Have you ever wondered how Delis became such a huge aspect of Jewish American culture? Today, I got the opportunity to flip through Sheryll Bellman’s America’s Great Delis: Recipes and Traditions from Coast to Coast. Bellman explains that the first delis were opened by German immigrants in New York. With buildings hard to come by, most cooks sold their wares in pushcarts. In the early 1900’s, a Jewish population in the city increased so rapidly that they were the largest immigrant group there by 1910. Naturally, Ashkenazim food began to dominate the pushcarts of New York. Soon the Deli business moved inside, and by then traditional European Jewish foods had become synonymous with Delicatessen.

While reading, besides finding out that I might be hot dog royalty (Charles Feltman, a German immigrant, opened the first American hot dog stand 1867), I also learned all about the origins of some of America’s favorite deli foods. Here are some fun facts:

• Bagels originated in Krakow, Poland circa 1610. They were called beygls, and were originally given as gifts to women after childbirth.
• Cheesecake was served to Olympic athletes in Greece as early as 776 B.C.E.
• Most jarred pickles you can find at the grocery store are pickled rapidly using heat instead of long soaks in brine. To get the texture and taste of a genuine pickle, make sure you go to a deli that makes their own. My personal favorite, the half sour dill pickle, is pickled for two weeks. A real full sour takes three months.
• Seltzer, adopted quickly as a classic deli drink because it complimented the rich food, was once known as Jewish champagne.
• If they’re made of milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer, why are they called Egg Creams? Some think it was a witty way of describing the beverage as being rich, since when it was invented (1890) no one could possibly afford to use eggs and cream in a beverage.
• Jewish macaroons were probably adapted from a recipe created by Italian nuns, while biscotti were most likely inspired by Mandelbrot that Spanish Jews brought to Italy. It’s a small world!

For more facts and a ton of great recipes, check out the book at Bellman’s website: http://sheryllbellman.com

Of course, anyone can see that there just aren’t as many Delis as there used to be, especially outside of New York! Find out how to fight the fast food takeover at http://www.savethedeli.com.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from: Nothing beats an old-fashioned Jewish Deli. Yum!