Dietary Habits

From The Peopling of NYC

The newcomers began yearning for distinct cultural food preferences – seltzer, knishes, blintzes, bagels, bialys, and herring. The religious ritual, kashrut (observance of dietary laws), was important to ethnic economy. Shokhetim (religious butchers who performed sacred rituals) populated the cities. Jews only trusted Jews in this matter. They preserved certain meals such as Matzo and gefilte fish on Passover, Hamantash (3 cornered pastry with fruit or poppy seed) at Purim, challah (egg bread) for Sabbath on Friday evening.