Not to make anyone feel bad...

amother

↑ Plum ↓

Fri, Feb 14 2020, 9:30 am

One of the few things that get me through the long flight is knowing in israel I will eat!!! The fruits and veg are Soooooooo delicious and fresh and flavorful. And I cannot compare it to anything I get in any expensive store in the us. The bread doesn't make me feel awful like in the us. ALL the food is better, except maybe if you are a bad cook and ruin it. Ugly veg is just cosmetics. In the us (and some other countries) all the ugly ones get wasted or for other purposes , they don't make it to the grocery. The best I can compare it to is farm fresh picked food only. But soil affects the flavor too. The food in israel is awesome.

Chayalle

Fri, Feb 14 2020, 9:35 am

I have 5 SIL's in E"Y and all of them are balabustes and great cooks.

and so am I, right here in the US.

Sorry OP, but your post is generalization much. Yesh V'Yesh.

But I agree that certain foods (especially produce) in E"Y is awesome. And the dairy products....yum!

amother

Tan

Fri, Feb 14 2020, 9:41 am

I would imagine that Israeli KOSHER restaurants are better than those in the US or most other countries because of supply and demand.

There are almost no "top chefs" who own and/or cook in US kosher restaurants and the food - as compared to non-kosher restaurants is mediocre.

Stating the Israeli "private" cooks are better than those in the US is just silly because there are excellent home cooks in every country. They might not cook to your specific taste but that is true with any style of cuisine. I think the only type of cuisine that might be problematic would be classic French because the repertoire relies so heavily on cream sauces although there are obviously some classic French dishes like Coq Au Vin which can be tweaked without losing all authenticity.

The quality of raw ingredients - meat, fish and produce is going to depend on where one gets it. Produce in supermarkets in the US tends to be mediocre versus produce that is sold in the Farmers Markets. Strawberries and tomatoes are particularly vile because of the need to grow varieties that ship well. However, I used to buy strawberries from local stands that were sold the same day they were picked and they were super delicious.

This was true even for fruit like apples which generally do better in terms of mass farming varieties. The farmers would be able to grow varieties that were grown for taste instead of ability to last for months in cold storage.

amother

↑ Chocolate

Fri, Feb 14 2020, 9:43 am

amother [ Plum ] wrote:

Again, it's a matter of taste. It's a weird post to start that Isreali food is better. It's really a matter of taste and what you're used to.
My friend in Israel gets gefilta fish imported from the US, she claims Israeli fish isn't good. Everyone has different tastes.

amother

↑ Plum

Fri, Feb 14 2020, 9:50 am

amother [ Chocolate ] wrote:

Gefilta fish isn't a food. Its a recipe. Not native to israel. You really need to eat local. If you try to recreate america in israel, it won't taste good. If you try to recreate italian food or french food in america, it will be bleh at best compared to authentic in country food. Eat local.

SixOfWands

Fri, Feb 14 2020, 10:48 am

chanchy123 wrote:

Clearly you are not very familiar with Israeli cuisine.
I'm actually having breakfast with DH at a branch of a large coffeshop chain in Jersaluem. They serve "international" breakfast dishes. DH ordered a Balkan breakfast I got an American one. We joked that my "American" breakfast was so un-American. My omlette came with herbs and mushrooms, a plate of roasted veggies, kalamata olives, tahini, a sliced zesty Israeli salad (have you ever had Israeli salad in Israel? It's anything but bland - unlike iceberg and mayo American salds). And cream cheese and lox and bp&j to represent America.
Israeli food is good because we use actual vegetables, herbs and spices. Not a bunch of cans, frozen products, mixes, and premade sauces.
I know that's not how all Americans cook but that's pretty typical.
Of course we have bad cooks here too and bad restaurants, but the standard is pretty great.

Israeli food, well cooked, is delicious.

So is American food. We use fresh vegetables (my Shabbat will include a fresh green salad with romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, red and yellow peppers, scallions, snap peas and maybe avocado, a fresh broccoli salad, roasted asparagus, sauteed shaved brussels sprouts, and roasted cauliflower), herbs and spices. Not cans, not frozen, not mixes, not premade sauces (unless I'm in a rush). And the only place I've seen iceberg lettuce in the past 20 years is on a tuna sandwich. Those products are not at all typical of decent cooks.

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Feb 16 2020, 2:45 pm

Zehava wrote:

I hate Israeli food. Breakfast (that ubiquitous salad...) lunch (Ewww falafel) and dinner (spicy dry shawarma anyone?) and yes I know they do the shawarma for lunch.

This is so obviously from a tourist point of view. I dont know many israelis who eat that way. Those are "typical" israeli foods, but not what israelis are always eating. If you think this is what fills israelis palates, you are missing out big time.