More Rants/Raves

[gnomi]

I couldn't get overly ranty about this, doeeyedbunny, I'm sorry; I got more lecture-y than ranty.



Technically, any bread can be called challah bread. This is because "challah" technically refers to the piece of dough that is separated out to be given to the Cohen (priest). "Challah" has come to refer to the bread we eat on Shabbat -- a glazed egg bread -- but calling it "challah bread" is redundant.

Most knowledgeable people refer to the bread we eat on Shabbat simply as "challah."

The mitzvah (commandment) to remove the piece of dough (which, today, is burned since we no longer have the Cohen to give it to) comes from Numbers, chapter 15 verse 20, where it is compared to the Terumah (elevated offering) given from the threshing floor.

Go here for more information on the mitzvah of challah.


Challah -- especially home-made challah straight out of the oven -- is yummy. I should bake more challah one of these days.

Comments

[sorek.livejournal.com]

I don't think we're alone in the "redundant department of redundancy, food division".

I have a kosher chinese cookbook that I believe states that "chao" means "stir-fried" and "mien" means "noodles", so when people refer to "chow mien noodles" what they're really saying is "stir fried noodles noodles".

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

You're probably right -- redundant food terms are likely universal. I'd attribute it to one culture adopting the food and terminology for that food from another culture but then wanting to tack on some native word to identify what the actual food is.