In the cold, dark winter months it can feel like everyone you know has a cold. And while nothing beats rest, water and good old handwashing to keep sickness at bay, don’t sleep on these time-honored Jewish healing recipes to give your immune system an extra boost. From Yemenite matit, a home remedy so effective it’s known as “nature’s antibiotic,” to Ashkenazi gogol mogol (Barbara Streisand’s mother’s vocal chord cure of choice), there’s a wealth of delicious wisdom to sample whenever you get sniffly.
Chicken Soup
Aka “Jewish penicillin,” chicken soup’s healing properties — from fighting infections to reducing inflammation — are well documented. This rich, golden overnight version is spiked with hawaij — a warming Yemenite spice blend with all sorts of additional health benefits.
Dill Pickle Soup
This lesser-known but delicious Eastern European soup is rooted in cold, harsh winters with short growing seasons, where pickling provided year-long nutrition. Packed with briny pickles and veggies, this tangy soup will give your immune system a boost.
Health Salad
Aka vitamin or Claremont salad, this New York deli staple is a riot of crunchy, raw veggies to fill your ailing body with health.
Hilbeh
Often served as an accompaniment to Yemenite soups and breads, this fenugreek-heavy dip is said to boost milk supply in nursing mothers, aid digestion and lower cholesterol, among a myriad of other health benefits.
Sauerkraut
Get those probiotics in with this fermented super pickle — a humble mix of cabbage, salt and time. Super easy to make at home, this will last for several months in the fridge.
Gogol Mogol
The old-school Ashkenazi cure for colds, sore throats and winter blues.
Matit
Yemenite Jews from Sana’a boast a time-honored tradition of natural medicine, and this dish (aka matid or “nature’s antibiotic”) is said to cure anything from a sore throat to sinus infection.
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