April 6, 2010, Updated September 24, 2012

As part of an online project of the New York Times, web surfers can now learn about emerging Israeli cuisine.

The New York Times Knowledge Network commissions journalists and academics from around the world to give paid online courses for the public on a variety of topics. The idea for an Israeli culinary course was initiated by the Israeli Consulate in New York and is the first culinary course in the newspaper’s online university program.

For a sum of $145 participants could take a three-part historical and cultural journey through the evolution of Israeli cuisine from ancient times to the present day, with topics like couscous cooking methods and recent gastronomical trends in Tel Aviv.

Janna Gur, chief editor of the popular Israeli gastronomical magazine On the Table created the course. She says that “… Israel is a fascinating case where one can observe in real time how a cuisine is born,” and points out that Israeli cuisine is the result of the fusion of more than 60 cultures. “We have a synthesis of flavors – chopped liver and kneidlach have been mixed in with Mediterranean flavors together with local ingredients and international seasonings,” she says.

 

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