Abstract

Jewish Cuisine and Poultry Markets: From Eastern Europe to America, 1880-1935

As millions of Jews moved from Eastern Europe to American cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they brought along a prodigious culinary preference for poultry. Folklore and fiction document the patterns of Jewish demand for chicken, goose, and duck that became embedded in social relations in the Pale of Settlement, including the market relations ships between Christian peasants Jewish towns. As immigrant Jews settled in America’s cities, they retained their desire for poultry, in so doing transforming this somnambulant business in their new country. Between 1890 and 1960, millions of live chickens flowed from all over the American countryside to cities where shochets could slaughter them in accordance with Jewish ritual requirements. With their practices traceable through market research and cookbooks, as well as embedded in market prices, Jewish preferences became reflected in certain kinds of preparations and particular times of the year. Their culinary choices offered a challenge and opportunity to rural producers, as they sought to compete for the Jewish markets. Poultry trade organizations and U.S. Department of Agriculture sought to impart this knowledge to rural producers through government publications and industry trade journals, including education of preferable breeds to offer Jewish consumers. These success in turn impacted Jewish consumption practices as certain kinds of poultry became more prevalent in the markets, and as other consumer products such as Crisco could assume the place of traditional ingredients. The paper relies on market research studies, cookbooks, price and distribution data, and fiction for its sources. It is part of a larger book project on the kosher poultry trade, 1890-1960.