Thursday, February 01, 2007

Gefilte Fish: Protein of the Future?

Epicurious.com reports that old kosher stalwart Manischewitz is jazzing up their brand to appeal to the growing sector of non-Jewish kosher food consumers. I heart Manischewitz and their retro-styled orange and green packaging and wish they wouldn't change a thing. Evoking Formica and aprons is what makes the brand so charming, but then again who wouldn't be enticed by "peppier "on-the-go" fonts, and beaming cartoon characters, " on a box of maztah?
The marketing wizards at Manischewitz are having trouble with that elusive Jewish fish dish known as "gefilte."
There's still one thing that's stumping the people at Manischewitz: how to get the general public to appreciate gefilte fish. "We've thought about repositioning it as a pâté, as a terrine, or battered, breaded, and fried, similar to a fish stick," Rossi says. "If Spam can be so popular, why can't canned fish take off? Gefilte could end up being the protein of the future — but we're not banking on it."

I prefer the frozen variety of gefilte fish - it's sweeter and has a firmer texture than the jar or can varieties. Plus, there isn't that strange fish gel to deal with in the frozen loaf - it's more sterile and, well, loaf-y.
In any case, I'd like to conduct and informal survey of you, my dear readers:
Which gefilte fish variety do you prefer - jar or frozen?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I prefer homemade. I forsake the sweetness and go all out with black pepper. However, I do enjoy the jar variety as well. And I love the fish gel.

Anonymous said...

Frozen. With a little Lawry's salt rub and then baked so it gets crispy.

Anonymous said...

Frozen. Straight-up with a slice of boiled carrot.

sara said...

Harry - homemade I can understand, though I've never attempted to make my own - but the gel? That's hard core.