Joe Pastry - Why are they called "knishes"?

Why are they called "knishes"?

10/30/09

Why are they called "knishes"?

Filed under: Blog— by joe @ 09:32:28 am

"Knish" is a Yiddish word, Yiddish being a Germanic language created by Ashkenazi Jews who settled in and around the Rhine Valley about the year 900. It closely resembles two other words in current use today, the Russian knys which means "pastry" and the Polish knyz meaning "snack." Put those two together, and that's pretty much a knish. Were Old World knishes like anything like New World knishes? That's where the picture gets fuzzy. But then I'm not sure, save for a short period in the early part of the 20th century, that the concept of the knish has ever been in very sharp focus. "A (usually) baked snack" may be as precise a definition as I can muster. (Thanks to readers Chana and Jim).

Pingbacks:

No Pingbacks for this post yet...

Hello, Joe!

Click here to send me an email!

Categories

Joe Pastry

Blog (2676)
Joe's Baking Basics (0)
- Five Simple Rules for No-Fail Baking (1)
- Flour Basics (26)
- Ingredient Weights & Metric Conversions (1)
- Leavening Methods (1)
  - Chemical (19)
  - Mechanical (9)
  - Microbial (6)
- Mixing Methods (0)
  - A Brief Intro (1)
  - Biscuit (4)
  - Creaming (3)
  - Egg Foam (7)
  - Muffin (3)
  - Straight Dough (4)
- Other Stuff (0)
  - About Custards (8)
Joe's Book Club (1)
Joe's How-To's (0)
- Bread (0)
  - About Starter & Preferments (0)
    - Old Dough (2)
    - Poolish (2)
    - Starter (6)
  - Bagels (3)
  - Baguettes (2)
  - Brioche à tête (1)
  - Buns and Rolls (2)
  - Crackers (2)
  - Cracklin' Corn Bread (2)
  - English Muffins (1)
  - Focaccia (3)
  - Hot Cross Buns (2)
  - Pain à l'Ancienne (2)
  - Pita Bread (3)
  - Pizza (1)
    - Chicago Style (2)
    - Neapolitan (1)
  - Pretzels (2)
  - Pugliese-Style Bread (2)
  - Sourdough Pancakes (1)
  - Spoon Bread (2)
  - Whole Wheat Bread (2)
- Pastry (0)
  - Alsatian Onion Tart (2)
  - Baklava (2)
  - Beignets (2)
  - Biscuits (2)
  - Charlotte (1)
  - Cheese Straws (1)
  - Cheesecake (2)
  - Cinnamon Rolls and Sticky Buns (2)
  - Clafoutis (2)
  - Cobbler (2)
  - Cornish Pasties (4)
  - Croissants & Pain Au Chocolat (1)
  - Danish Pastry (7)
  - Doughnuts (0)
    - Cake (7)
    - Yeast Raised (2)
  - Éclairs (1)
  - English-Style Pudding (2)
  - Flourless Chocolate Cake (6)
  - Fritters (3)
  - Fruitcake (0)
    - English-Style (3)
    - Stollen (2)
  - Galettes (2)
  - Gougères (2)
  - Jelly Rolls (1)
  - Knishes (3)
  - Kouign Amann (2)
  - Marjolaine (8)
  - Opera Cake (5)
  - Petits Fours (2)
  - Pie (2)
  - Quiche (2)
  - S'mores (1)
  - Sacher Torte (2)
  - Scones (2)
  - Strawberry Shortcake (2)
  - Tarte Tatin (1)
    - Apple (1)
    - Tomato (2)
  - Tarts (0)
    - Pear (1)
  - Waffles (4)
- Pastry Components (1)
  - Bavarian Cream (2)
  - Brioche Dough (1)
  - Buttercream (6)
  - Cake Layers (2)
    - Chocolate (2)
    - Yellow (2)
  - Cake Syrup (1)
  - Caramel and Caramel Sauce (1)
  - Caramelized Onions (1)
  - Chantilly Cream (1)
  - Chocolate Frosting (2)
  - Dairy (0)
    - Butter (Cultured) (1)
    - Butter (Sweet Cream) (1)
    - Buttermilk (1)
    - Crème Fraîche (1)
    - Mascarpone (1)
    - Sour Cream (1)
    - Yogurt (2)
  - Fondant (Poured) (1)
  - Fondant (Rolled) (1)
  - Frangipane (1)
  - Ganache (2)
  - Génoise Batter (2)
  - Graham Crackers (2)
  - Ice Cream (1)
  - Jam (0)
    - Blueberry (1)
    - Tomato (1)
  - Joconde (2)
  - Ladyfingers (2)
  - Lemon Curd (2)
  - Marshmallows (2)
  - Pastry Cream (2)
  - Pâte à Bombe (2)
  - Pâte à Choux (3)
  - Pâte Brisée (1)
  - Pâte Sucrée (1)
  - Slow-Roasted Tomatoes (1)
- Some Miscellaneous Desserts & Cookies (0)
  - Apricot Bars (2)
  - Bananas Foster (2)
  - Biscotti (2)
  - Brownies (4)
  - Caramel Corn (2)
  - Caramel-Pumpkin Bars (2)
  - Chocolate Chip Cookies (4)
  - Chocolate Mousse (1)
  - Crème Brûlée (2)
  - Golden Lemon Almond Cake (2)
  - Lemon Bars (2)
  - Macarons (3)
  - Macaroons (2)
  - Panna Cotta (2)
  - Seven Layer Bars (2)
  - Tiramisu (2)
  - World Peace Cookies (2)
- Techniques (0)
  - About Frying (4)
  - Assembling Pastry Bags and Cones (2)
  - Bringing Ingredients to Temperature (1)
  - Candying Flowers (2)
  - Canning (1)
  - Clarifying Butter (1)
  - Cutting a Cake (1)
  - Firing a Brick Oven (2)
  - Folding Properly (1)
  - Kneading Bread Dough (1)
  - Laminating Dough (1)
  - Making Chocolate Shavings and Curls (1)
  - Making Extra Fine Sugar (1)
  - Making Infusions (1)
  - Making Your Home Oven More Brick Oven-Like (1)
  - Peeling Hazelnuts (1)
  - Poaching (0)
    - Peaches (1)
    - Pears (1)
  - Pre-Baking a Crust (1)
  - Preparing a Cake for Decorating (1)
  - Preparing a Cake Pan for Baking (1)
  - Rendering Lard (1)
  - Rolling Pie and Tart Dough (1)
  - Seeding a Vanilla Bean (1)
  - Tempering Chocolate (3)
  - Un-"Seizing" Chocolate (2)
  - Whipping Cream (1)
- Totally Not Pastry (0)
  - Dog Biscuits (2)
  - Pasta (5)
  - Soufflé (2)
Versus Food Inc. (16)
Versus Michael Pollan (4)
Who is Joe Pastry? (1)

Archives

Search

Links