Babka, bubbies, kashrut and me

According to Joan Nathan(2007) in her article "Inviting an Old Favorite to the Hanukkah Table" a babka brings to mind different forms and tastes, depending on what part of the world the baker came from:

".....babka became a Jewish favorite because Eastern European cooks found common ground....The Italians called theri version panettone , the French baba au rhum and the Viennese and Alsatians kugelkopf...Jews called it babka the diminutive of baba and gave it their own twist when they came to to the United States...In Polish or Yiddish, babka is the diminutive of baba, meaning old woman or grandmother......"

I guess one could think of babka as a culinary remedy for the Diaspora!

Babka was always the perfect end to a perfect meal! Growing up in a kosher home, it was always the perfect end to a dairy meal. We had a babka to mark the end of Shabbat services at kiddush and the celebrate the end of along Yom Kippur fast. I suppose one could say a babka was the always the perfect end, period!

While I no longer observe kashrut, there are some foods that simply can not be eaten in combination or at the same meal. It took me many years to realize that some people eat sour cream with latkes. We never had latkes with a dairy meal - chicken or a brisket perhaps - applesauce only! I still can only think of enjoying a babka after a bagel and white fish salad- never chopped liver!

I have grandparents who came here from Poland at the beginning of the 20th century and I have grandparents who were born and bred in the United States. I do not have any memory of a grandmother slaving at a stove to make this cake. Now that I have attempted to bake it myself, it is clear why - TOO MUCH WORK! I admit it, my fond babka memories come from a carton with a blue and white string wrapped around it. Who could forget a babka by Ebbingers?

Not only is babka a part of my fondest kosher memories, it is also locked into my NY time capsule. The truth is, there is no such thing as babka in the south! Miami may claim to have a babka supply, likely old stale boxes languishing on a store shelf. I am sorry, nothing can top that fresh confection that came out of that cardboard box!