Amy Lorang
Pastry Baker Specialist
You may have been wondering, “what is up with these strange but delicious cookies whose name I can’t pronounce?” The word “hamantaschen” is pronounced “ha-men-tah-shen” and these triangle cookies with varied filling are eaten to celebrate the Jewish holiday Purim on the 14th of the month Adar—this year, on the evening of Saturday, March 23.
The story of Purim is a complicated one, containing everything from kings and queens to secret identities, evil plots fueled by personal grudges, court politics, a bunch of banquets, and culminating in nationwide violence. Bloody, no? I won’t go into all the details here but it all took place in ancient Persia about 2400 years ago, centered in the city Shushan. The good guys: Mordecai (a Jew who discovered a plot to kill the king) and his daughter Esther (she of the secret identity who became queen). The bad guy: Haman (evil king’s advisor with a grudge).
Basically, Haman had a grudge against Mordecai for embarrassing him and decided to kill all the Jews in the empire in revenge. He threw lots or “pur” to choose which day they should all be killed on. Luckily Esther had become queen and convinced King Ahasuerus, through a series of convoluted events that ultimately revealed her Jewish identity, to save the Jews. Of course a king can’t reverse his own decree, so the Jews were allowed to defend themselves and killed some 75,000 of their enemies, plus Haman and his sons were hanged on the gallows meant for Mordecai.
Did any of this actually happen? The story was written down so long ago; who knows? Although the story is a bit gruesome, Purim as a holiday is super fun. Think… Halloween meets St. Patrick’s Day meets…umm…Rocky Horror Picture Show? And the hamantaschen cookies we eat are supposedly shaped like Haman’s hat.
Purim has always been one of my favorite holidays because celebrating it is so much fun. We dress up in costume (traditionally as characters from the story but anything goes) and go to synagogue to listen to the Megillah (story of Purim) being recited, with the twist that any time Haman’s name is read the whole audience uses noisemakers, stomping, and shouting to drown out his name. It’s loud and chaotic! Afterwards there are lots of hamantaschen and other treats to eat and wine (or grape juice) to drink. I was always told we were supposed to get so drunk we “couldn’t tell Mordecai’s name from Haman’s” but personally I’ve never tried. It’s also traditional to give money to charity and presents of hamantaschen and other food to friends.
We sell three flavors of hamantaschen: the more traditional poppy seed or “mun,” our most popular apricot, and our modern-twist chocolate. Or buy all three in a fancy gift bag! Stick them in a basket with some fruit and wine, and you’re ready to celebrate.