THE WEB OF TUNISIAN JEWS

FOOD

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EDITORIAL

For the Tunisian Jew, food has always represented an emotional and spiritual relationship.
    - Emotional, because we have to say it, very few things match the pleasure to feel on one's palate a combination of perfectly spiced and cooked meats accompanied by delicious vegetables, hot peppers or eggs. Or to chew on a mouthful of hot crusty bread dipped into a  tasty sauce.  And for ever, the Tunisian Jews have literally adored eating, drinking, swallow, tear and climax on these wonderfully tasty dishes that comprise our our culinary patrimony. Very few anorexics in our ranks, but a lot of of fat men and women who nevertheless carry on their faces a definite beauty associated with the pleasures to which they are addicted!
    - And spiritual, because all these pleasurable traditions of kemias, these long meals well accompanied with drinks of boukha, beers and wines come from the past.  You can ask any of your grand parents or ancestors (if they are alive) and they would all tell you that whatever you are eating today is nothing compared to what they were eating in the past. The food of before, the whole lambs, the huge pieces of meat or poultry or fish, the wagons of pastries used to represent the main entertainment of Jewish families. They would gather for all and any occasions and would eat dish after dish. Fried foods and dish bathing in oil have always represented an extra attraction for the Tunisian Jew. 
    So, I invite you to come and sit with me at this cyber-table. Bring your recipes on condiments or tfinas, your family secrets on the preparation of the Ganaouia, your pictures of special dishes or even your stories of magnificent feasts.
 

 

THE TUNES SEEN BY THE SWEDES
I would like to share with you this research paper that I have found in the archives of the University of Stockholm during one of my trips there (Translated from Swedish by Magnus Sboubinette)
"In 1979, after a vacation in Tunisia where I had been extremely surprised by Jewish Tunisian culture, I decided after a discussion with some of my colleagues to conduct research on the influence of certain foods on the animal comportment. So we hired a Jewish Tunisian mother and during three months, we fed exclusively the 3 gorillas of the Stockholm Zoo with typical Tunisian dishes, fat and spicy.  Akoud, psalouloubia, ganaouia, nikitouche, couscous with meatballs and other. This Jewish woman cooked everyday like she had done during her entire life for her family in Tunis and served the animals three times a day. So, after only one week, we noticed that the 3 gorillas were becoming increasingly attached to this Tunisian mother.   Concurrently, we observed as well a dramatic change in the comportment of these animals. The gorillas which were so active previously were now spending their days sitting around, grinning and exchanging monosyllabic sounds.  Signed : Lars Nillson, Research Laboratory on comportment and diet, unit C, lab 7, 1979

 

 

 

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copyright 1999. J. Halfon. All rights reserved.