In honor of Yom HaAtzmaut, Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel invites readers on a journey through some of Israel’s most important cookbooks. Reading them today can help us understand the process we went through as a society — from austerity and simplicity to diversity and abundance, and then back to the values that characterized the years before the establishment of the state.
Our route begins before the foundation of Israel, when WIZO’s (Women’s International Zionist Organization) first recipe collections were published in Hebrew and other languages. “These cookbooks are a window, and through this window we can get a glimpse of the values of that time,” said historian of science Dr. Erela Taharlev Ben-Shachar, in a conversation with Asif. Her book “The Magic Ladle” was recently published.
During those years, significant events took place in the Jewish Yishuv (settlements before the founding of the state), such as the Fourth Aliyah and a severe economic crisis. During the Arab Revolt of 1936, David Ben-Gurion took advantage of the general strike declared by Arab leaders to encourage the self-sufficiency of the Yishuv’s economy, and to encourage housewives to purchase only Hebrew agricultural produce. And of course, there was World War II. Subsequently, recipes of that period in which vegetables pose as meat, such as “eggplant liver”, “brain-style zucchini“, “cabbage schnitzel” or “eggplant goulash”, are usually perceived as a result of austerity and scarcity. But this is not necessarily the case; at the time, people were just not used to eating vegetables, explains Taharlev Ben Shachar. “Everything had to imitate meat, because meat was what people ate. So if you must eat vegetables — because it’s the season and you have to eat what’s available — they have to resemble meat as much as possible.”
In the 1950s almost no recipe books were published for various reasons, primarily because Israeli society was made up of new immigrants who neither spoke nor read Hebrew, and strict food rationing was in place.
By the 1960s and 1970s, Israel’s economy began to stabilize and open up to global influences. These processes were reflected in cookbooks, too. The simple, practical recipe collections were replaced by a spectacle of pleasure and hospitality. Figures such as Amos Kenan in 1970, and later Ruth Sirkis in 1975, turned their backs on practical cooking focused on nourishment and using produce, and introduced Israelis to the joy of gourmet meals and global cuisine. This was a significant cultural shift: a new perception of food as a source of pleasure, reaching its peak with books on the art of classic French cuisine or Italian cooking in the 1990s and early 2000s.
When we examine it from a distance, the history of cookbooks may seem like an intricate patchwork quilt, made up of flavors from different places and recipes documenting different times. But with each passing decade, they converge to create a diverse and rich food culture, which in recent years may be showing signs of a return to modesty, or perhaps a reinvention of it.
Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel was founded in 2021 to promote, nurture and celebrate Israel’s food culture — in Israel and around the world. Asif’s library contains a collection of more than 2,500 titles in a variety of languages, focusing on the diverse foods and traditions of Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish Diaspora. Many of the books on the shelves were selected and recommended by leading culinary experts from around the world. The online catalog can be found on Asif’s website.
1. “Eich Levashel Be’Eretz Yisrael?” (“How to Cook in Palestine”) by Dr. Erna Meyer (1937)
Dr. Erna Meyer fled Germany on the eve of World War II, leaving behind a successful career as a home economics guru. She even published a book on the topic, which was printed in multiple languages, including Chinese. “She was a woman who shaped a kitchen,” Taharlev Ben Shachar said. In 1937, Meyer wrote a cooking guide for women immigrating to Israel, in which she applied traditional European culinary techniques to local ingredients. The book was revolutionary in the way it encouraged these women to adapt their cooking to their new environment, while promoting a healthy diet and incorporating local produce. It also helped these women adapt to their new home, or as Meyer wrote: “We women must, at last, do all we can to free our kitchen from the traditions of the exile, which are not suitable for the conditions of our country, and consciously replace European cuisine with healthy Eretz Israel cuisine.”
2. “Keitzad Mevashlim Bimei Milchama?” (“How to Cook During Wartime”) by Lilian Cornfeld (1942)
Lilian Cornfeld’s “How to Cook during War,”was a beacon of culinary creativity in a time of scarcity. It was published in the midst of World War II, under the rationing policy of the British Mandate. With an amusing foreword by Geoffrey Walsh, the Mandate’s economic advisor and food supervisor, the successful cookbook offered wartime recipes. But it was more than a cooking guide: it was part of a strategy designed to raise morale and encourage the use of local produce, with the aim of supporting the Yishuv’s resilience. The book also has the first Hebrew recipe for hummus!
3. “Ani Mevashlet” (“I’m Cooking”) by Lillian Cornfeld (1948)
In 1948, Cornfeld published “I’m Cooking: the Cookbook of Eretz Israel.” The book’s numerous recipes (about 1,500) include those for falafel, lentils and bulgur, and a “liver” lentil salad. They are accompanied by texts dedicated to the importance of consuming local food and reducing food waste, ideas that have once again become relevant in texts concerning food and food sustainability. (A year later, in 1949, Cornfeld published a much thinner book, “Ma Avashel me-Manot Tsena?”, (“What Shall I Cook from Austerity Rations?”))
4. “Sefer Bishul A and B” (“Cookbook A and B”) by The Women of WIZO (1947)
This book, consisting of two volumes, was probably published just before Israel’s foundation, in 1947. Except the general attribution to “The Women of WIZO,” the recipes bear no credit to writers or editors. But as Taharlev Ben Shachar reveals, the recipe writers were 20 senior instructors at WIZO. Most of them held a bachelor’s or higher degree in home economics. These two books clearly demonstrate that during Israel’s first years, cooking was about more than just preparing food — it was a strategic tool for asserting the importance of agriculture, and for empowering immigrant women. The more one delves into the recipes and ingredients, the more one realizes that cooking is really just a supplement — or an excuse — for promoting agriculture among women.
We must remember that a severe economic crisis hit the country in 1927. The WIZO organization decided to invest its scarce budget in founding a training department, which taught urban women how to grow vegetables in their yards. “It’s one thing to grow vegetables and quite a different thing to know how to cook them,” Taharlev Ben Shachar said. “At WIZO, they understood they needed to push cooking. The recipes were meant to encourage those vegetable patches.”
5. “Kach Nevashel” (“This Is How We Cook”) by the Women of WIZO (1948)
In 1948, with the establishment of the state, a new edition of “Sefer Bishul A and B” was published under the name “This Is How We Cook.” The kitchen of young Israel was beginning to develop, and so was the image of the woman who cooked in it — and the social expectations she had to confront. While the initial version encouraged women to take an active part in agricultural efforts, the cover of the new book shows the slender silhouette of an elegantly dressed woman. Instead of a collection of recipes for the purpose of nutrition and survival, we find texts dedicated to setting the table and statements that “food should please the eye, not just the palate,” Taharlev Ben Shachar explained. “These books created expectations and sought to define norms. They do not necessarily tell us what women cooked in practice, but they testify to the spirit of the times and tell us what was expected of women, and who was considered a good wife.”
6. “Sefer Hataanugot” (“Book of Pleasures”) by Amos Kenan (1970)
Understanding what made this book so unusual, even innovative, takes understanding the zeitgeist in Israel a decade after the period of austerity and three years after the Six-Day War. “Until then, cookbooks took a completely different approach,” explains chef Israel Aharoni, who participated in an Asif’s project to recreate the book’s recipes. “They were written explicitly for women, while this book is written in a neutral plural, addressing everyone. Their purpose was nutritional and economical: how to save, how to feed your family, how to use leftovers, how to survive and how to make ‘chopped liver’ from eggplants. Nothing suggested that food should be enjoyed.”
Aharoni was 19-years-old when the book first appeared, and to him it was a huge surprise. “Here is a book of complete hedonism, about wine, about seafood — I remember thinking, ‘wow, where did this alien spaceship land from?’ I admit I didn’t understand half of it. It was like science fiction; we had never even heard about the things Kenan was describing.”
Kenan was an Israeli writer, satirist, publicist, playwright, poet, translator, painter, and sculptor. “With its antagonistic approach, ‘The Book of Pleasures’ gave us a glimpse into the wider world, the world we did not know and could only dream of. Today people go and travel and know so much more, but at the time we did not even know what beef bourguignon was, not to mention the extravagant idea of cooking beef in red wine.”
7. “Ugot Ve Ugiot” (“Cakes and Cookies”) by Hana Shaulov (1974)
Hana Shaulov published the recipe for her beloved meringue cream cake, the star of countless Israeli birthdays and holidays, in her first book, “Cakes and Cookies: Home Baking.” Released in 1974, it was the first recipe book in Israel dedicated solely to cake and cookies, and it was an instant hit. While Shaulov was working on the book, heavily pregnant, she went to visit her aunt in Haifa. Her aunt served a wonderful cake. Shaulov returned home craving this cake, “as only pregnant women can,” she laughed during an interview with Asif. With no recipe at hand, she entered the kitchen and tried to reproduce the flavors and textures. The result, she claimed, is much better than the original, and to this day it’s the cake her friends and family ask her to make.
The book also includes tips for cutting costs (use peanuts instead of nuts) or cutting a round cake into as many slices as possible, as well as advice for preserving the unused egg yolks (cover with cold water and keep in the refrigerator for up to two days).
8. “Mehamitbah B’ahava” (“Cooking with Love”) by Ruth Sirkis (1975)
“I have this book at home!” exclaims nearly every visitor to the Asif Library when they come across “Cooking With Love” by Ruth Sirkis. It’s no surprise. The book, which was published in 1975, is the most successful Israeli cookbook of all time, with close to a million copies sold and more than 70 editions. Its greatest contribution was in changing how cookbooks were written in Israel, introducing recipes with precise quantities and detailed instructions. What may seem trivial today was considered innovative at the time, and even though the book was clearly addressed to women, it helped many enter the kitchen, experiment with new ingredients, get familiar with new cooking styles, and most importantly, cook successfully.
Nut-covered cheese balls, Waldorf salad or personal pizzas — Sirkis’ book has some iconic, timeless dishes that have become an integral part of many family meals. Yet the book’s strength lies not only in its accessible recipes, but also in being a well-crafted guide to the art of hosting. In Sirkis’ view, meals should be accompanied by conversation, and so it’s important to create “a good mix of people around the table.”
9. “Sodot min Hamitbah Shel Nira Russo” (“Secrets from Nira Russo’s Kitchen”) by Nira Russo (1984)
Nira Russo’s iconic book introduced readers to a variety of innovations and recipes. It includes suggestions for brunch, one pot meals, “dinner with the boss,” and quick meals for an unexpected number of guests. In the introduction, Russo explains that a meal is “a very flexible concept that changes with circumstances. It can be an eight-course feast with candles and champagne, or a quick cheese sandwich in front of the TV after a hard day’s work.”
10.“Bamitbah Hazarfati” (“In the French Kitchen”) by Israel Aharoni (1995)
Israel Aharoni introduced Israel’s culinary scene to the wonders of French gastronomy, and did so with great passion. The book’s two editions (one kosher, the other not) feature appetizers, pastries, meats, and desserts in a skillfully curated collection that expresses Aharoni’s love for the pleasures of France. Recipes such as foie gras, pollock (kosher shrimp) with mushrooms and cream, and tournedos rossini (an especially decadent classic French dish consisting of a beef tournedos, a slice of foie gras, and slices of black truffle, served with a Madeira demi-glace sauce), are accompanied by a guide to buying black caviar and detailed explanations about Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. “In the French Kitchen” clearly mirrors the transformations of Israeli society during the 1990s, as it turned its back on austerity and modesty and opened up to the rich delicacies of French cuisine
11. “Bishula by Shula Moden” (1997) “Sefer Hamitbach Shel Laiza Panelim” (“The Kitchen Book” by Liza Panelim) by Hagit Bilia (2016)
“Bishula” was one of the first expressions of a new trend: quick, easy, yet delightful recipes, targeted to a busy audience. Recipes include quick bread, speedy chocolate cake and punch for a winter night with a “bottle of ancient red wine.”
“Liza Panelim,” the pen name of food blogger Hagit Bilia, continues in this spirit. The author is unapologetically busy (and not into being a perfect housewife) and prefers to save on time and not on ingredients. Popular recipes such as “one-minute pickled salad,” “sprout mujadara,” or “chard fritters that are devoured instantly,” are accompanied by laugh-out-loud texts — these two books demonstrate how the availability of diverse, delicious food has become an inseparable part of Israeli life.
12. “Orna and Ella: Matkonim” by Orna Agmon, Ella Shein, and Einav Berman (2006)
In their legendary eponymous restaurant, Orna Agmon and Ella Shein created a hybrid of a home and a restaurant. This was reflected in the food they served — best described as a home haute cuisine — as well as in this cookbook (the first of two). Over 150 of the restaurant’s recipes — simple, sometimes healthy, and always delicious – blur the boundaries between a hedonistic and a modest yet flavorful kitchen.
13. “Sefer al Ochel” (“A Book About Food”) by Hedai Offaim (2015)
Hedai Offaim is a dedicated farmer and a lover of good food. “A Book About Food,” his first book, brings together the recipes published in his column in Haaretz. The recipes, arranged according to the months of the Hebrew year, succeed in distilling the multiple inspirations of the Israeli kitchen into a modest yet vibrant essence. An in-depth look at Offaim’s book (the simple title may remind us of “Cookbook A and B” by the women of WIZO) reveals an alternative approach to the history of Israeli food culture. Together with other books published in the last two decades, such as “A Year on a Plate” by Erez Komarovsky (2008), Haim Cohen and Eli Landau’s two cookbooks (2006 and 2008), or “Local Fermentation” by Uri Mayer-Chissick (2021), it marks a trend that goes back to the women of WIZO, who saw cooking and agriculture as inseparable, and talked about seasonality, reducing food waste and local cooking long before the founding of Israel.