Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is
rendered (clarified) chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
or
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
. It is an integral part of traditional
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 count ...
, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as
chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from Chicken (food), chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common addition ...
,
latkes
A latke ( yi, לאַטקע ''latke''; sometimes romanized ''latka'', lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah. Latkes can be made with ingredients ot ...
,
matzah brei
Matzah brei ( yi, מצה ברײַ ''matse bray'', literally 'matzah porridge'; he, מצה בריי, ''matzah brei'', or , ''matzah metugenet'', literally, "fried matzah"), sometimes spelled matzah brie, matzoh brei, or matzo brei, is a dish of ...
,
chopped liver
Chopped liver ( yi, געהאַקטע לעבער, ''gehakte leber'') is a liver pâté popular in Ashkenazic cuisine. This dish is a common menu item in kosher Jewish delicatessens in Britain, Canada, South Africa, and the United States.
Prepar ...
,
matzah balls
Matzah balls ( yi, קניידלעך pl., singular ; with numerous other transliterations) or matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumplings made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken ...
,
fried chicken
Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...
, and many others, either as a cooking fat, spread, or
flavor enhancer
A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gustat ...
.
Etymology
Schmaltz is a noun derived from the German verb ''schmelzen'', meaning "to melt". The verb can be traced back to the Germanic root "smeltan", which survives in the Modern English verb "to smelt". The term entered English usage through
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 ...
-speaking
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
who used "schmaltz" to refer to kosher poultry fat; the word ''shmalts'' is the Yiddish word for rendered
chicken fat
Chicken fat is fat obtained (usually as a by-product) from chicken rendering and processing. Of the many animal-sourced substances, chicken fat is noted for being high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid. Linoleic acid levels are between ...
.
The English term "schmaltz" is
derived from Yiddish and is cognate with the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
term ''Schmalz'', which refers to any rendered fat of animal origin, including
lard
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.[Lard]
entry in the o ...
(more fully ''Schweineschmalz'') and
clarified butter
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. w ...
(''Butterschmalz''). English use tends to follow Yiddish, which limits its meaning to rendered poultry fat.
List of English words of Yiddish origin
This is a list of words that have entered the English language from the Yiddish language, many of them by way of American English. There are differing approaches to the romanization of Yiddish orthography (which uses the Hebrew alphabet); thus, ...
See entry ''schmaltz'' in this list
History
Historically, chicken has been the most popular meat in Ashkenazi
Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...
due to
restrictions on Jews who often were not allowed to own land in Europe, and thereby were not able to tend to livestock. Schmaltz originated in the Jewish communities of
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
,
west
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, and
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
Europe as it was an economical replacement for
olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
that typically was not available in these areas. Olive oil previously had an important role in
Jewish culture
Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jewi ...
. It had been used by the ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews in their
Ancient Israelite cuisine
Ancient Israelite cuisine refers to the culinary practices of the Israelites from the Late Bronze Age arrival of Israelites in the Land of Israel through to the mass expulsion of Jews from Roman Judea in the 2nd century CE. Dietary staples amo ...
prior to the forced
exile of Jews from
Roman Israel
Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
, and it remained popular in
Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
and
Mizrahi
''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings.
In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to:
*Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East
* Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...
cuisines.
[
As olive oil and other vegetable oils (e.g. ]sesame oil
Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...
, which Jews had used in Mesopotamia) were unavailable in northwestern Europe, Ashkenazi Jews turned to animal sources, like their Gentile neighbors. However, Kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
prohibited Jews from using the most common cooking fats in northern Europe, namely butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
and lard
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.[Lard]
entry in the o ...
. Butter, being derived from milk, cannot be used with meat under the Jewish prohibition on mixing meat and dairy, while lard is derived from pork, a meat not considered kosher. Furthermore, even among the less common fats available, tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
derived from beef or mutton would have been uneconomical, particularly given that virtually all suet
Suet is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys.
Suet has a melting point of between 45 °C and 50 °C (113 °F and 122 °F) and congelation between 37 °C and 40 °C (98.6&nbs ...
(the raw material for tallow) is ''chelev
Chelev ( he, חֵלֶב, ''kheylev'' or ''ẖelev''), or what is also known as "suet", is the animal fats that the Torah prohibits Jews and Israelites from eating (). Only the ''chelev'' of animals that are of the sort from which offerings can b ...
'' and its consumption is forbidden. Thus Ashkenazi Jews turned to poultry fat as their cooking fat of choice. This fat, which they called schmaltz, became the most popular cooking fat used in 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 ...
s (Jewish villages) of central and eastern Europe. It was commonly used in a multitude of dishes served with, or containing, meat in accordance with kosher dietary laws.[
At the turn of the twentieth century, as the Ashkenazi Jews fled 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 persecution in Europe and sought refuge 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 ...
and other countries, they brought with them their traditional foods, including schmaltz. It remained popular in American Jewish cuisine
American Jewish cuisine comprises the food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews. It was heavily influenced by the cuisine of Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th cent ...
until it fell out of common use over the course of the second half of the century due to the inconvenience involved in its preparation, health concerns regarding its saturated fat content, various diet trends, and aggressive marketing by Crisco
Crisco is an American brand of shortening that is produced by B%26G Foods. Introduced in June 1911 by Procter & Gamble, it was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil, originally cottonseed oil. Additional products marketed un ...
of their vegetable shortening to the Jewish community of New York
Jews in New York City comprise approximately 9 percent of the city's population, making the Jewish community the largest in the world outside of Israel. , 1.6 million Jews lived in the five boroughs of New York City, and over 2.2 million Jews ...
.[
Over time, schmaltz was replaced with what often were ]vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
alternatives that were perceived to be healthier, such as the aforementioned vegetable shortening
Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term ''shortening'' seldom refers to b ...
, then readily available olive oil, and margarine
Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...
. Despite this, schmaltz remained in common use at Jewish delicatessens and Jewish restaurants as well as among those in the Haredi community.[
Beginning in the twenty-first century, however, schmaltz regained much of its former popularity as various celebrity chefs such as ]Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...
, Alon Shaya, Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov ( he, מייקל סולומונוב; born 1978) is an Israeli chef known for his restaurants in Center City, Philadelphia. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Bear ...
, Joan Nathan
Joan Nathan is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-Mayor Abraham Beame. ''The Jerusale ...
, and others began to incorporate schmaltz into various dishes and recipes as part of emerging food trends popularizing long-forgotten Jewish foods
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Kashrut, Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish holidays, Jewish festivals a ...
. Schmaltz also began being used in various non-traditional ways, such as cornbread
Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are st ...
, chicken pot pie, and other foods as a flavor enhancer.
Process
The manufacture of schmaltz involves cutting the fatty tissues of a bird (chicken or goose) into small pieces, melting the fat, and collecting the drippings. Schmaltz may be prepared by a dry process where the pieces are cooked under low heat and stirred, gradually yielding their fat. A wet process also exists whereby the fat is melted by direct steam injection. The rendered schmaltz is then filtered and clarified.
Homemade Jewish-style schmaltz is made by cutting chicken or goose fat into small pieces and melting in a pan over low-to-moderate heat, generally with onions. After the majority of the fat has been extracted, the melted fat is strained through a cheesecloth into a storage container. The remaining dark brown, crispy bits of skin and onion are known in Yiddish as ''gribenes
In Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, gribenes or grieven ( yi, גריבענעס, , "cracklings"; he, גלדי שומן) are crisp chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions. As with other cracklings, gribenes are a byproduct of rendering animal f ...
''.
Another simple method is as a by-product of the making of chicken soup. After the chicken is simmered in the pot or crock-pot, the broth is chilled so the fat rises to the top. Then the fat can be skimmed off, at once providing schmaltz to set aside for other uses and a lower-fat soup that is heated before serving.
Uses
Schmaltz typically has a strong aroma, and therefore, often is used for hearty recipes such as stews or roasts. It is a key ingredient in Jewish soups such as chicken soup
Chicken soup is a soup made from Chicken (food), chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common addition ...
, as well as in matzo ball soup
Matzah balls ( yi, קניידלעך pl., singular ; with numerous other transliterations) or matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumplings made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken ...
and some cholent
Cholent and other Sabbath stews ( yi, טשאָלנט, tsholnt ''or'' tshulnt) are traditional Jewish stews. It is usually simmered overnight for 10–12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Shabbat (the Sabbath). Shabbat stews were developed ...
. Sometimes it is used as a bread spread, where it may be salted. Generally, this is consumed on Jewish rye
Jewish rye bread is a type of rye bread commonly made in Jewish communities. Due to the diaspora of the Jews, there are several geographical variations of the bread. The bread is sometimes called sissel bread or cissel bread, as ''sissel'' means ...
or challah
Challah (, he, חַלָּה or ; plural: or ) is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable ...
breads. It may be used to prepare foods served as part of fleishig
Mixtures of milk and meat ( he, בשר בחלב, basar bechalav, meat in milk) are forbidden according to Jewish law. This dietary law, basic to kashrut, is based on two verses in the Book of Exodus, which forbid "boiling a (goat) kid in its m ...
(meat) meals such as latkes
A latke ( yi, לאַטקע ''latke''; sometimes romanized ''latka'', lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah. Latkes can be made with ingredients ot ...
, matzah brei
Matzah brei ( yi, מצה ברײַ ''matse bray'', literally 'matzah porridge'; he, מצה בריי, ''matzah brei'', or , ''matzah metugenet'', literally, "fried matzah"), sometimes spelled matzah brie, matzoh brei, or matzo brei, is a dish of ...
, or potato kugel
Potato kugel is a potato-based kugel of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, made with grated or pureed potatoes, onions, egg (food), eggs, flour or matzo meal, Cooking oil, oil, Edible salt, salt and Black pepper, pepper.
Overview
It is commonly served for ...
, or instead of butter when pan-frying potatoes, onions, or other foods.
Vegetarian schmaltz
Various vegetarian (and consequently 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. ...
) versions of schmaltz have been marketed, starting with Nyafat (U.S., Rokeach and Sons, 1924), which is largely coconut oil
frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil
Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...
with some onion flavoring and color. Vegetable shortening
Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term ''shortening'' seldom refers to b ...
also is used as a substitute.
Vegetarian schmaltz was manufactured in South Africa from 1951 under the brand Debra's Schmaltz, with Debra referring to Debora Bregman, who founded Debras Manufacturers. The slogan "Even the chicken can't tell the difference" was added later. Chef Oded Schwartz discusses Debra's Schmaltz in his book ''In Search of Plenty — A History of Jewish Food''.
Derived meanings
* Schmaltz herring Schmaltz herring (Yiddish) is herring caught just before spawning, when the fat (''schmaltz'') in the fish is at a maximum. Colloquially, ''schmaltz herring'' refers to this fish pickled in brine: see pickled herring
Pickled herring is a trad ...
means 'fatty herring' and refers to the stage of development in the life cycle of herring when the fish contains the most fat, popular in Ashkenazi Jewish cookery, but it does not contain schmaltz.
* In American English, via Yiddish, ''schmaltz'' (adj. ''schmaltzy'') also has an informal meaning of 'excessively sentimental or florid music or art' or 'maudlin sentimentality', similar to one of the uses of the words ''corn'' or ''corny''. Its earliest use in this sense dates to the mid-1930s. In German, ''schmalzig'' also is used in the same sense.
* Schmaltz and Schmalz are rare last name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...
s amongst people of German and Austrian descent. Schmaltz was used as a metonymic occupational name for a chandler
Chandler or The Chandler may refer to:
* Chandler (occupation), originally head of the medieval household office responsible for candles, now a person who makes or sells candles
* Ship chandler, a dealer in supplies or equipment for ships
Arts ...
.
See also
* Schmaltz (surname) Schmaltz or Schmalz is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Clarence Vincent Schmalz (1916–1981), Canadian ice hockey administrator
* Gabriele Krone-Schmalz (born 1949), German journalist and author
* Herbert Gustave Sch ...
* Gribenes
In Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, gribenes or grieven ( yi, גריבענעס, , "cracklings"; he, גלדי שומן) are crisp chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions. As with other cracklings, gribenes are a byproduct of rendering animal f ...
* List of spreads
This is a list of spreads. A spread is a food that is literally spread, generally with a knife, onto food items such as bread or crackers. Spreads are added to food to enhance the flavor or texture of the food, which may be considered bland witho ...
* List of Jewish foods
Below is a list of dishes found in Jewish cuisine.
Traditional Ashkenazi dishes
Ashkenazi Jews are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland in the west of Germany. Ashkenazim or Ashkenazi Jews are literally referri ...
References
Further reading
* Michael Ruhlman, Donna Turner Ruhlman (2013). ''The Book of Schmaltz: Lovesong to a Forgotten Fat'',
External links
How to Make Schmaltz (Step-by-step guide with pictures)
{{fatsandoils
Animal fat products
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine
Austrian cuisine
Cooking fats
German cuisine
Polish cuisine
Spreads (food)