What Did the Maccabees Eat at the First Hanukkah Meal?
E.C. Gladstone
We hate to burst any bubbles, but you know how Santa Claus isn't exactly a historical figure? Well, when it comes to the Jewish winter holiday, that whole "miracle of lights" thing is a little sketchy, too. It was 200 or so years after the Maccabees' rededication of the temple in Jerusalem that Flavius Josephus first mentioned it in writing, as the seminal 1938 The Jewish Festivals points out.
Which means-don't kill the messenger here-sufiganiyot and potato latkes were definitely not on the menu at the first feast that became known as Hanukkah.
But if Judah Maccabee's family and the Hasmonean revolutionaries didn't celebrate their hard-won victory over Antiochus (the Hellenist king of Syria; come on, you know the story, right?) by eating things deep fried in oil, well then, what did they eat?
Tragically, in the two ancient Books of the Maccabees, the only foodstuff mentioned for the re-consecration is "shew bread," an unleavened cake similar to matzo that was blessed, then eaten. Meh.
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Consecrations of temples, though, were definitely the time to put out a big spread (you know, kind of like a football game today), so the Maccabees would certainly have had one. Thanks to Biblical accounts, other apocryphal writings, and archeological remains, we can piece together a pretty good guess at what was on the menu-while the kosher laws remind us of what definitely wasn't. And what's remarkable is how familiar most of it sounds, at least in Nathan MacDonald's book What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat? Even a moderate cook could pretty easily assemble a meal very close to the first Hanukkah.
To begin with, oil addicts can breathe easy: There was definitely plenty of it, a significant staple of life in pre-Roman Palestine along with bread and wine. Olive oil, in fact, was ever-present, but sesame oil was popular for special occasions, even in the menorah lamps.
Bread was even more ubiquitous-as much as half of all calories, according to Claudia Rosen's The Book Of Jewish Food-so you time-traveling Atkins adherents would really be stuck. It was likely pretty close to the pita bread we have today (and dipped in sesame oil and vinegar), though it was made similarly to sourdough, maybe using the emmer or einkorn wheats that those evil Hellenists introduced, or barley, which was indigenous but maybe not as tasty.
As for the wine, it was typically made from dried grapes (as are Italian Amarone and Greek Vinsanto today) and often sweetened, watered down, or infused with pepper and herbs, and poured from clay amphorae. It wasn't Manischevitz-for which many may be thankful.
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What else was served at the first Hanukkah?
Meat, certainly. Meat usually only made it to the table at special occasions, whether it was goat, fat-tailed lamb, or-if they were really lucky-venison or veal. At a secular celebration, this would've been a stew (though the Israelites would've avoided cooking in blood or milk, as their neighbors did). But a temple re-consecration meant a sacrificial meal, roasted by the priest, Jonathan Maccabee. (Even back then, apparently, barbecue pitmasters were held in high esteem.)
For the vegans in the crowd, a good hearty lentil stew, maybe tossing in broad beans, or field peas, garlic, onions, black radishes, mushrooms, leeks, and perhaps some wild greens-arugula, mallow, endive, chicory. Hyssop, often used in purification rituals, would likely have been called on in some way, but other spices and herbs used then included parsley, sumac, cress, fenugreek, dill, marjoram, mint, thyme, and coriander. Not a bad pantry.
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They had small plates, too. Small cakes of ground chickpeas that might have looked like modern falafel or Italian farinata were likely at the table. Fancy nuts like almonds and pistachios could have appeared at a feast, as well as more common walnuts. Barley was also roasted whole or made into porridge (then sometimes baked into cakes accented by fennel, cumin, or fruit juices).
Were there desserts? Are you kidding? We're talking about Jews here. Dried fig and raisin cakes (fresh fruit was scarce this time of year) would've been passed around, as well as those nut cakes mentioned above. And instead of a Muscat with dessert, think fermented date or pomegranate "honey," both poured as alternatives to wine.They may not have had dreidels, but still, the first Hanukkah was probably a pretty good party.
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