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For Bourekas, Shape Matters

Israel’s Chief Rabbinate issues confusing new pastry protocol

by
Romy Zipken
June 17, 2013
Bourekas. (Shutterstock)
Bourekas. (Shutterstock)

It’s not the size or shape of a bourekas that counts; it’s how quickly you can eat three, right? Well, not anymore. The Chief Rabbinate in Israel is summoning a major overhaul for these perfect flakey pastries that, in Israel, are sold in bakeries and gas stations alike.

Bourekas are generally filled with potato, cheese, spinach, or minced meat. The new law is meant to make it easier for kosher eaters to distinguish between the milk and meat-filled pastries. Until now, parve bourekas have been square-shaped while dairy bourekas were triangular, but not for long:

Under the new procedures, a parve pastry made of filo dough will be shaped as a closed triangle or spiral, while a dairy pastry will be circular or shaped like a “large finger.” Parve croissants or rugelach, on the other hand, will be baked as straight rectangle, while the dairy ones will be crescent-shaped.

This seems more confusing.

Not all bakery owners are prepared to comply. In an NPR article, a bakery chain owner said that putting up signs might be more useful and cost effective, since bourekas machinery can cost thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, though, it seems there’s no such thing as a free bourekas.

Related: Israel’s Rabbis Seek To Bend Pastries To Their Will [NPR]
Rabbinate introduces ‘bourekas reform’ [Ynet]

Romy Zipken is a writer and editor at Jewcy. Her Twitter feed is @RomyZipken.