Working hard on Rosh Hashanah

The Rosh Hashanah table is incomplete without the apple in honey, the pomegranate, the fish and, of course, honey cakes.

So that we can enjoy all the signs of the holiday, there are those who have already been preparing for it for months and work around the clock even on these days

Ilana Stutland

16/09/2022

Friday, September 16, 2022, 00:30

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apple trees

Increased demand for Rosh Hashanah (Photo: Courtesy of the family, the Fruit Growers Organization)

"Rosh Hashanah is identified with apples"

"This holiday is very exciting for me. Rosh Hashanah is associated with apples. This year I think there are good results in cultivation, so it seems to me that the honey is already in," says

"There were very good cold dishes in the winter, and there was an excellent awakening in the apple, in growth and taste. Everything related to the apple looks excellent this year, truly extraordinary."

According to the data of the Galilee Development Company, this year's apple harvest will be about 115,000 tons, with about 15,000 tons of apples consumed during the Tishrei holidays.

"Our harvest, of the 'Bereshit' brand, is about 40-50 thousand tons. These days we are starting the massive harvest and it looks great," says Kodish.

Sounds like a good start to the new year.

"I am a farmer in crisis who wakes up every morning with a smile. Agriculture has been in crisis for many years due to many hardships: lack of manpower, no one to pick with; imports that for no reason threaten us, while we have amazing fruit to give all year round. As mentioned, this year is going to be excellent , but they spoil it with imports. It's all politics. I'm not against imports, but against imports when there's enough local crops. Also, we have other problems like the cost of water, pesticides, etc. The marketing chains also make crazy brokerage gaps, and we get the All the noise for no reason."

Alex Kadish, orchard manager Kibbutz Ein Zivan (photo: courtesy of Kibbutz Ein Zivan)

From apples to honey:

According to the data of the Honey Council, this year the volume of local honey production breaks a record and will be about 4,400 tons.

"We usually start working two to three months before the holiday," says

.

"After the honey fades in the spring and during the summer, we prepare the honey, jar it for the expected orders during the holiday months. Now it is a stressful time, because there is a necessity both agriculturally to take care of the beehives that are in the field and also marketingly to deal with the preparation of the honey so that it reaches the markets. During this period there is also an increase in orders for honey for gifts , honey for donations and the like. These are stressful months, but happy. Months in which we feel that we are fulfilling our destiny."

The Galilee Kibbutz Dan apiary, which has existed for decades since the kibbutz was founded in 1939, has approximately 4,500 hives spread out in the Upper Galilee, the Hula Valley and the Golan.

The apiary produces about 130 tons of honey per year - some of it is sold to the big retailers and some is sold in the apiary and in the stores that work with it under the brand "Galil Honey", which has varietal honeys, such as avocado honey, wild flowers, jujube, eucalyptus and more.

"30%-50% of our annual honey sales occur during the holidays," Rudolph says.

"The year started with many concerns. It was a relatively cold spring, with late rains and cold and a very late entry of the hives into storage, but the abundance of rains in the winter and a relatively comfortable summer, not too hot, had a positive effect on the late spring and summer cryptic blooms, and the honey crops of most Israeli growers Be good and beautiful. There will be no shortage of honey during the holidays this year."

"This is mainly related to the beehive sickness: to help the beehives survive the diseases and pests that exist in nature. Other difficulties are the high prices of the inputs, manpower whose costs have greatly increased in recent years and also a lack of professional manpower who does not rush to work in this difficult and Sisyphean work."

Also, Rudolph adds, "Already today almost a third of the honey consumption in Israel is imported honey of one kind or another. The big concern is also about the free and uncontrolled opening of imports without control over the quality of honey, the prices of honey and without support for farmers. This is still not happening in practice, But the fear exists."

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Zohar Rudolph, beekeeper (photo: Knesset Spokesperson, Honey Council)

During the Tishrei holidays there is also an increase in the consumption of pomegranates

"We start picking already in August, and the main assessment is to meet all the standards required for export abroad.

When Rosh Hashanah comes, I'm already ready in terms of the stores.

Lots of guests come to us, visitors, see how they are harvested, sorted.

There is a quality to the holiday," says

, which produces about a thousand tons of pomegranates a year.

According to the data of the Fruit Growers Organization, this year's pomegranate harvest will be about 40 thousand tons, similar to last year, when the extent of the pomegranate growing areas in Israel is about 13 thousand dunams.

"In 2014-5 there were over 25,000 dunams in Israel, and the overall production was about 80,000 tons per year," says Cohen.

"What has changed is mainly the drop in world currency rates and the entry of cheap competition, mainly in the export target markets: European countries and Russia, where competitors from Turkey, North Africa and developing countries have entered who simply produce much more cheaply and of lower quality than Israeli produce. Therefore, it will become less profitable for Israeli farmers grow a pomegranate".

Cohen adds: "At the time, the proportion was 1/3 of the local produce for export abroad and 2/3 remained in Israel and was intended for fresh fruit consumption, for decorating Sukkot, for various industrial uses, the most prominent of which is juices.

Today, the growth is more oriented towards the local market, and only about 15% of it goes to export.

Per capita pomegranate consumption in Israel has increased dramatically in the last two decades.

If in the past the average consumption was about 1 kg per person per year, then today we stand at 4-4.5 kg per person."

Ben Cohen, Pomegranate Tower (Photo: Ben Cohen)

May we be the head and not the tail

Data from the Israel Fish Breeders' Organization shows that the steady trend in the consumption of fresh local pond fish continues this year, and an increase in demand is expected towards the Tishrei holidays.

The expected consumption for the holidays is about 1,500 tons of fresh Israeli fish, including carp, tilapia, mullet, bass and other fish.

Carp has a place of honor on the holiday tables in many homes in Israel.

About 600 tons of carp fish (the popular gefilte-fish preparation) are expected to star on the tables during the Tishrei holidays, as well as about 500 tons of tilapia, 150 tons of mullet, as well as 70 tons of bass fish and about 180 tons of other pond fish, including leek, trout, barramundi, Sea bream, peony and more.

"Ahead of the holidays, there is an increase in demand for all fish, but carp is a fish whose demand jumps a lot compared to a normal month when about 200 tons of it are consumed," says

"We are preparing accordingly with a larger stock of fish, synchronizing the fish breeding in this direction. Fish breeding takes two years on average. We are increasing our stocks in such a way that when we reach Rosh Hashanah and Passover we will have such stocks that we can meet the demand."

Gefilte Fish (Photo: Shani Cohen)

Guy Sharig, director of fishing at the kibbutz Lohami Hagaot (photo: Hagaot fighters)

Rosh Hashanah is also the holiday of the wineries

"Wine production is a very cyclical process, and this period is very exciting: for us it is both the beginning of a process (we are now in the harvest period), and also the end of a process, the endpoint of a process that began in the harvest 3-4 years ago, in this period," says

The Barkan and Segal winery produces about 15 million bottles a year, with wine consumption at its peak during the holidays.

On the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, Segal Winery is launching Petit UF - a second label wine for Segal Winery's flagship wine, in the 2019 vintage with aromas of fresh red fruit, such as red plums and cherries, with layers of Mediterranean herbs and sweet spices that come from barrel roasting.

The wine has soft tannins and a silky texture and has a full and concentrated body.

The finish is fruity and spicy.

And Barkan Winery is launching a new vintage 2020 for the flagship wine of the GOLD series, Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wine has a bright red color, aromas of sweet spices of clove and coconut, ripe red fruit and touches of black pepper and tobacco.

Characterized by aromas of ripe plum and sweet spices, balanced tannins and a long and fruity finish.

"We chose these wines because now we feel they are nearing their peak, reacting great with the holiday dishes," Levinson says.

"We build the wines in advance so that they reach their peak in a certain period.

This is the end point of a process that began a few years ago. My role as the chief winemaker is to say what is now great, what now stands out, and then it will be the wine we want people to taste and talk about on the holiday. I come to water The wines are beautifully dressed, but just before that I was in the winery until 02:00-03:00 in the morning, picking grapes that are being harvested now. This is the circular nature of the profession, and it's very exciting for me."

Ido Levinson, head winemaker of Barkan Segal Winery (Photo: Eliran Avital)

Cabernet Sauvignon, Barkan Gold (Photo: Public Relations)

We will eat cakes

"Every year we try to innovate, bring new flavors, a new look. It's very complex," says

.

"Israelis really love honey cakes. About three months before the holiday we start working on the collection, organizing and ordering the raw materials. The production itself starts a month before the holiday."

"We have three new fur cakes with honey: 'Amaretti Apricot Honey Cake' (honey and marzipan cake, apricot coulis, amaretti cookies, roasted almonds and meringue); 'Lotus Banana Honey' (honey and banana cake in a lotus crust and walnuts); and 'Basbosa Honey' Almonds' (sabusa honey cake combined with natural almond and citrus blossom syrup). In addition, there are two new dairy honey cakes: 'White Chocolate Coconut Honey' (coconut patisserie honey cake, white chocolate and coconut shavings); and 'Caramel Chocolate Coffee Honey' ( coffee honey cake, dark chocolate, toffee and caramelized nuts).

Of course, there is also the classic and traditional honey cake and other festive cakes.

We have quite a few holidays in Israel and this is very exciting for us.

Every year we are very happy to express our creativity, whether it is in honey cakes, donuts or manna ears."

Nir Reichman, pastry chef of the Roldin chain (photo: Avi Levy)

Lotus banana honey cake.

Roldin (photo: Ronen Mangan)

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• Pomegranate

• honey

• wine

• winery

• holidays

• New Year

• Honey cakes

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