Foodie Tourism

Israel’s culinary scene is booming, from outstanding street food (it’s not just about falafel and shawarma anymore!) to an eclectic fine dining scene. Explore the Israel foodscape and experience organic farms in the desert; incredible boutique wineries; colorful outdoor markets with the finest fresh produce Israel has to offer; taste the diverse cuisines that influence today’s top Israeli chefs including  Druze/Arab, Georgian, Yemenite, Ethiopian and many more. Of course don’t forget Israeli Street Food.

 

Cooking Classes in Israel

The anchor of a Culinary Tours to Israel can be cooking classes at a well-respected cooking institution in Israel where you’ll learn professional techniques of the Mediterranean kitchen,local herbs and spices, cheese-making, Arab Galilee cuisine and Baking, Israeli-style. Participate in culinary unique workshops. In some sessions you will see the chef plucking vegetables from his own garden, sourcing local meat, olive oil and herbs. If you choose he will teach you to cook in the coziness of his home. Tour of the fish market in Acco are exciting. Foodies can focus on meats, desserts and homemade breads.

 

Street Food in Israel

Look for real street food, the kind the locals eat.n Try hummus, falafel, hummus with ful, a Tunisian sandwich, haminados, shawarma, a baguette-sandwich, kubbeh soup, mujaddara, sausage, hamburger, schnitzel or bourekas!

Druze Food and Arab Cuisine in Israel

The Druze are a peacefully minority living  in Israel and are renowned for their hospitality. Their villages Isfiya and Daliyat El Carmel on the Carmel, and Majdal Shams, Buq’ata and Ein Qinya on the Golan offer an insight into their interesting religion and food.

 

 

Georgian Food in Israel

The Jewish community of Georgia, a small country in the Caucasus Mountains that used to be a part of the USSR, dates back more than 2,000 years. Most Georgian Jews migrated to Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They brought their local recipes with them. Georgian food revolves around walnuts, fresh and dried fruit, herbs, dumplings, and hearty stews. The Georgian palate has become very popular in Israel.

The “three pillars” of Georgian food are:

• Hinkali – meat dumpling
• Hachapuri – ხაჭაპური – a cheese bread that can be presented in many shapes.
• Hurchkhela, a string of walnuts dipped in grape syrup and hardened into a candy.

Yemenite Food in Israel

In 1950 a huge airlift known as Operation Magic Carpet brought thousands of Yemeni Jews to Israel. They brought with them their ancient and sophisticated culinary tradition. Yemenite cuisine is very simple and rustic. It relies heavily on lamb, mutton, beef, honey, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and tasty homemade breads. Dairy products are practically unknown.

 

Ethiopian Food in Israel

Most of the Jews of Ethiopia, who call themselves Beta Israel (“the house of Israel”), moved to Israel during Operation Moses and Operation Solomon, two daring airlifts in the ‘80s and ‘90s. In Ethiopia, the Beta Israel ate like other Ethiopians, with a few exceptions related to Jewish dietary laws: For example, they didn’t eat raw meat, as non-Jewish Ethiopians did. Ethiopian Jews eat injera bread. Christians and Jews would rarely break injera together, even though their food was largely the same. For the Sabbath a special large loaf of bread called berekete is baked all night under an open flame on a hearth.

 

 

 

Americans Try Israeli Food For The First Time

Americans Try Israeli Snacks