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If your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize it…

by Anna Stevenson · February 8th, 2007
D'var Torah, Eco-Kashrut, Featured, Food Safety, Health, Notable Press, On The Web


…don’t eat it.

That was one of the latest set of recommendations from our fearless leader, Michael Pollan (Unhappy Meals, NY Times, Jan 28) of what and how we should eat in order to maintain our own health and the health of the planet.

Jewishly speaking, we could adopt a similar rule of thumb:

“If you’re not sure which bracha to make over a certain piece of food, (because it might or might not be from the earth, made of the five grains, be a type of cake, bread or something else entirely unrecognizable — such as “Go-Gurt”) — don’t eat it.”

Right on, rabbis!

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14 Responses to “If your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize it…”

  1. Eric Schulmiller Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 6:18 pm

    what about wakame, nori, or other sea vegetables? I’ve always wondered what bracha to say for them…p’ri hayam?

    also, as a fan of molecular gastronomy, let’s remember that just because we don’t recognize something doesn’t mean that it’s not healthy (or holy!)

  2. Naf Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 6:34 pm

    Very good idea. I’ve always felt uncomfortable when I can’t figure out what bracha to make. That quote in the post, which you said “right on Rabbis” to, who said that?

  3. Ben Murane Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 7:45 pm

    Why, Reb Stevenson, of course!

  4. Anna Stevenson Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 9:12 pm

    I did ;0)

    I meant “yay rabbis” in general, for this system of halacha which i have, up until now, found to be very ancient and archaic and limiting and limited, and am coming to realize more and more the wisdom and timelessness of it – this thing about brachot being yet another example…

  5. Rendsburg Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 10:38 pm

    Hate to tell you – but according to traditional halakha, even regular dishes can be issues. Take for instance Apple Crisp – its mainly apples, which is ha’etz, but there there is that nice crunchy stuff on top, which is made from flour (presumably) and mezonot. So, which do you say? Its pretty clearly recognizable food (and could all be organic for all I care!) but still, its an issue.

    No joke, the last meal I was at where this was served for dessert, there was also babka (clearly mezonot) and then, when the discussion came up, the host brought out apples – so that people could make a mezonot on the babka and ha’etz on the apples BEFORE eating the berakha-elusive apple crisp.

  6. Anna Stevenson Says:
    February 8th, 2007 at 11:16 pm

    well, as long as you covered all the bases…. ;0) i love jews!

  7. aliza Says:
    February 9th, 2007 at 12:01 am

    well, i think the general idea that can be extrapolated from the michael pollan rule or the general “no more than 5 ingredients” is to avoid eating a lot of she hakol foods that can’t easily be classified and probably have lots of [processed] ingredients.

  8. Another Boy Says:
    February 9th, 2007 at 11:24 am

    I love this. Absolutely love it.

    This should be the slogan for The New Jewish Food Movement:

    “If You Can’t Figure Out What The Traditional Bracha Is, Don’t Eat It!!”

    :-))

    Another Boy xx

  9. Ben Murane Says:
    February 9th, 2007 at 11:48 am

    But David, at least you COULD recognize the ingredients and pick which bracha. For a Twinkie…would on earth WOULD you say?

    “Baruch Atah Adonai…borei petrochemical byproducts”?

  10. Anna Says:
    February 9th, 2007 at 11:51 am

    Would “borei petrochemical byproducts” constitute marat ayin, you think?

  11. Sarah Rose Says:
    February 9th, 2007 at 12:07 pm

    This is fantastic. An excellent test.

  12. lauren ahkiam Says:
    February 9th, 2007 at 1:06 pm

    being a gentile, can’t speak to the blessing question (protestant blessings for food are pretty broad, traditionally just “bless this to our bodies and us to your service”, the better to make curious casseroles for potlucks, i think).

    but i appreciated pollan’s outlines and their flexibility, that he laid out the “no more than 5 ingredients” and “not if it would freak out your ancestor” and specified that if had more than one of these, probably no good. but like the apple crisp, there will of course be outliers, like say a really well spiced sauce with 15 ingredients that are all recognizable. and one of the cooler food things about our time is that we have a more international palate than our great-grandma, so a thai curry paste or a chipotle marinade or some such would be ok too, whereas hot pocket, no sir. i appreciate that he gives us tools without being rigid.

    so the apple crisp getting two blessings (one for apple one for crisp) seems like a similarly good plan :)

  13. Edith Stevenson Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

    I was confused at first also, wondering which bracha to say for a meal with a variety of items. I believe, as I came to understand it, that there is an order, or hierarchy, so to speak, of the various blessings, that usually takes care of the quandry: Bread (for which one washes) trumps all. If one says motzi, then all other produce, meats, and desserts are covered. Then it goes (if there is no official Bread) to ….bo-re minei m’zonot, then to bo-re p’ri ha-etz, bo-re p’ri ha-adamah, and lastly, if you are just having meat or fish (ie, no grains or produce, or a food which is a mixture of stuff, like a casserole, or a soup), then one says ….she-ha-kol niyeh bi-d’varo. If one waits a fair bit of time between courses, one might feel like starting over with the blessings, such as for the dessert eaten an hour later, but in general, this “order” of blessing foods works for me. Other words of appreciation, such as to the cook, or for the fabulous recipe, or the freshness and flavour of the in-season organic produce being enjoyed are also appropriate
    subsequent comments!

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