The name of the dish comes from the Middle High Germankugel meaning 'sphere, globe, ball'; thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round, puffed-up shape of the original dishes (compare to GermanGugelhupf—a type of ring-shaped cake). However, nowadays kugel is often baked in square pans.
The first kugels were made from bread and flour and were savory rather than sweet. About 800 years ago,[when?] Jewish cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with lokshen noodles or farfel.[5] Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese and milk created a custard-like consistency common in today's dessert dishes. In Poland, Jewish homemakers added raisins, cinnamon and sweet curd cheese to noodle kugel recipes. In the late 19th century, Jerusalemites combined caramelized sugar and black pepper in a noodle kugel known as the Jerusalem kugel (Hebrew: קוגל ירושלמי, romanized: kugel yerushalmi), which is a commonly served at Shabbat kiddushes and is a popular side dish served with cholent during Shabbat lunch.
In Romania, this dish is called Budinca de macaroane ("macaroni pudding") or Baba acolo. It is made with or without cheese, but almost always includes raisins.[6] In Transylvania, especially in the Hungarian-speaking regions, a very similar dish is called Vargabéles.[7][8]
Noodle kugel (lokshen kugel) is an Ashkenazi Jewish casserole, side dish and popular variety of kugel made with lokshen noodles and either a variety of dairy or pareve ingredients.
Kugels are a mainstay of festive meals in Ashkenazi Jewish homes, particularly on the Jewish Sabbath and other Jewish holidays or at a tish. Some Hasidic Jews believe that eating kugel on the Jewish Sabbath brings special spiritual blessings, particularly if that kugel was served on the table of a Hasidic Rebbe.[11]
While noodle kugel, potato kugel, and other variations are dishes served on Jewish holiday meals, matzo kugel is a common alternative served at Passover seders which is adjusted to meet Passover kosher requirements.
South African slang usage
Among South African Jews, the word kugel was used by the elder generation as a term for a young Jewish woman who forsook traditional Jewish dress values for those of the ostentatiously wealthy and became overly materialistic and overgroomed, mirroring how the kugel is a plain pudding garnished as a delicacy. The women thus described made light of the term, and it has since become an amusing rather than derogatory slang in South African English for a materialistic young woman.[12]
^Bronner, Simon J. (2021). Jewish Cultural Studies. Wayne State University Press. p. 310.
^Desai, Jigna. Rooted Homelands, Routed Hostlands: (en)gendered Mobility in the South Asian Diaspora. University of Minnesota. p. 86.
^Eisenberg, Joyce; Ellen Scolnic (2016). The Whole Spiel: Funny essays about digital nudniks, seder selfies and chicken soup memories. Incompra Press. p. 132. ISBN978-0-69272625-9.
