Carine Goren - Traditional Jewish Baking: Retro Recipes Your Grandma Would Make… If She Had a Mixer

These days, grandmothers look just as fabulous as their daughters; 60 is the new 40, and gray hair and wrinkles seem like a faraway fiction. The past few decades have definitely been revolutionary.

Grandmas are not the only ones undergoing change. Our kitchens are unrecognizable. Larger than ever, they are equipped with cutting-edge baking ovens, microwave ovens and mixers. The sophisticated tools and gadgets available to baking connoisseurs nowadays would put any bakery to shame. The pompous, female-oriented cookbooks of 40 years ago have been replaced by the appealing and user-friendly publications of our day, featuring scrumptious pictures and clear instructions addressed to all genders. Each home boasts at least one shelf of colorful cookbooks, and I havent even mentioned the Internet yet

The whole family has joined the (new) grandmothers in the kitchen. Interest in baking recognizes no age, status or ethnicity, and the once drudge position of chef has become a highly coveted, prestigious profession.

However, all those fancy and sophisticated macaroons and cupcakes pushed aside the recipes of yesterday: grandmas cakes and cookies that we all love and cherish. These recipes are timeless, from the fragrant yeast roulades to the tallso very talllekach (torte) cakes, the simple, melt-in-your-mouth cookies and the fluffy cheesecakes, not to mention grandmas more time-consuming and labor-intensive cakes (almost always boasting both crumble and meringue). And who can forget homemade candy?

In the past three years, I have been collecting, researching, experimenting and adapting thousands of grandmas recipes, until I was satisfied that I was holding in my hands (and my heart) the best of the best.

And then the real work began:

Getting the precise measurementsnot by the eye or as it feels.

Adapting old recipes to todays kitchen appliances, like the microwave oven and the stand mixer.

Writing down every stage, not skipping any detail (not even obvious things safely stored in grandmas memory that did not require mentioning, let alone explaining).

Upgrading some of the flavorswith the greatest respect for the original, of courseto correspond with modern tastes (the memory of the cake sometimes tastes better than the cake itselfyou all know what I am talking about).

Adding to many of the recipes a sweet little secret (dubbed in this book Grandma Knows Best), providing something extra, because, lets face itgrandmothers are not always generous with their knowledge.

So, what did I take from all this?

First and foremost, a healthy respect for grandmas recipesit is the simplest ones that require the hands-on guidance and stand up anyone who never had a tall lekach sink like a flat tortilla!

Our grandmothers and our parents grandmothers have dedicated their lives to lovingly cooking for and feeding their families, gaining wisdom and outstanding skill that professional chefs take years to achieve. For example, did you know that in order to prepare a simple Bavarian cream, one must cook a yolk-based crme Anglaise, dissolve gelatin, prepare whipped cream (not too stiff and not too soft, mind you), whip up an egg white meringue and fold it all together into a fluffy cream? Sounds complicated and daunting, doesnt it? Let me give you my own grandmas timeless pearl of wisdom: First of all, calm down!

True, acquiring these skills takes time, but if you let me hold your hand, we will master these nostalgic recipes step-by-step. With my detailed explanations and sweet little secrets accompanying them, anyone can do it!