Ka'ak

Ka'ak ( _ar. كعك, also transliterated kaak) is the Arabic word for "cake", and can refer to several different types of baked goodscite web|title=On the Streets of Damascus|authorWritten by Anthony B. Toth|date=March-April 1991|publisher=Saudi AramcoWorld|url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199102/on.the.streets.of.damascus.htm|accessdate=2008-03-14] produced throughout the Arab world and the Near East.

Ka'ak bread

Ka'ak, when used to refer to a bread that is commonly consumed throughout the Near East, is made in a large, ring-shape and is covered with sesame seeds. The ring is hollow and about half the ring is of a larger diameter than the other half. Fermented chickpeas (known as hummus in Arabic) are used as a leavening agent.cite web|title=Food Composition Tables for the Near East|url=http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X6879E/X6879E25.htm|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Food Policy and Nutrition Division|year=1982|accessdate=2008-03-14] Widely sold by street vendors, it is usually eaten as a snack or for breakfast with za'atar. In East Jerusalem, it sometimes served alongside oven-baked eggs and falafel.cite web|title=The Crow Cries|author=Toine van Teeffelen|url=http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3783.shtml|date=April 25 2005|accessdate=2008-03-14] Palestinians from Hebron to Jenin consider Jerusalem ka'ak to be a unique, specialty good, and those from the city or visiting there often buy several loaves to give to others outside the city as a gift.Winslow, 2007, p. 118]

Ka'ak sweets

Of the pastries or sweets known as ka'ak are semolina-based cookies such as ka'ak bi ma'moul (or ka'ak bi ajwa) which is stuffed with ground dates, ka'ak bi jowz which is stuffed with ground walnuts and ka'ak bi fustok which is stuffed with ground pistachios.

Arab Christians, primary among them Palestinian Christians and including those who live in the Palestinian diaspora, make these sweets to celebrate Easter.cite web|url=http://www.alifinstitute.org/forms/AlifInstitute-ChristianHolidays.pdf|title=Christian Holidays in the Arab World|publisher=Alif Institute|accessdate=2008-03-14] The pastries are often shaped as wreaths and symbolize the crown of thorns that Christians believe Jesus Christ was wearing on the day of his crucifixion.cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/04/FDG53OTDM01.DTL|title=Two Easters in one: East Bay family's meal draws on ancient tradition|publisher=San Francisco Gate|date=April 4 2007|accessdate=2008-03-14] cite web|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/series/jerusalem/|title=The lost city of David|author=Paul Adams|date=March 30 2002|accessdate=2008-02-14]

For the Muslim feasts during Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, ka'ak bi ma'moul is a traditional dessert as well.cite web|url=http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=1731&ed=115&edid=115|title=Dishes for Special Occasions|author=Samia Khoury|publisher=This Week in Palestine|date=January 8 2007|accessdate=2008-03-14] In Gaza, when a neighbour sends a dish filled with food to your house as is often the case during the holidays, it is customary to return the dish filled with food of your own making, and most commonly with ka'ak bi ajwa.cite web|title=The Foods of Gaza|publisher=This Week in Palestine|author=Laila El-Haddad|accessdate=2008-03-14|url=http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=1726&ed=115] The ka'ak sweets are also made year round among the entire Palestinian population and flour is sometimes substituted for semolina.

Ka'ak al-asfar ("the yellow roll") is a cake of bread that is made by Muslims in the Levant to honour the souls of the departed. Traditionally, this bread, stamped with an elaborate geometric design, was distributed along with dried fruit to the poor, to children, and to relatives, by the family of the deceased on the Thursday and Monday following the death and on a day known as "Khamis al-Amwat" ("Thursday of the Dead"). A bread stamp that was used to imprint designs on these cakes was discovered in Palestine and dates back to the fourteenth or fifteenth century CE. It is round, with a round handle and geometric designs, and measures 19 centimeters in diameter. cite web|publisher=Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem|title=Three Faces of Monotheism: Bread Stamp|url=http://www.blmj.org/SpeciExh/3FacesMono/threeFaces/slideshow18.html|accessdate=2008-03-14]

Ka'ak sweets made by Jewish-Iraqis are generally doughnut-shaped and covered in sesame seeds, such as ka'ak ab sumsum and ka'ak eem tzmukin, which adds raisins among other ingredients. Ka'ak beharat oo tefach shares the shape and many of same ingredients as ka'ak eem tzmukin, but substitutes apples for raisins and is coated in almonds instead of sesame seeds.Goldman, 2006, pp. 161-163.] Another Ka'ak is the speciality Ka'akat mal milah, a special Ka'ak prepared for Brit milah festivities.

External links

* [http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/success_11.htm Baking their way to a better life]

References

Bibliography

*>Citation|title=Mama Nazima's Jewish-Iraqi Cuisine: Cuisine, History, Cultural References|first=Rivka|last=Goldman|year=2006|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=0781811449
*Citation|title=Victory for Us Is to See You Suffer: In the West Bank with the Palestinians|first=Philip C.|last=Winslow|year=2007|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=080706906X