Cholent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cholent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaRecipes for cholents

A modern slow cooker (also called a Crock-Pot®) of the type that is used in homes to cook cholent in honor of Shabbat. This one has a removable 'pot' (upper left), lid (lower left), and heater/housing (right).There is no standard recipe for cholent. Recipes vary according to the geographic areas of Europe in which Jews lived for centuries and in some cases for millennia. The core traditional basic ingredients of cholent usually includes a good proportion of kosher beef (often flanken which requires longer cooking time and softens as it stews) -- or as an alternative meat source: chicken, turkey, veal, or frankfurters -- combined with a variety of fresh vegetables consisting of any one or more of potatoes, onions, any type of or size of beans, barley, and as much water and spices such as salt, pepper, garlic, or anything else that enhances its flavor (see seasoning), that is required to create a stew-like consistency with enough moisture that it will not evaporate as it cooks for a long time. Other vegetables and ingredients such as wheat, carrots, sweet potato, tomatos, tomato sauce, ketchup, honey, dried fruit, paprika, and/or black pepper may be added to the stew before cooking. For additional flavor and a browning effect, either some onions and/or meat may be sauteed or fried or a small amount of sugar may be carmelized in oil before adding the rest of the ingredients. Some are known to also add beer or whisky to cholent to add flavor.

One item which is often added is kosher kishka which is also known as stuffed derma. Kishka is a type of kosher sausage which is stuffed with mashed vegetables (often carrots, potatoes and/or other vegetables), beef fat and spices. Traditionally, kishka was made with intestinal lining from a cow. Today, the casing is often edible sausage casings no different than salami or hot dogs.

The cooking process is then one of simmering and stewing