The Kosher Dilemma - Gefilte fish

Episode of the Dutch TV series "De Koosjere Hamvraag" (The Kosher Dilemma) about the famous/notorious gefilte fish. What is it made from? Why is this alleged poor man's dish so expensive?
A series by Jigal Krant, directed by Mike Warmels, Camera by Michael Ballak. Producer: Jigal Krant (RTV Krant). Subtitles: Emma Sevitt.

[@adamabubakar252]

i don’t know how i ended up here but stayed to the end. now i’m hungry

[@shtetlcholoycd]

this is funny and clever! could be how Dutch sounds similar to Yiddish and English enough to be understandable but to make the witty remarks even funnier, but loved all the interactions, the investigation, the skepticism. I learned and a laughed so hard, I cried. Keep them coming!

[@shtetlcholoycd]

OMG the cat

[@jemoederheetjelmer]

Jiddisch is spoken in Amsterdam still

[@ConanObrien22]

2:36 this one funny as hell

[@cybercheftb]

Great video on gefilte fish. As an American chef for over 50 years I was finally able to to see the authentic stuffing of gefilte fish. All of the U S. homemade recipes are very similar to Mr. Content but the stuffing of the skin has been omitted in virtually all of them because of the difficulty of the technique. (Especially for home cooks) As a chef who has researched and studied the subject and have prepare a "bit" of gefilte fish myself it was good to see the true stuffed version demonstrated. I don't know what that "pate" you showed us in the beginning was, but it wasn't gefilte fish.. American Jews take their gefilte fish very seriously. Gefilte fish is on every sater table during the passover holiday. 70% of yearly sales of the product are during that season and none of it is the "fresh/frozen type you first showed. It is all sold in jars and packed in the stock it was cooked in. Although so much is bought, many many Jewish home kitchens still prepare their own family recipe and each one of them professes to make the best. In fact part of the ritual in many of theses homes during the feast is the rating if the gefilte fish. Most recipes call for carp, pike and whitefish and the preparation has many steps and is quite involved . If you would like a recipe or anything else on the subject contact me at [e-mail] I will respond to your email requests.

[@R.N.19]

At what tempeture do you place it in and for how long Chef?

[@Fiawordweaver]

Thank you. Very interesting 🎉

[@RebMordechaiReviews]

Ha Ha. You certainly went to a lot of trouble to find out something you could have looked up on Google. Yes, Gefilte Fish is traditionally made of Carp but it can also be made from any fish or combination. For instance, here in Israel, we make it from Carp and Nile Perch to give it a slightly pinky colour. Also, most of us don't start with a whole fish but buy 2 kg of ready minced fish. I use 1kg of Carp and 1kg Nile Perch, but have on occasions used Salmon and it comes out really well. We also make them into balls. To the fish I add two large blended onions and add more dried onion flakes. 2-3 Eggs. Matza Meal to bind. (Wet your hands. When you can make a ball with wet hands then that's enough Matza Meal) Salt, Pepper. Some add some grated carrot. Now, once made into balls, I usually boil half of the mixture and fry the other half. So on Shabbat I serve a choice of boiled and fried Gelfilte Fish balls.

[@jondavidmcnabb]

I will definitely be using your knowledge for Passover 2023!!! Thank you!!!

[@AirLancer]

If they did that they wouldn't have had a TV show...

[@sdkid6059]

Outstanding video, I really enjoyed it. Have 2 jars of gefilte fish that I am researching what to do with. American Country Boy here, now living in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.

[@idocare6538]

The one thing I had read but did not seem covered in this is that when using carp, because they are bottom feeders, they are kept in clean water for a few days to help with the taste. That is why you will see some folks put water in a bathtub or sink and keep them in there for a while before cooking/eating them. Other than that - excellent video, I enjoyed the journey.

[@zackstrunin2213]

My parents and grandparents always tell me that the bathtub would be occupied by a live carp on Fridays way back in the day

[@idocare6538]

@@zackstrunin2213 Haha so it's true. Cool story Zack. Where did you live that that was a thing?

[@stoneymorris5366]

My bubbie did that! She lived in Roxbury MA .

[@m.m.m.42]

This would have been much better if it included more information, like the difference between the kinds of gefilte fish that are prepared traditionally. Galitzianer (with sugar) and Litvak (with pepper) gefilte fish is quite different, and particularly Ashkenazi populations affected by WWII developed a different "economical" version that included matzo meal.

[@tristanpepper792]

As a gentile this is easily one of the most interesting things I've read about Jewish food culture. The idea that there is a distinct style of food made specifically by Jews affect by the war. This is super interesting.

[@jemoederheetjelmer]

Houd je haaks Jigal, je bent een topper!

[@howardjohnson2138]

I am not Jewish and have never had the real thing, but eat it whenever it is offered. First I ever had was when my Father brought home Kosher C-Rations from Grafenwöhr Germany when Passover had taken place during the United States Army Training Cycle. I really like it, but would love to at least try the real thing. Thanks

[@user-ud7cb1qx7m]

I'm part Jewish and from Northern Ontario, we have trout, pickerel and pike pâté and it is traditional to serve in the skin of a cooked fish.

[@carlosmoreno9094]

Wow that was nice, I bought some gefilte fish in a jar just to try , but after this video I’m looking forward to taste the original recipe , beautiful video the home made one looks real good , 👌🏾

[@Traderjoe]

I am catholic, but used to work in high school in a Jewish supermarket as a stock boy and floor attendant and I came in one day and an entire shelf of gefilte fish had collapsed overnight and I was met with a knee high pile of slimy broken glass and broth and I had to glean it up. I was there with a shovel and giant garbage cans with plastic liners shoveling this stuff for hours. It was slippery and stunk from the mix and dangerous from all the glass. It traumatized me and I remember vomiting into the dumpster from it.

[@meepenjaap7999]

Very fun and informative video. I was a little surprised at the ginger added to the final dish.

[@brt5273]

And I thought I was so clever learning to make from scratch the same as they sell in the jars😂 It's tasty though...

[@MsBerna]

That was such an interesting video and topic, learned not to eat the fish pattie.

[@jazztocountry1047]

It's not such a cheap fish because you throw out the head, tail, bones, guts, etc. And then there is the facility cost, labor cost, distribution cost and retailer overhead to add on. Carp is one of hardest fish to bone.

[@JstAnotherUTuber]

You sound like a typical businessman!

[@christopherfelser]

This was made with hake, a cheap and plentiful saltwater fish. 11.25 euros seems like highway robbery as this fish sells in the us at less than 10 usd a pound for filet.

[@elliottnelson1156]

So bogus that dude tried to tell him it was expensive fish 😂

[@thewholerabbit936]

What a great video.

[@maremge]

Erg goede video, eindelijk weet ik hoe de echte gefilte fisch gemaakt wordt :-)

[@alexcarter8807]

I desired to work up a top miso soup game, and I did it. I make the best damn miso soup ... now I want to work up a star gefilte fish game.

[@dobishs]

Great video but Please, Where's the recipe? What happened is simple. It was to hard to make for the modern man or woman. It was commercialized and completely changed like many other things.

[@Igor_Itkin]

Thank you!

[@captainsaveatone]

Thank you

[@thihal123]

Gefilte fish is not so different from fish balls you find in East Asia. It’s ground up fish added with seasoning. Gefilte fish is mixed with matzo meal. East Asian fish balls aren’t usually mixed with a starch but can be.

[@sterlingbadon9891]

Great Video.

[@deerfish3000]

I used to fish for carp back in the day. They put up a hell of a fight, but I sure as hell wouldn't eat one. Bottom feeders eat anything which means you eat what THEY eat. Blech! 🤢

[@willemveraqiuemontepoo9269]

Does that mean you eat grass when eating steak? Or sunlight when eating cabbage?

[@deerfish3000]

@@willemveraqiuemontepoo9269 In a roundabout way, I suppose.

[@David-ex6hv]

Yeah, I don't think carp is a clean fish like sardines are. I'm pretty sure clean fish in the bible has to have shedding scales. Like when you rub your finger against its skin the scales should easily come off.

[@markigomez]

Best video I've seen over the topic. Very informative and very well prepared. I learned a lot Thank you!

[@NLYS27]

And just like that thousand of people were left with massive craving and desire. Too cook and eat homemade Gefilte Fish.

[@moshemoskovits1188]

With all my respect, but the way Eli Content did is definitely nót the Gefilte Fish which I know! My mothers gefilte fish (as most Easter Jewish mothers did) where whole slices (moten) of Carp and in the empty cleaned out space there comes the ground fish and is cooked together. That’s Gefilte fish. You fill the fish, nót the hide of the fish.

[@dietlindvonhohenwald448]

So interesting.

[@mariogomez-li4tr]

10:30 wtf ? How dutchs speakers pronounce that !!

[@zeiseleh]

Wow this video was an eye opener! I grew up eating the jarred and frozen gefilte fish. I find the jarred kind so gross! The kind of usually find in the freezer section shaped into a sausage needs to be thawed out and tastes way better cooked in a little liquid with some vegetables, similar to a broth like Eli made. I would love to attempt to make a "homemade from scratch" version of this though.

[@moisheblumenthal1655]

He did not serve that in the Tel Aviv Hilton no way

[@knoopsylvia]

❤

[@omerlibchik3281]

Wonderful video! It should be noted, as Murray Moss remarked already, that the fish has several regional variants, some really sweet and some less. However, always from Carp. Also, getting the stuffing is not so hard, so if you skip the skin wrapping part it's not such a big deal and tastes almost the same.

[@Appophust]

Gefilte looks delicious.

[@elia.8993]

Ashkenazi food looks so boring...

[@aharonmizrachi440]

Most eastern European food is

[@NACHALCHAIM]

In America, the good gefilta fish is made from a combination of whitefish and pike. Carp gefilta fish is cheap lower quality. The best (store bought) gefilta fish is prepared but unseasoned and uncooked. In that manner, the cook can add the seasonings she likes such as pepper or sweet when the loaf of fish is cooking. Ready fish in a jar is usually very low quality, especially if it is the carp variety.

[@meepenjaap7999]

Everything you say is true. Now convince a old world bobe. She might cook it but she will shake her head 'no' and grumble the whole time she is making it. That is why it will still be good.

[@jeffglanstein4489]

"Gefilte" means "filled." So Eli's fish is really gefilte. However there are other recipes that are nice, also. This was a fun video, but it is limited. The best thing is to go to lots of different families and taste their different types of cooking. Was nice to be a bachor in those days.

[@Francois_Dupont]

swindling each other, hahahha CLASSIC!

[@telthatruth7533]

Ole heathens!🤣

[@JstAnotherUTuber]

@@telthatruth7533 Oy Vey !!!

[@daddyc872]

At this time in the video, 15:43, the main point is described in one or two sentences.

[@AxxinTheSupernova]

The face I make when I bite into and start chewing something delicious does not look like his face at 1:21

[@neffew9351]

🗣Ge-🗣Fil-🗣Te 🗣FISH!!

[@akudanmuzik6401]

Chris tucker rush hour 2...scene on plane

[@neffew9351]

🗣GE-🗣Fil-🗣Te 🗣FISH!!!

[@PurpleAmiga]

Relleno

[@plonialmoni4232]

It’s not against Jewish tradition to use salt water fish lol

[@mga2899]

Granny made gefilte fish. Best thing she made, and it wasn't all that good.

[@mmkuyt]

heek = haddock

[@IWH777]

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE RECIPE THAT THE GENTLEMAN HAD THAT MADE THE REAL GIFILTE FISH IT SOUNDS MAGNIFICENT.... I WOULD DEARLY LOVE TO TRY MY HAND AT IT.... SIGHHHHHHH

[@koen7697]

Was het lekker Jigal? Haha 😄.

[@SirWhiteRabbit-gr5so]

In America, I think they use Whitefish.

[@hamoudi_d]

so eating beautyful girls is kosher.. Good to know! 😂

[@michelley9203]

Is gefilte fish in the bible?

[@Jigal-Krant]

Nope 🤣

[@m.m.m.42]

small little mimi mind there's very little about Jewish tradition in the Bible... It's one of the reasons Judaism is an ethnoreligion. The customs and traditions have been passed down for generation start generation, which are also different depending on which of the Jewish diaspora one belongs.

[@michelley9203]

@@m.m.m.42 Thanks

[@bobmalack481]

If it is...stay away.

[@Bluecrabsandsushi]

Lol they're just ripping people off

[@bobmalack481]

What is Gefilte fish?...you dont want to know. Stick with cornbeef on rye or pastrami sandwiches.

[@crakkbone]

These Jews are hilarious. Silly Jews. Jewin’ it up Jew style.

[@Vanguardkl]

Interesting video and channel. First heard about this on Rush Hour and finally decided to learn. Hi from Malaysia where we'll never eat this i don't think it looks great probably one of worst looking dishes I've seen in my life

[@alexmumblat3665]

I'm from Malaysia (married a Jew) and make a stuffed whole, gefilte fish. I use bass because I can't deal with the ugly and bony carp and make it somewhat spicy (pepper, garlic, ginger) I keep the head attached and bake it in oven in water bath. Served, it looks like an Asian whole fish dish.

[@sarahleahB]

Dit klink heerlik.

[@bobmalack481]

Carp and 'whitefish'...discusting...

[@WAR-DAMN-EAGLE]

Of course he's trying to haggle and complaining about the price... So predictable!!! 💰😂🤣🤣

[@bobmalack481]

Looks like the U.S. introduced invasive species 'Snakehead'..Yuck, phooey, Oy!! Hey nudnik, take a walk on the wild side, take a walk down Fairfax..

[@priceandpride]

He walked out of that store and immediately called the Jew a sneaky cheat