As a Jewish Chef I have always been curious to know exactly what the concept of local sustainable produce meant to my ancestors who lived and most likely farmed the land of Israel. Last December, I visited the Neot Kedumim Park in Israel, where the answers to my questions were answered experientially. This Jewish culinary historical treasure is nestled in Israel’s Judean hills along the border held by the ancient tribe of Ephraim. The park stands above a valley where some of the oldest archeological excavations have unearthed the earliest known agricultural community in history.

Neot Kedumim was established in the 1960’s by the legendary biblical botanist Noga Hareuven, who dreamt of creating a place where all of the plants mentioned in the bible could grow freely. His goal was to build a park where anyone could learn first-hand about biblical botany just by walking through the park and seeing, touching, smelling, it’s biblical produce. After the park was established and the planting commenced, several archeological sites were discovered and subsequent excavations unearthed amazing discoveries in various locations of the park. Many archeologists believed that they had excavated the actual site of the ancient Israelite town of Modiin. Other Jewish and Christian sites were also excavated on the same grounds, and some of the more significant finds included ancient Israelite cisterns, wine presses and olive oil presses. Other areas of the park unearthed Byzantine villages complete with Churches established for Christian pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem.

Tova Dickstein, who is an expert in Biblical cuisine, was my guide. When she is not being interviewed on History International, she leads tours centered on biblical cuisine. Often these tours take place at Neot Kedumim, where participants learn how ancient Israelites harvested wheat, ground it into flour and made bread in ancient ovens known as Taboon or a Tanour. The breadth of Tova’s knowledge of biblical botany and biblical cuisine was remarkable. However, her associate Malka quietly assured me, “Ken, Tova knows so much more than she is letting on. Really, she is holding back.” While I picked my jaw up off the floor, Tova reached down to pick some leaves that would flavor my tea. The herbs grew wild outside her office and all throughout the park. Tova pointed to them as if a maitre d’ was pointing to items on a buffet. I chose my own concoction of herbs and held my cup of tea as my soul and sinuses opened up to take in the aroma.

After years of researching ancient cuisine in the land of Israel, I was truly delighted to find the produce and the cooking utensils from biblical and Talmudic periods in use. After touring many of Israel‘s modern wineries, I was fascinated to stand in the ancient Gat (wine press) and see the crevasse carved out of stone for the grape juice to pass through in order to remove its impurities.

If you care about local sustainable produce and enjoy learning experientially about the history of food preparation in the land of Israel, a visit to Neot Kedumim is highly recommended.