Consider the doughnut. Good, right? Now consider that doughnut made with gourmet ingredients like creme de cassis, stuffed with fresh fruit or topped with chocolate pearls.
Really good, right? At this time of year in Israel, that and more can be found.
Israeli chefs have been giving the traditionally basic Hanukkah doughnut — called sufganiyot in Hebrew — a higher purpose as Jews indulge in the sweet, doughy treat for the holiday.
Photo: AFP
“Not only do we use the best products, but we have a secret,” said Yitzhak Kadosh, chef at his family’s Jerusalem cafe Kadosh, known for its high-quality sufganiyot at Hanukkah time.
There is a story behind the doughnuts and the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah — or Festival of Lights — which this year began on Sunday last week.
The holiday commemorates one of the great victories in Jewish history. In the 2nd century BC, after defeating the Seleucids ruling the Holy Land, a small group of Jews led by Judah Maccabee reconsecrated the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem.
Tradition says that when they sought to relight the temple’s menorah, only one day’s worth of undefiled oil remained. It miraculously burned for eight days, allowing time to prepare more oil.
To mark the holiday, Jews light one candle on a Hanukkah menorah each night. The traditional candelabrum has nine branches, with one serving to kindle the others.
Here is where the doughnuts come in. It is also part of the holiday tradition to eat foods fried in oil, including sufganiyot.
The basic jelly-filled sufganiyot and variations can be found all over this time of year, with colorful rows of them set out on tables at cafes, shopping malls and market stalls.
However, some have sought to turn the doughnuts into a product if not as miraculous as the miracle Hanukkah celebrates, then at least something that is really worth savoring.
For Kadosh, a regular doughnut just would not do — at least not when it is time to celebrate Hanukkah.
The 46-year-old, who has studied in Paris and Vienna, would not give away his secret, but said that it involves a way of keeping his doughnuts from becoming too greasy.
Last year, his cafe celebrated its 50th anniversary by offering 50 different versions of sufganiyot.
Among its most original creations have been doughnuts made with creme de cassis liqueur, salted caramel, pistachio and pastry cream.
Kadosh sells between 2,000 and 3,000 doughnuts each day during the Hanukkah season — although with the higher quality comes a higher price.
They run from 7 shekels (US$1.88) for the classic doughnut filled with strawberry jam to 16 shekels for the more sophisticated.
Elsewhere, most sell for between 5 shekels and 12 shekels.
In total, about 20 million sufganiyot will be sold in Israel during Hanukkah, an industry association said.
The doughnut tradition has been written about since the Middle Ages, but dates much further back than that.
They would be recognizable to much of the world — for example, its cousins the American “donut” and the German “Berliner.”
After stores begin stocking them in the run-up to Hanukkah, Israeli newspapers start rolling out their annual lists of the best, the least fattening and the most original.
At Jerusalem’s Franck Delights, whose chef arrived from France 22 years ago, fewer than 10 different doughnuts are offered, but the bakery highlights its French roots.
“We offer light doughnuts that allow several to be eaten — real pastries with a French touch that Israelis appreciate,” said Samantha Assuli, the store manager and wife of Chef Franck.
The gourmet examples have become numerous: raspberry, mango, lemon, hazelnut, almond, vanilla cream — even baba au rhum.
Some even offer vegan doughnuts, while others have gone in a completely different direction with cheese or meat.
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