The gefilte fish tradition continues
Few foods are as emblematic of tradition and, you could say, culinary evolution, as gefilte fish. The fact that the little ground fish balls (or ovals) are still served at Passover and other Jewish holidays -- even though so few cooks make them from scratch anymore -- is a testament to the strength of the tradition. Today, many families who once ate homemade gefilte fish now rely on the bottled versions so widely available.
Typically served as a first course at Passover Seders, the fish holds no religious significance. Jews of Eastern European descent eat it, but Sephardic Jews don't serve it at their holiday table. Making gefilte fish can be an expensive endeavor because of the cost of the fish, which is sometimes filleted and ground by the fishmonger. And if not, you have to prepare the fish (traditionally buffalo carp, pike, and whitefish); chopping or grinding it with onion, matzo meal, and egg; forming the sticky mixture into rounds; and then simmering the pieces in homemade fish stock. In Yiddish, "gefullte" means stuffed, perhaps because an old way of cooking the ground balls was to wrap them inside fish skin.Karen Silverstein, a St. Louis native who lives in Milton, calls homemade gefilte fish an "endangered species." In a short documentary she made in 1984 called "Gefilte Fish," Silverstein's then 84-year-old grandmother talks about how, when she was young, her family would only buy live fish to be sure it was fresh. As she demonstrates chopping the fish with a 100-year-old chopping knife and a 65-year-old wooden bowl, her daughter-in-law (Silverstein's mother, Marcee) quickly grinds up the fish in a food processor. Laboring over the family recipe is a "test of love," Marcee Silverstein remarks in the film. A granddaughter (the filmmaker's sister, Jill) simply opens a jar of Manischewitz gefilte fish, which she says "tastes just as good, and it's a lot easier." She compensates by prettying up the plate with a few lettuce leaves. "I made the film because I knew I'd never make gefilte fish from scratch," says the 44-year-old Silverstein. It was a love letter to her grandmother, Elizabeth Silverstein, who died in 1989.
Even cooks who pride themselves on making almost everything from scratch may opt for store-bought gefilte fish. Bonnie Kornman of Newton, who loves to cook, admits, "Chopping fish, that's just not for me." In a long Passover meal, Kornman saves her effort for dessert. "Besides, I grew up eating Mother's brand [fish] and I like it."
But not everyone in Silverstein's generation finds the task too demanding. Maria Benet of Brookline, who has four children ages 9 to 18, and her sister-in-law, Ann Geller, also of Brookline, use the recipe passed down by Geller's grandmother, Jennie Franklin. Benet, who converted to Judaism when she married in 1980, continues her husband's family's tradition. Twice a year just before Passover and Rosh Hashanah, she and Geller buy pike, whitefish, and buffalo carp from Wulf's Fish Market in Brookline, where it is ground for them. "Mr. Wulf knows the proportions, which are important for the right sweetness of the gefilte fish," says Benet.
Alan Wulf, whose father opened the fish store in 1926, says, "Few people want to grind their own fish today."
Most busy cooks buy gefilte fish, sometimes homemade from a local caterer or delicatessen. Silverstein plans on ordering hers from the Butcherie in Brookline.
Classic gefilte fish doesn't appear on my Passover table. I never liked it. Both my mother and grandmother had no reservations about serving Mother's brand at their Seders.
Now I make a fish loaf with ingredients -- ground cod, whitefish, or halibut with salmon -- that are similar to gefilte fish, but the loaf is baked, which is easier. After the loaf is turned out and sliced, it tastes fresh, light, and distinctly homemade. I have decided there is nothing wrong with starting my own tradition.
For more information about the documentary "Gefilte Fish," contact Karen Silverstein at ksilverstein@comcast.net.
