• Mike and I were talking last night about our trip to the Holy Land this year and were remembering the great spices while in Jerusalem.  One of the spices we tasted while we were coming out of Old Jerusalem and preparing to board our tour bus.  There was a street vendor with fresh bread and seasonings, green in color.  It was kind of salty and herb flavored.  Do you know what spices were in that little sample he gave us to dip our bread into when eating?
  Sharon Stonehouse, San Jose, California

You could say that it's our national spice. When we buy fresh bagele, which are huge oblong rolls covered with sesame seeds, the Old City vendor gives us a little triangular packet of za’atar to spice the bread.  The Za’atar packet is actually hyssop, mixed with a bit of thyme, salt, and toasted sesame seeds.
 

Photo:  Gila Yudkin

Bagele for sale inside the Jaffa Gate, Old City Jerusalem

Photo:  Gila Yudkin

Inside the black plastic bag is hyssop, called za'atar in Arabic

My good friend Miriam Feinberg Vamosh in her best-selling “Food at the Time of the Bible,” includes 3 Biblical recipes which are spiced with hyssop.

One of them, a tasty yogurt soup, is called “Jael’s Labenah” because of the following verse from Judges 5:25, “She brought him curdled milk.” When Deborah was judge in Israel, she sent Barak to lead the Israelite forces against the Canaanites.  When the Canaanite army was defeated, Sisera, the Canaanite general, fled to the tent of Jael and asked for water.  Instead, she gave him curdled milk which made him drowsy.  Once he was asleep, she hammered a tent peg through his temple. 

This yogurt dish, spiced with hyssop, is made by Beduin and popular to this very day -- but not for the same reason!

Photo:  Gila Yudkin

Above is a photo of the variety of spices sold in Jerusalem's Old City market.  Besides hyssop, other popular spices are cumin, cinnamon, cardamom used to flavor Turkish coffee, and even frankincense and myrrh.

On your next trip to Jerusalem, be sure to check out the Old City spice market!

Coming to Jerusalem this year?  Does the hustle and bustle of the market give you a high, yet you would like some quiet moments in the holy sites?  Are you eager to eat humus and knafe elbow-to-elbow with the "natives," or is dining in the style of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba more to your taste?

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