Sarah Gans is a junior at Brown University. Neuro concentrator by day, brunch extraordinaire by night. Her family’s recipe is a quick, easy, and delicious way to use leftover challah.
A little more butter here, double the cinnamon there – she trusts that it will all work out. Using leftover challah from Shabbat, Sarah’s mom would make the soufflé the night before, let it soak, and then pop it in the oven Sunday morning before Hebrew School. Not only was it an easy breakfast, but also great motivation to get the kids out of bed and into the car. Her mom made this as a treat growing up, and now Sarah is sharing it with her friends at Brown.
For Sarah, the process of cooking and eating is a somatic experience that “ties you back to the people who have made it before.” The process, not just the food, is an integral part of the importance Sarah places on Jewish food.
French toast may not have historical roots in Jewish culture, but Sarah’s family adapted it, incorporating ingredients from Shabbat to create a new Jewish dish. On Shabbat dinners, she says, “It’s really the people that make the meal. You can have non-traditionally Jewish food and be eating it in a Jewish setting, and that makes it taste Jewish.”
Sarah enjoys well-known Jewish foods such as sweet kugel and matzo ball soup, appreciating them for both their taste and the memories they conjure of Shabbat dinners with family. While she herself enjoys the tradition of Shabbat services, Sarah also recognizes that while some people may never go to services, food is what connects them to the tradition of Shabbat. The ability of a warm soufflé to connect those who find comfort in Shabbat and those who have little attachment to it on a Sunday morning is meaningful, valuable, and a main reason why Jewish culture remains present in the lives of so many.