Rosh Hashanah Symbolic Foods
How to cook them for your holiday meal.
Apples and honey may be the symbolic stars of Rosh Hashanah, but for some Jewish families they are just the beginning. The custom of holding a Rosh Hashanah seder, where a series of symbolic foods are eaten before the meal, is becoming an increasingly common practice in Sephardic and Mizrahi families where the tradition originated, and even in some Ashkenazic households.
Each of the chosen foods--generally a pomegranate, date, string bean, beet, pumpkin, leek, and fish head--symbolize a wish or blessing for prosperity and health in the coming year. The food's significance is most often based on a pun of that food's name (find out the full story here.) During the Rosh Hashanah meal, each food is held up, blessed, and eaten as if to personally ingest or take in those good wishes.
Rosh Hashanah's symbolic foods can make an appearance on the holiday table, regardless of whether one decides to incorporate a full Rosh Hashanah seder into their celebration. For a creative twist on the traditional seder, make dishes inspired by each food (like the ones linked below) and serve them throughout the evening to infuse the entire meal with symbolic meaning as well as delicious flavors.
Orange and Pomegranate Salad
Green Beans with Honey Tahini Glaze
Roasted Beets with Cilantro-Basil Pesto
White Wine Braised Leeks
Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcakes
Date Coconut Rolls
Leah Koenig is a freelance writer whose work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, Gastronomica, Jewish Living, Lilith, Culinate, Beliefnet and other publications.
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