Rosh Hashanah: Strong memories, sweet traditions

Some of our strongest memories are connected to food. Not necessarily because the food was elaborate or the restaurant extraordinary, but because of where we were, who we were with and how the experience made us feel.

I can still taste perfectly fried slivers of artichoke in Barcelona and butternut squash ravioli with crispy sage in Tuscany, the kind of dishes you’re convinced could never be recreated anywhere else, though you’re tempted to try. But some of my most meaningful food memories have happened much closer to home: touring an apiary with my mom to learn how honey is made, picking apples with family or arriving at a friend’s house with something homemade to share.

I recently read that tradition is how we keep past experiences alive and moving forward. I love that idea, particularly when it comes to food. Traditions may evolve over time or stay almost the same – or at least as much as anything can after being passed from one person to another. Food traditions engage all five senses: the aroma of something baking, the taste of a familiar recipe, the sounds of people gathered around a table. They have a remarkable way of connecting us to people, places and moments from our past while creating new memories for the future.

Rosh Hashanah offers a natural moment to think about that connection. We dip apples in honey as a wish for a sweet new year. It’s a simple ritual, but perhaps that is part of its beauty. The sweetness isn’t only in what we eat; it’s in the traditions we repeat, the memories they evoke and the ways we choose to share them. Perhaps it’s a tradition passed down through generations, one you enjoy with friends or family, or something you create for yourself and eventually pass along for someone else to enjoy in their own way.

And in Rhode Island, fall gives us plenty of opportunities to take that tradition beyond the table.

This year, consider making the gathering of the apples part of the holiday experience by spending a few hours picking them yourself. Jaswell’s Farm in Smithfield, Steere Orchard in Greenville, Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown and Narrow Lane Orchard in North Kingstown are among Rhode Island’s destinations for fall apple picking. Enjoy a cup of cider or a cinnamon-sugar cider donut if the farm offers them. Take a photograph in the same spot each year. Invite family or friends or enjoy it as a solo adventure. Before long, a simple afternoon at the orchard can become part of your own Rosh Hashanah tradition.

Honey offers another way to experience the season. Rhode Island is home to a wonderful community of beekeepers and apiaries producing local honey and learning how it gets from hive to jar can bring new meaning to this familiar symbol of Rosh Hashanah. Bee Happy Homestead in Charlestown offers opportunities to learn about bees, beekeeping, honey production and pollinator health. You can also find local honey at farmers markets, some apple orchards and roadside stands such as Whaley Farm Market off Route 1 in South Kingstown — an easy way to bring a little local sweetness to your holiday table.

Once you’ve gathered your apples and honey, enjoy them just as they are or use them as inspiration to try something new. One idea is a simple apple-honey granola filled with the flavors of the season.

Toss 2 cups of rolled oats (avoid quick-cooking oats) with a handful of pepitas, a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt. Add 2 tablespoons avocado oil and 1/4 cup local honey, tossing until everything is lightly coated. Press the mixture evenly onto a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet and bake at 300°F for about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until lightly golden and crisp. Let the granola cool completely before breaking it apart. Once cooled, toss with chopped dried apples, coconut flakes and dried cranberries.

Serve it with yogurt, fresh apples and a drizzle of honey for breakfast, sprinkle it over baked fruit or simply eat it by the handful. And just think how delicious your home will smell.

Most importantly, make extra.

Fill a jar, tie on a ribbon and share it with someone, a neighbor you know well, someone you’ve just met, a friend or family member, along with a handwritten wish for a sweet new year.

Because perhaps the best food memories aren’t really about food at all. They’re about the experiences we have as we pick it, prepare it and share it, and the traditions that allow us to keep those memories moving forward. Whether shared around a table, given to a neighbor or created simply for ourselves those small rituals can connect us to the past while opening the door to something new, passing a little sweetness from one person, and one generation, to the next.

Resources

Farmers Markets: farmfreshri.org/programs/farmers-markets/rimarketguide/

Pick-Your-Own Farms: visitri.com/state/pick-your-own-farms/

Baker’s Tip: Fill a 1/4-cup measuring cup halfway with avocado oil and pour it into the mixture. Then use the same cup to measure the honey. The thin coating of oil will help the honey glide right out without sticking.

JODI GREENBERG is a member of the board of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.