Jews To Expand Use Of Gentile Blood To Cookies, Pizza

Jerusalem, October 13 – After focusing for nearly a thousand years on the ritual inclusion of non-Jewish blood in their Passover unleavened bread, Jews have begun to broaden their use of the special substance in other foodstuffs beyond the strictly ritual realm.

Jewish food establishment proprietors report that in recent months they have encountered requests for gentile blood in mundane dishes such as pizza or macaroni and cheese, with some upscale kosher restaurants beginning to offer the blood as part of a special dipping sauce for steak. Observers of Jewish food trends note that the practice is gaining traction in Jewish culture, even beyond the Jewish mainstream of New York.

The first association of gentile blood with Jewish food rituals involved a twelfth-century English boy named William of Norwich who was murdered. Since then the use of gentile blood has always been linked specifically to matza, the flatbread that Jews consume during the Passover festival. However, the growing sophistication of the kosher palette and the ease with which the blood can now be obtained have combined to spark demand for it beyond the spring, when Passover is celebrated, and beyond matza, which, even with the addition of human blood, reportedly has the taste and texture of cardboard.

While Jewish society has become more liberal overall, a strong streak of traditionalism still pervades many aspects of Jewish practice, leading some to adopt the stringency of including gentile blood in more foods than matza. Overstretched police departments have been unable to solve a backlog of murder cases, freeing the practitioners of the necessary ritual murder from the worry of being caught. As a result the availability of ritually produced gentile blood has skyrocketed, just as demand for the product has spiked.

Dom Hefker, who runs Moishe’s Deli on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, says that he now offers gentile blood from a pump bottle along with ketchup and mustard. “It’s only slightly more expensive per pound, and my customers are starting to ask for it with their corned-beef-on-club,” he explains. “And it looks just like our borscht, so all we have to do is store it in borscht bottles and the Health Department is none the wiser.” Even if they do find out, adds Hefker, all it takes to shut them up is to mention that their family might be next.

The trend has even hit commercial manufacturers. Nabisco, which produces Oreo cookies, now makes special runs of gentile-blood Double Stuf sandwich cookies for sale in the Boro Park and Midwood neighborhoods of Brooklyn. The gentile blood cookies feature a distinctive red stripe through the center of the creme filling.

Higher-end establishments such as La Cannibe steakhouse in the diamond district see gentile blood as more of an ingredient than an accompaniment. “Our new vinaigrette features it as a key flavor component,” says Maître d’ Jemanges Sang. “And our pastry chef has been able to incorporate gentile blood into the most surprising desserts.”

“You really must try the mousse. It’s to die for.”