Gefilte Fish for Passover Seder
At the time of the Mishna (200 CE), rabbis deemed it meritorious to eat fish on the Sabbath and Jews became accustomed to eating fish at festive meals. Gefilte fish, which has been called the quintessential Jewish food, is an especially popular fish to serve at the Passover Seder meal.
Gefilte fish is a loaf of chopped up fish, usually white-fleshed freshwater fish such as carp or pike.
At the time of the Mishna (200 CE), rabbis deemed it meritorious to eat fish on the Sabbath. Due to the plethora of rivers in Europe, Ashkenazi Jews tended to cook with freshwater fish. Eastern European Jews would make a mixture of chopped fish, stuff it back into the skin of the fish, and boil it. The word
gefilte means stuffed in Yiddish.
Homemade Gefilte Fish does take some effort and time, but it is so much better than jarred Gefilte Fish.
