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 ...

, gribenes or grieven ( yi, גריבענעס, , "cracklings"; he, גלדי שומן) are crisp chicken or goose skin

cracklings Cracklings (USA), crackling (British English), also known as scratchings, are the solid material which remains after rendering animal fat and skin to produce lard, tallow, or schmaltz, or as the result of roasting meat. It is often eaten as a snack ...

with fried onions. As with other cracklings, gribenes are a byproduct of rendering animal fat to produce cooking

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

, in this case kosher

schmaltz Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, lat ...

.Gil Marks, ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food'', p. 239 (John Wiley and Sons, 2010). . Found a
Google Books
Accessed January 4, 2011.Esther Rosenblum Cohen, "Chicken Fat", ''Jewish Magazine'', August 2007. Found a

Accessed January 4, 2011. A favored food in the past among

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 ...

, ''gribenes'' is frequently mentioned in Jewish stories and

parables A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, ...

. Gribenes can be used as an ingredient in other dishes like

kasha varnishkes Kashe varnishkes (sometimes Americanized as kasha varnishkas) is a traditional dish of the American-Jewish Ashkenazi community. It combines ''kasha'' (buckwheat groats) with noodles, typically bow-tie shape lokshen egg noodles. Buckwheat groat ...

, fleishig kugel and gehakte leber.

Holiday food

This dish is often associated with the Jewish holidays

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

and Rosh Hashanah. Traditionally, ''gribenes'' were served with potato kugel or

latke 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 ...

s during Hanukkah. ''Gribenes'' are also associated with

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

, as large amounts of schmaltz, with its resulting gribenes, were traditionally used in Passover recipes.Karen Miltner, Blog, "What's on My Plate: Miscellaneous Monday musings", ''Democrat and Chronicle'', November 29, 2010. Found a
''Democrat and Chronicle,'' online blogs section
Accessed January 4, 2011.

Servings

''Gribenes'' can be eaten as a snack, typically on rye or pumpernickel bread with salt, or used in recipes such as

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. Pre ...

,P Campbell, "Restaurant News, Updates: Pastrami, babka and schmaltz and gribenes", October 14, 2010. Found a
Cincinnati.com website
. Accessed January 4, 2011. or all of the above. It is often served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.pastrami Pastrami (Romanian: '' pastramă'') is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket, lamb, pork, chicken sometimes from turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. ...

on rye or

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a f ...

s.Frank Bruni, "Quit Kibitzing and Pass the Gribenes", ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 13, 2008. Found a
''New York Times'' website
Accessed January 4, 2011. This dish has also been eaten as a

midnight snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

, or as an

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the m ...

. Some Jews in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

add ''gribenes'' to

Jambalaya Jambalaya ( , ) is an American Creole and Cajun rice dish of French (especially Provençal cuisine), African, and Spanish influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Ingredients Traditionally, the meat includes sa ...

in place of (

treyf (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 ...

) shrimp. It was served to children on ''

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 ch ...

'' bread as a treat. It is also sometimes served in a GLT, a modified version of a BLT sandwich that replaces bacon with gribenes.

Etymology

The word ''gribenes'' is related to

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 **Ge ...

''Griebe'' (plural ''Grieben'') meaning 'piece of fat, crackling' (from

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

''griobo'' via

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

''griebe''), where ''Griebenschmalz'' is lard from which the cracklings have not been removed.

References

External links

"How to Make Gribenes" from the ''Jewish Journal'' online
{{Chicken dishes, state=collapsed Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Israeli cuisine Chicken dishes Skin Yiddish words and phrases Fried foods

Holiday food

Servings

Etymology

See also

References

External links