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In traditional Jewish American food culture, a “deli” was where you went for a towering pastrami sandwich. You went somewhere else entirely to buy lox and a schmear: an ” appetizing store.”
The quieter, less famous sibling of the Jewish delicatessen comes straight out of the kosher laws that forbid mixing meat and dairy — not just on the plate, but in the kitchen, the utensils, even the store itself.
Today, many delis offer a combination of the two, and a wave of new places aims to capture both traditions.
Sunday brunch food that evolved on the Lower East Side
Jewish immigrants in New York City a century or so ago set up delis for the meat items: corned beef, brisket, tongue, chopped liver. They set up appetizing stores for everything else: smoked and cured fish, cream cheese, pickled vegetables, herring in cream sauce, butter, eggs. (Fish is neither meat nor dairy in Jewish dietary law, so it can sit comfortably next to either.)
The classic appetizing trio of bagels, lox and cream cheese was invented in the U.S.
“Every generation latches on to this heritage of appetizing for Sunday morning breakfast,” says Gary Greengrass, the third generation to head up the Barney Greengrass deli and appetizing store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
At their peak in the 1930s through the 1950s, there were hundreds of appetizing stores in New York City. But as the food went mainstream and fewer customers observed kosher rules, many delis began offering both kinds of food on the menu. The number of appetizing stores decreased dramatically.
The last decade has seen a wave of new outlets around the country, often run by a younger generation reclaiming a Jewish food tradition.
Biederman’s Specialty Foods opened in 2021 in Philadelphia, modeled after classic NYC appetizing shops, with an emphasis on high-quality fish. A mix of appetizing foods and deli meats can be had at Mish Delicatessen, which opened in Los Angeles this year, and Steingold’s Deli, with three locations in Chicago.
The fall Jewish holidays are a big time for the appetizing business
Observant Jewish families don’t cook on Yom Kippur, a fast day. So a meal that can be pulled together ahead of time and eaten at room temperature is the perfect way to break the fast.
“Yom Kippur is the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup finals all in one day,” says Greengrass, who rents a refrigerated truck and parks it outside the store during the High Holidays, in the fall, to handle the increased inventory.
Business on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur has increased 12 to 15 times over the past 40 years, he says, and the store ships food around the country.
Whitefish, trout and herring join smoked salmon on the plate
Smoked salmon is the centerpiece of most appetizing spreads today.
“Nova is probably what most people immediately picture — thinly sliced, cold-smoked salmon served with bagels, cream cheese, tomato, onion and capers,” says Emily Caslow, co-owner of Acme Smoked Fish, a brand based in Brooklyn whose wares can be found in many supermarkets and other outlets.
“But a traditional appetizing counter has always had much more variety,” she says. “You might also find sable, whitefish, baked or kippered salmon, smoked trout and herring. One of the great things about an appetizing spread is that everyone can build their plate a little differently.”
What’s a schmear? And what’s the difference between lox and Nova?
Schmear, from a Yiddish word meaning to spread, morphed into a noun meaning cream cheese, but with a twist, says Cathy Barrow, a food writer and author of four cookbooks, most recently “Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish.”
“In many cases, home cooks and appetizing stores whip the cream cheese to lighten it, and even add ingredients like sour cream, lemon juice or seltzer to help lighten the texture,” she says.
As for the fish:
Lox is salmon that’s not smoked — it’s been cured in a salt brine, no heat, which gives it that dense, silky, salty texture. True lox can cure for weeks.
Nova is cured first, then cold-smoked at a low temperature (under 90 degrees F / 32 degrees C) so it never actually cooks. It’s milder and less salty than lox, with a delicate smokiness layered on top of that same silky texture.
Hot-smoked salmon is smoked at a higher temperature (well over 100 degrees F / 38 degrees C), which actually cooks the fish, so it comes out flaky and firm, more like a cooked fillet than the thin, silky slices of lox or Nova.
Greengrass says that when someone orders a bagel and lox, his staff is trained to ask if they really want lox or are thinking of Nova. Most people choose the smoked salmon, he says, but some old-timers prefer the lox.
And the most popular bagel at Barney Greengrass?
Plain, followed by the everything, then sesame and poppy.
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Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.
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For more AP food stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/recipes
Dining and Cooking