Try it! You’ll like it!

December 9, 2007 - 10:53 AM by

Believe it or not, when I was growing up in the US, I had no idea that sufganiyot (jelly donuts) were a Chanukah treat. Everyone I knew had latkes (potato pancakes). Latkes with sour cream, latkes with apple sauce, and especially, latkes with latkes. Sure, I’d certainly had my share of jelly donuts, but no one ever let us know that sufganiyot were the main Chanukah snack in Israel.

Of course, that all changed when I came to Israel for a year after high school, and discovered the joys (and perils) of the sufganiya. Dripping with jelly (if you were lucky), glistening with oil and sinfully caloric, the sufganiya quickly replaced latkes as the culinary star of my festival of lights.

Over the years, I’ve cheerfully (though not without a certain modicum of guilt) joined in sufganiya fest, debating the virtues of the various flavors (my favorite filling is caramel) and bakers (Roladin seems to be everyone’s perennial fave), and thanking G-d that for the miniature sizes that allowed me to feel marginally less guilty.

Fast forward to Chanukah, 2007. My sufganiya habit is more or less under control, and I’ve managed, with one exception, to avoid the latkes. I wasn’t doing too badly, when suddenly, it all came crashing down. Somehow, it took me sixteen years in the country to come face-to-face with Sfinge. Sfinge is the Moroccan answer to the sufganiya. Despite the fact that it has no filling (though it’s often dipped in syrup), it’s just as tasty and just as oily, and I have the distinct misfortune of having a neighbor who can feed my habit.

Sadly, the internet seems to have a serious dearth of information regarding sfinge, so I suppose you’ll just have to make due with one of the pictures I took. Needless to say, the photos are all I have left, following a little sfinge binge…

Sfinge

As my grandmother used to say, “try it! You’ll like it!”

Tags: • Category: Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays 

Comments

One Comment on Try it! You’ll like it!

  1. Avi on Sun, Dec 9th 2007 11:44 AM

    2. Eh, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Rolodin in Jerusalem, but my friend thought that the cream (chocolate and cream, so yum) were laced with chemicals they were so good.

    Personally, I’m going to English Cake before the end of the holiday!

Leave a Comment





© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap