Cholent: The Most Jewish Food on Earth

By: Haber, Joel

Shabbat stew travels the globe, revealing how Jewish cuisine shaped diaspora culture and identity.

Shabbat stew is the most Jewish of foods. Over the past one-and-a-half millennia, this humble dish has travelled the world, accompanying the Jewish people on their wanderings throughout the Diaspora. Today, Jews everywhere prepare some version of the recipe each week for Sabbath lunch.

In this richly-researched book, Jewish food expert Joel Haber explores the history of this iconic dish. He begins in ancient Mesopotamia with the earliest known Shabbat stew, then follows the recipe through each new place where Jews settled, showing how it adapted to local ingredients, climates, tastes and cooking fashions. In doing so, he traces the routes of Jewish migration and reveals how the dish reflects Jewish culture across the globe. Like the Jewish communities that created it, the kaleidoscopic Shabbat stew is endlessly diverse and exists in dozens of regional forms.

Entertaining and informative, this vivid culinary journey will appeal to food-loving readers interested in the cultural significance of Jewish cuisine, as well as the wider story of the Jewish people. The book also contains more than 20 recipes and is illustrated throughout.

Joel Haber is a recognised expert in the field of Jewish food history. He has written for numerous publications, including The Nosher, CKBK, Tablet, Jewish Journal (Los Angeles) and the Jerusalem Post, and has lectured internationally on the subject. He has also been interviewed regularly for feature articles, podcasts, and videos, and is a sought-after culinary tour guide in Israel, revealing the complex story of the Jewish nation through the foods that Jewish immigrants have brought together in our homeland. His own podcast, 18 Jewish Foods, is available on his website www.TasteOfJew.com.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1805002414
• ISBN13: 9781805002413
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Green Bean Books