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

amother

↑ Purple

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:23 am

amother OP wrote:

It's a little funny that the "dips" course, even today, is still both: 1) a way to be frugal and fill your guests up on cheap unhealthy stuff to save money on proper food; and 2) a way to be fancy (or to be forced to be fancy) and keep up with the cohens and spend quite a bunch of discretionary money on luxury products.

separately, I also think the "dips" trend is bolstered by the proliferation of instagram, whatsapp, etc. and the corresponding "dips businesses" that wouldnt have been able to market themselves in the way they did before social media.

My parents had dips
My grandparents had dips
And my great grandparents had dips
It is becouse I come from a sefardic background …
I don’t think my dips are unhealthy
They are all made from veggies or legumes with some healthy fats.
We were all serving it before instagram was invented 🤦‍♀️
No one I knows consider dips fancy. And they are a lot cheaper than my main course
To me my favorite part of a shabbos meal is warm challa and my Salatim and dips.
If you don’t like it don’t serve it.

mizle10

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:26 am

amother Cornsilk wrote:

Anything in this material world runs on trends.
It's the way hashem created it.
That being said some people do their own thing while others feel that they are not balabuste enough without a variety of dips.

No one used to eat avocado and now it's a basic in every grocery store. Is it a trend? No. It just became available and it's delicious.

I think dips originally came from Israeli salatim. Think sabra Hummus as the first main hummus company. But now we've all been "exposed" to it and we keep on enjoying dips because they're delicious!

mha3484 ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:30 am

Am I the only one who grew up in the 80s eating challah and margarine? I think secular food trends always make their way into the frum world over time and my mother has been serving dips and spreads at parties for 40 years. Eventually it made its way into the frum world too.

amother

↑ Maroon ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:30 am

Aurora wrote:

Would you please post recipes for these dips that take 10 minutes?

Separately, I figure dips are like deli roll. They're tasty and popular, and will probably show up on tables for the next few years.

I posted them before and can't find them.
10 mins is prep, cook time might be more, but are really easy regardless.

Olive dip- buy cans of pitted green olives. Put in food processor with a few cloves of garlic. Freeze this in servings and when ready to serve just defrost one serving and add mayo (this is a fav in our house).

Onion dip- the hardest part is cutting onions. Slice a lot (10-15) and caramelize in a pot for 45 mins with olive oil. Freeze in portions. add mayo when serving.

Garlic dip- stick cloves of garlic with olive oil in oven 300/325 for 1 hour. Add salt and serve as garlic confit or take out garlic, smash garlic, add salt, paprika, and mayo.

B'Syata D'Shmya

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:35 am

amother Darkblue wrote:

eat and serve what you want
do what works for you and your family
we don't need to be concerned about what others are doing
ksiva v chasima tova

Exactly, If you are invited, its for the company, the meal is just the excuse. Complaining about the menu or calling challah "cheap bread" should be revisited.
For my picky eaters I always make sure I have something else to eat when they come home.

↑ Aurora ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:41 am

amother Maroon wrote:

Thank you!

↑ watergirl

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:44 am

mha3484 wrote:

YES! Nothing hits quite like challah and Country Crock!

amother

↑ Chartreuse

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:45 am

amother OP wrote:

you may be misreading my intent. 1) and 2) weren't exclusive of other reasons. I get that people just like them. And you can like dips AND get them to keep up with the cohens. (I don't see why there's anything wrong with wanting to be trendy, provided you like the food.). you also can like dips AND get them for frugality purposes (I also don't see why there's anything wrong with getting food that keeps your meals inexpensive, provided you like the food.)

also, it's just not true what "we are all telling you..." many people on here are saying people are serving dips for either frugality or to keep up with the cohens.

No, people are saying that many years ago it started in Israel for frugality, but now it just became a regular thing to have. I don't know anyone who has dips so they can save money with less chicken.
And I didn't see anyone say it's to keep up with the Cohens. Most people said similar to how I see it. They just like it. I am not someone who cares what the "Cohens" are doing. Heck I don't even know the "Cohens" lol..I live away from most people don't have much of a community around here, never have guests that I need to show off for. Also, I don't have instagram.

I think you are literally not getting that it's just a food idea that people enjoy. I don't get why this is getting your goat so much that people eat dips every week with their Challah.

↑ mha3484

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 8:49 am

watergirl wrote:

YES! Nothing hits quite like challah and Country Crock!

My non religious grandmother kept a kosher kitchen (long story) and we went every shabbos until I was 10/11. I have such warm memories of a cousin of my grandparents who survived kristallnacht "buttering" the kids challah. I think not liking plain challah is not a new thing at all.

baked ziti ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:01 am

We love trying different dips because it's fun and they taste good. I have no idea and couldn't care less about what dips my neighbor is buying. It is just not a "status symbol". People are trying to keep up with the Cohen's but it ain't through dips. More like clothing, vacations, fancy simchas.... So there goes that theory.
For those who are concerned about us filling up on challah and it not being so healthy, this is our "shabbos party". Some people buy sticky, food coloring laden nosh. Some people bake up a storm. Some people are "obsessed" with desserts. Some people serve a lot of cold cuts. Some do all of the above. Everyone is entitled to their oneg shabbos, but are dips really that bad?
I really don't get the moral outrage against something as benign as dips. What

↑ baked ziti ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:05 am

I forgot to sign off my rant, so I'll do that now:
Thanks for listening, signed,
A boring, plain Jane with the unsophisticated palate of a 5 year old, who absolutely loves nothing other than traditional Ashkenazi non exotic food

Last edited by baked ziti on Mon, Sep 23 2024, 2:47 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Burntblack

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:08 am

I never heard of dips until I went to my in-laws for Shabbos. They serve a lot of dips, and then nobody is hungry for a main course, so they don't serve anything after the soup.

Dh loves dips, so we buy them. I don't have time to make any, nor would I have any idea how.

mom923

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:25 am

I think dips are just an easy thing to put out for guests and family to snack on while I get everything in the kitchen ready to be served. Instead of them sitting making small talk and having 10 people hovering around me in the kitchen. Everyone can sit and snack while I get the food out.

↑ DrMom ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:30 am

baked ziti wrote:

I forgot to sign off my rant, so I'll do that now:
Thanks for listening, signed,
A boring, plain Jane with the unsophisticated pallette of a 5 year old, who absolutely loves nothing other than traditional Ashkenazi non exotic food

Ironic sceen name!

↑ Ruchel ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:42 am

So many non Jews eat at non kosher delis. It must mean Ashki food is great. Also I'm a foodie, as in we've been having a blog for years, we're recognized, we're offered stuff, we're featured in advertisement. And we love Ashki food.

↑ giftedmom

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:49 am

amother Hosta wrote:

If you are gluten free and can't eat challah you're stuck when everyone else is eating dips. I prefer the Israeli style dips that can be eaten without challah. Filling up on white challah and mayo before eating a main seems silly to me, but each to their own.

You can make gluten free challah with either oats or flour that has wheat starch

amother

Wheat

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 9:58 am

I think dips became an in thing because when you sit around the table with your family on Shabbat it brings family close. Food brings family close. Lots of dips with Challah is enjoyable and brings fun and talking . The Mom's deserve a round of applause for preparing so much fun dips and different types of food for their families.

Cheiny ↓

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 11:55 am

amother OP wrote:

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?

Just another fad that caught on, like meat boards and fish boards. Dips are big in my house… I guess plain challah/sourdough just doesn’t cut it any more when you can take it up a notch with various dips.