National or regional cuisines do not just happen - they are the result of evolution, a complex intermingling of forces over centuries or millennia. Cuisines grow, develop and evolve, but not in a vacuum. Historian Howard Hillman reminds us that all cuisines are affected by a host of historical forces: conquerors impose change and are likely to introduce foods that suit their tastes, habits or diets. The acquisition of a particular territory, the development of new technologies and shifting economic patterns are equally prone to impacting on the dining habits of a people. Sociological factors also come into play by introducing foods that may be forbidden by religion or deplored by custom. Psychologically, people may even develop an aversion to the foods of their enemies.

Another historian, Reay Tannahill, points out that the development of a cuisine also depends on the existing state of technology: the use of digging sticks as opposed to tractors and the systems of fertilization will determine how people perceive the value of food. Moreover, if the entire batterie de cuisine consists of an iron cauldron suspended over a campfire, the cooking that results will differ vastly from that of a cook who is equipped with two ranges and a battery of ovens.

To no less an extent, cuisines are clearly dependent upon geography, geology and climate: certain crops demand heavy rains or sandy soil, while others need long, hot summers. Whether fuel is plentiful or scarce will also play a major role in determining how food is prepared.

All these factors come together to determine which raw materials are available to the cook which foods are considered palatable and which not. The development of a distinct cuisine is fickle, however, for even when one locates an area that boasts a unique history, geography, demography and sociology there is still no assurance that a unique cuisine will develop.

Any superficial examination of the current "Israeli table" will reveal that it is set with the dishes of people from some 80 different nations and a host of distinct culinary backgrounds. While there is an ever-increasing awareness of the more developed cuisines of France, Italy and the Far East, many of the dishes served have their roots in the peasant traditions of the countries of the people who have brought their favorite dishes with them when they immigrated. To a major extent, whether at home or in restaurants, the dishes that remain most acceptable to most Israelis are those that were prepared by for them when they were children.

THE MOST PERVASIVE culinary influences in Israel are the cooking styles of the Middle-East, North Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and Central and Eastern Europe. So devoted are many to the food of their origins that there has been little cross-fertilization between these varied styles.

Of all these cookery styles, probably the best-known throughout Israel is that of the Middle-East. Because most of the inhabitants of the Middle-Eastern nations are Moslems and are, like Jews, forbidden to eat pork, Israelis have been readily able to adopt these culinary styles to their own tables. In addition to the indigenous cookery of Israeli Arabs (themselves influenced by the sophisticated cookery of Lebanon and Syria as well as the country-style cuisine of the Palestinians), Jews from Iran, Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, Egypt, Libya and Yemen have each made unique contributions to the national table.

Cooking styles throughout the Middle-East have certain similarities, and all of these are equally descriptive of the Israeli table. The major starch staple is wheat, followed by rice, chickpeas and fava beans. Rice, whole wheat and cracked wheat are served boiled, steamed or in pilaf. The most popular vegetable is the aubergine or eggplant, which may be roasted, fried, grilled or pureed. Other vegetables of special importance are tomatoes, marrows and peppers, both sweet and hot. Any vegetable large enough to be stuffed is likely to get a filling of meat, vegetables and rice, and tough meat invariably ends up in stuffed dishes, kebabs or meatballs.

Also important to Middle-Eastern cookery is the lavish use of herbs, spices and various members of the onion family, including garlic. In addition to the herbs and spices ordinarily found on most Western tables, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, cumin, and mint make their way into many dishes. Salads served without parsley are considered barbaric, and olives are considered such essential fare that they are deemed equally appropriate at breakfast or lunch as at dinner.

The most important cooking oil is olive oil with sesame and corn oils distant seconds. Yogurt is widely used by itself, as a sauce, a soup or thickened into cheese (labani). It may also be served as a beverage. Even though fresh fruit is the most favored dessert, sweets are much appreciated.

So pervasive is Middle-Eastern cookery within Israel that many of the dishes of the countries of the region have been incorporated into the local cuisine with no change at all in original recipes. From Iran has come the tradition of cooking meat together with fruits, lentils or split peas. From Lebanon has comean appreciation of fish flavored with cayenne pepper, paprika, cinnamon and other spices. Jordanian kebabs, whether of plain or marinated lamb, or of a mixture of lamb and beef have also become indispensable to local cookery. Syrian or Kurdish kubbeh, lamb and cracked wheat paste served in fried patties stuffed with meat, onion and pine nuts is a well-beloved dish wherever one travels within Israel, as are Egyptian sfeeha, small pastry shells filled with spiced ground lamb, pine nuts and yoghurt. Another locally adopted Egyptian dish is waraf 'ainab karabi - vine leaves stuffed with seasoned rice.

While the Larousse Gastronomique categorizes the dishes of the Middle-Eastern states into the overly-broad rubric of "Arab cookery", many variations exist between national and regional cuisines. No style is more unique than that of Yemen, and this cookery has earned a special place on the Israeli palate. This particular style is not specially sophisticated, and its highly flavored cookery has a heavy reliance on special spice mixtures such as hawayij - a blend of black pepper, caraway, cardamon, saffron and turmeric; the fiery hot zhug - made by combining black pepper, garlic, caraway seeds, garlic, coriander and salt; and hilbeh - fenugreek seeds, zhug and tomatoes). The cereal and burghul dishes of Yemen, along with a range of specially tasty breads such as malaweh have also received wide acceptance throughout Israel.

Classic regional sweets include the sugar-coated rahat lokum or halkum (Turkish delight);the universally accepted honey drenched pastries known as baklawa or burma; the shredded-wheat and cream or cheese pastries known as kadaif; and a variety of halvahs, sweets based on semolina that may or may not include fruit or nuts.

ANOTHER major influence on Israeli cuisine comes from the peoples of the Maghreb, the North African nations of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Among the most renowned dishes of these countries are couscous and chakchouka. Originally devised by wandering Berber tribesmen some 4,000 years ago, couscous is a stew based on hard wheat semolina, topped with simple-to-prepare meats and a variety of vegetables and accompanied by side dishes. As with nearly any stew, couscous comes in an infinite number of varieties. Algerian versions invariably include tomatoes; Moroccan offerings rely on saffron; and Tunisian couscous is highly spiced. The side dishes also vary widely, depending on the whims of individual cooks. Wherever it is served, however, couscous will be accompanied by a bowl of hot sauce to be added to each diner's portion in accordance with his or her tolerance for such condiments. Side dishes considered appropriate include among others, steamed chickpeas, meat balls, sausages, lamb chops and a variety of fried or grilled vegetables. Shakshouka is another beloved dish of the Maghreb. In this dish, to be found everywhere in Israel, eggs are poached to near hardness over peeled tomatoes that have been sauteed together with onion, garlic and a generous variety of herbs.

BALKAN cookery forms another important element of the Israeli table. From Greece and Turkey have come such popular dishes as moussaka (a baked eggplant, cheese and meat pie); dolmas (stuffed grape leaves similar to the Kurdish yaprah) and the incredibly light, honey-soaked baklava pastries. The Arab population of Israel is particularly fond of the Graeco-Turkish style of frying or grilling fish after seasoning with fresh herbs and lemon.

Because it reflects a blending between European and Middle-Eastern influences, and because of substantial numbers of immigrants from these countries, the cookery of the Balkan states, Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria, is particularly well known in Israel. Mititei, the thumb-shaped minced meat patties of Romania and the mixed meat grill kebabsha of Bulgaria are both grilled on skewers and are not dissimilar to Middle-Eastern shishkebabs. Other well-known Balkan dishes include Romanian tarator, a cold yoghurt and cucumber soup sprinkled with chopped walnuts and dill; Bulgarian djevetch, a medley of stewed vegetables similar to French, sometimes served with yoghurt; and Yugoslavian sarma, a variety of meat mixtures stuffed into cabbage leaves that have been pickled in brine. Especially popular are ciorba, the somewhat sour and hearty Balkan meat or fish and vegetable soup and mamaliga, a sweetened solidified cornmeal Romanian dish similar to Italian polenta.

THE COOKING style of Central and Eastern Europe that has made itself most evident in the Israeli kitchen is that of the Yiddish kitchen. Diverse but rarely subtle, having evolved primarily in the shtetls (the small towns and villages inhabited primarily by Jews until the advent of the Holocaust), these are the foods that most Americans and Europeans consider to be typically "Jewish". Much in evidence are dishes like gefilte fish (fish balls made of finely minced carp, pike or a mixture of both, generally served in their own jelly and often accompanied by horseradish); cholent (a slowly simmered beef stew traditionally prepared for the Sabbath meal); kishke (a peppery blend of breadcrumbs, chicken fat and onions prepared sausage-like in beef casings); and knaidlach, egg and matzo meal based dumplings. Other popular offerings from this variegated kitchen are kreplach, dumplings filled with ground meat or cheese and boiled or fried; latkes, fried potato pancakes; and a large assortment of salt, pickled and matjas herring dishes.

Immigrants from Russia, Poland and Hungary brought with them indigenous dishes from their countries of origin and have made a have also made a major contribution to the culinary repertoire. From Hungary, whose cookery is marked by the liberal use of dozens of types of paprika, have come goulash soup and stew, a variety of carp dishes, dumplings and tarhonya (dried pellets of flour and egg). Polish cooking, from which Israelis have adopted freely, features the heavy use of sour cream and dill as main cooking ingredients. Dishes from Poland include czarnina (duck soup); cold fruit soups; krupnik (barley, potato and sour cream soup); a variety of stuffed cabbage rolls; and plain and filled noodle and dumpling dishes.

From the nations of the former Soviet Union has come a variety of cooking styles, depending on the regions from which the immigrants originated. From Russia itself has come borscht, the famous beet based soup that can be red or clear, cold or hot and may contain meats, vegetables and sour cream (Poland has its own variety - borsch); golubtsy, stuffed cabbage rolls often served in a tangy tomato sauce; kulebiaka, a salmon mousse baked with a flaky pastry dough; and several chicken dishes including Chicken Kiev and Chicken Pojarsky. Among the best-known Russian dishes throughout Israel are pirozhki, miniature turnovers stuffed with chopped meat, vegetables or fruit. From the Ukraine come kasha (buckwheat) dishes and vareniki, dumplings stuffed with a savory or sweet filling such as cheese, potatoes, meat or fruit. From the Caucasian republics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan have come barbecue specialties such as skewered lamb shishlik and tabaka, pressed fried whole chicken served with a walnut-based sauce. Equally well known are the cheese bread known as khacha puri; lobio, a mixed bean salad; and tkemala, a plum-based sauce commonly served with grilled meats.

Other culinary styles that make themselves felt, albeit on a lesser scale are those of India and Ethiopia. Traditional Indian delicacies such as eggs with lamb (nargis kofta); chicken with chestnuts (mali wali burghi); chicken tandoori (tandoori murghi); split pea fritters (pakoras); and stuffed potatoes (dum aloo) are to be found in the homes of Indian immigrants as well as in several restaurants, but many Israelis consider this fare too exotic for their tastes. Ethiopian dishes such as wat, a highly spiced stew of chicken and dried legumes and kitfo, an offering of raw chopped beef seasoned with a blend of hot chili peppers, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, cloves, allspice, turmeric and nutmeg remain popular primarily with the immigrants from that country Although several small restaurants now feature these dishes, in addition to a few sophisticated diners anxious to try new flavors and combinations, those are patronized primarily by Ethiopians.

The cuisines of France and Italy and even of sophisticated American culinary offerings are now well represented in restaurants throughout the country, but these culinary styles have made little inroad on at-home cooking patterns. Unfortunately, the best known American cookery is that available in a rapidly growing host of fast food hamburger, pizza, bagel and fried chicken eateries.

Is There An "Israeli Cuisine"

Although several food writers (mostly American) have praised what they call "Israeli cuisine", the truth is that the country has not developed a unique cuisine. What those visitors are praising are the varied styles of Mediterranean cookery, many of which have reached high points within Israel but none of which have come together to form what one might call a "true" cuisine.

This is not a point of shame. In fact, thinking that a country less than 100 years old might have developed a unique cuisine is somewhat silly. The more important point is that whether at private homes or at restaurants ranging in price from the ridiculously inexpensive to the outrageously dear, those who live in or visit Israel can dine very well indeed. That they may be dining on French, Moroccan, Algerian, Polish, Italian, Ethiopian, American or Turkish cuisine merely adds to the marvelous flavors of the country. Personally, I so highly value the ethnic and social inputs to the local table and I find so many options for fine and fun dining that I almost hope that those will survive and NOT make way for a more unified culinary style.

© Daniel Rogov