Let’s Talk Chulent!
Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS
There are addictions and aversions.
And there’s rarely an in between.
People either love it and must have it or they literally can’t take the smell or the look of it.
Though, you’ve got to give them that, the look is not it’s winning quality. This will never show up in a gourmet magazine. Except maybe as a -don’t serve!
Still there are the true devotees. Someone once told me they had to put a venting system in their home because the smell of the chulent kept them up wanting it all night. But they couldn’t not have it therefore, the expense was worth it. So, the expense was well worth it!
People start consuming it as early as Thursday evening! Kiosks and all-night marts offer it then for chulent enthusiasts
And high school kids have been known to bring it to school, pot and all, Friday morning as a pre–Shabbas night specialty.
By Friday evening many, have it as an after meal treat. Well, hey what better sleeping pill exits?! And Sabbath is after all the day of rest! The heaviness of this stuff usually puts you out.
Even throughout the night Friday, little mice-like scurrying can be heard around the crock pot. Usually, an accusing open newspaper alongside a used bowl is a telling proof in the A.M. that someone couldn’t resist it last night.
On Saturday morning, many gladly trade their bowl of cornflakes for a bowl of chulent. Even infants and tots are on board for this breakfast, I guess cause it tastes good to them and actually –their food never looks much more inviting anyway.
And definitely no self-respecting kiddish will be thrown without it!
Finally, lunch would be completely deficient if chulent weren’t offered as a reliable staple on the menu. It’salmost like the 614th commandment- serve chulent!
Now-just like no 2 people are exactly the same, no 2 chulents are the same either!
The ingredients for this dish are somewhat limited, yetthe outcome is rarely alike.
Everyone has their own formula.
Culturally and personally, everyone has their little tweaks and secrets.
For instance, hard boiled eggs usually used for an egg salad or hotdogs often saved for ball games, are often discovered camouflaged in this very monochromatic stew.
Interestingly, the 3 main ingredients beans, potatoes, or meat may or may not be present. They may be substituted with barley, sweet potatoes, onions, and rice or any other interesting element. It mostly depends on your family history or traditions.
Of course, there’s one essential ingredient they all wisely share -water. Because, that way there’s some hope this heavy stew will actually migrate throughyour system. Fortunately, many chulents have a healthy dallop of grease to guarantee this!
I’ve witnessed some other ingredients floating around in there too. I’m sure many have their own little tricks to make it taste just the way they like. For instance, when no one’s looking my dad likes to experiment. He throws in things like breakfast cereals or nuts to see the effect the surrounding ingredients will have on them. Honestly, I’m not sure how the taste gets affected but they all wind up the same color. That’s chulent- the aroma and the taste, not the color, is its appeal.
The bottom line is, that once you’re hooked on chulent, in whatever form it speaks to you, there’s no way you can easily go a weekend without it!
Just supports the saying that love can be blind, as long as there are other features you find to focus on!
Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals.
She is a Certified Relationship Counselor. She is a Co-Founder & Creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivkirosenwald@gmail.com
