, who has said the dish is a childhood favorite of his, based on the 1963 comedy album by

Bob Booker Robert Booker (born 25 January 1958) is an English former footballer who primarily played as a midfielder but often filled other roles in his later years. Born in Watford, England he started his career at Brentford in 1978 where he spent ten ...

and George Foster.

References