Mandelbrot (), with a number of variant spellings, and called mandel bread or kamish in English-speaking countries and kamishbrot in Ukraine, is a type of
cookie found in
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern, Central, Western, Northern, and Southern Europe, and their descendants, particularly in the United States and other Western coun ...
and popular amongst
Eastern European Jews
The expression 'Eastern European Jewry' has two meanings. Its first meaning refers to the current political spheres of the Eastern European countries and its second meaning refers to the Jewish communities in Russia and Poland. The phrase 'Easte ...
. The Yiddish word ''mandlbroyt'' literally means
almond bread, a reference to its common ingredient of almonds. It is typically formed by baking a loaf which is then cut into small slabs and twice-baked in order to form a crunchy exterior. The cookies were popular in Eastern Europe among rabbis, merchants and other itinerant Jews as a staple dessert that kept well.
Its precise origin is unknown, as is its historic relationship with
biscotti, a similar
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
cookie. It is made with oil and not butter and so is
pareve
In ''kashrut'', the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve (from yi, פאַרעוו for "neutral", in Hebrew , and also parve and other variant English spellings) is a classification of edible substances that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients. ...
and can be served as part of the
Shabbat dinner
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
.
The basic ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs and oil. Additional ingredients vary between bakers, but common additions include
almonds,
walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''.
Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
s,
cinnamon,
chocolate chips or diced
candied fruit
Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type of ...
. Mandelbrot is called ''kamishbrot'' in Ukraine, and the two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States.
[Eisenberg Joyce and Scolnic, Ellen. ''Dictionary of Jewish Words.'' Jewish Publication Society, 2006, p. 98-99.]
See also
*
List of almond dishes
This is a list of almond foods and dishes, which use almond as a primary ingredient. The almond is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. "Almond" is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within ...
*
List of cookies
This is a list of notable cookies (American English), also called biscuits (British English). Cookies are typically made with flour, egg, sugar, and some type of shortening such as butter or cooking oil, and baked into a small, flat shape.
Cooki ...
*
References
External links
Recipe for Mandelbrot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandelbrot
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine
Jewish baked goods
Almond cookies
Twice-baked goods