What's the obsession with "dips" for every shab

amother

OP ↓

Today at 12:05 am

I don't get why people seem to think "dips" are mandatory food to be served with all shabbos/YT meals.

I typically make several dishes for the appetizer course (salads / veggie dishes), but depending on what I'm cooking and the theme / ethnicity of the meal, often "dips" just don't fit the menu. sure if I'm serving israeli food, "dips" like hummus or tehnia or baba ganoush go with the theme of the meal. but if I'm making, say, italian or asian food, it's just weird to have "dips."

how did "dips" become a bona fide course at the shabbos table?

amother

Chocolate ↓

Today at 12:06 am

Because most people don’t want to eat challah plain. It’s for the challah makes no difference what else you are serving it’s not related. Also most people don’t have themes.

amother

Chartreuse

Today at 12:06 am

well, I don't do "themes" for my shabbos meals. So since my first course theme is always Challah, dips fit in just perfectly!

amother

↑ Chocolate ↓

Today at 12:09 am

This reminds of a similar thread where someone took her shabbos food way too seriously. In real life most of us don’t take food as seriously as you. We just eat what we like. We like dips. We don’t like themed meals. We aren’t obsessed we are eating what we like. I’m not really following your over the top feelings about shabbos meals. It’s really not that serious.

tichellady

Today at 12:09 am

Because they are yummy. Most cuisines have a type of dip, including Italian food. That said, I don’t have a lot of time or energy so I rarely make dips, but I do enjoy eating them if someone else makes them

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:12 am

amother Chocolate wrote:

Because most people don’t want to eat challah plain. It’s for the challah makes no difference what else you are serving it’s not related.

In my anecdotal experience, people devour any challah plain if it's good challah. at other houses where dips are served, people seem to take a small amount of the dips in what seems to be politeness to the hostess or take a bunch and leave a bunch on their plate. I don't see a lot of people drenching their challah in dips. seems like the hostesses often spend a lot of time making these dips that are barely touched. that's just my experience, but these aren't scientific facts.

giftedmom ↓

Today at 12:13 am

Our theme/ethnicity is Hungarian (though they actually didn’t make sweet fish in Hungary but no one is supposed to know that), every week. And I guess our special dips theme is Israeli because that’s where most shabbos dips originate except probably the mayo based dips? Because mayo isn’t really an Israeli food right?

amother

↑ Chocolate ↓

Today at 12:17 am

amother OP wrote:

That’s not my experience. People don’t eat much challah when it’s plain. But if that is your experience then I’m really lost with you seeing an obsession? So are people obsessed or are they just taking a drop to make the host happy 🤔. Also dying to know if it was you who posted the last shabbos meal food one that was a really long thread.

amother

Acacia

Today at 12:17 am

giftedmom wrote:

Depends which part of Hungary... my grandmas made sweet fish.

We grew up Hungarian and never, ever had dips on Shabbos in the 1990s/2000s. It wasn't a thing.

Then my siblings and I went to seminary/yeshiva in Israel, we saw dips, we liked dips, we came home and started eating dips.

Now every Jewish grocery store has a wall of dips. I think it came from Israeli influence and then became Americanized.

However, calorie wise it does seem like a waste. If you're dieting, skip the dips.

amother

Aconite

Today at 12:20 am

We buy 1 small tomato dip (or tehina) and use it for 2 weeks. Usually just use it Friday night. Some of us like to dip our challah in it.
For YT or when we have guests we do use 3 dips and they do get eaten.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:20 am

amother Chocolate wrote:

by obsessed, I mean that hosts seem to be obsessed with serving "dips" in the sense that it seems like there's a lot of peer pressure / keeping up with the rosens to do so.... and it's basically became a must at this point there a dip course is a mandatory customary part of the meal. and I feel like people spend a lot of time making dips that are barely eaten, which is sad.

not me. I didn't even see that last thread. link please?

DrMom ↓

Today at 12:21 am

I'm with you, OP.

Plain challah is warm and tasty, and doesn't need things smeared on it to be delicious. I can do without.

Also, why do people here call them "dips?" These things are more "spreads" than "dips." Nobody dips their challah into them like you'd dip a tortilla chip into salsa.

↑ giftedmom ↓

Today at 12:23 am

amother Acacia wrote:

Yeah I think we grew up with dips only because part of my family is Israeli. But nothing fancy. It was techina and charif. My grandmother made them herself. As a teen I came across dill dip while staying by a “modern” cousin and I loved it. Now we have dill dip every shabbos.

amother

Moonstone

Today at 12:24 am

Having them at the meal doesn't mean I'm obsessed with them. I'm not obsessed with gefilte fish or chicken soup or potato kugel (actually that I am obsessed with) but I serve them because they enhance our Shabbos seudah.

I usually make garlic dip which DH really enjoys, and buy chumus. If I could afford it I'd have whitefish salad every week because I love it.

That being said, if I'm at a Shabbos meal without any dips it doesn't merit even a raised eyebrow.

ETA: In our house it's part of the fish and salad course. Not a separate course (same with every home I've been to).

amother

Springgreen ↓

Today at 12:27 am

DrMom wrote:

Except we totally do dip them like you'd dip a tortilla. This thread is super weird. We're obsessed because it's delicious and adds so much to the challah. Just like fries are better with ketchup. What's this obsession with obsessing over it and calling it an obsession. BTW themes on Shabbos sound like purim. Now that's strange.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:29 am

amother Acacia wrote:

Then my siblings and I went to seminary/yeshiva in Israel, we saw dips, we liked dips, we came home and started eating dips.

Now every Jewish grocery store has a wall of dips. I think it came from Israeli influence and then became Americanized.

Didn't think of it this way, but it makes perfect sense -- that the "dips" thing may be an Israeli influence that creeped into the American / Ashkenazi shabbos table. which kind of supports my hunch that the "dips" thing here is a lot of peer pressure to keep up with the trends.

amother

↑ Chocolate ↓

Today at 12:30 am

DrMom wrote:

We don’t spread it. We put some in our plate and dip pieces of challah in.

amother

↑ Chocolate ↓

Today at 12:30 am

amother OP wrote:

No peer pressure in my world everyone likes to eat it. They all get polished off.

amother

↑ Springgreen

Today at 12:32 am

amother OP wrote:

No your hunch is completely off the wall. Even if I'd be alone on an island I'd want my dips because of their taste. So peer pressure it is not.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:32 am

amother Springgreen wrote:

BTW themes on Shabbos sound like purim. Now that's strange.

c'mon, I made very clear above--theme meaning a type of cuisine. plenty of people have ethnic cuisines for shabbat. nobody thought a themed shabbat means a star wars or harry potter shabbat.