It happens every year. Yom Kippur services conclude, and 15 minutes later, you're dashing in the door only seconds ahead of a hungry crowd. People are polite, but ready to pounce. There are reasons why this menu makes sense after fasting. Fish and vegetables are lighter on the stomach than meat.
Smoked fish allows the body to replenish lost salt.
They are easily prepared, can be made in advance and are almost foolproof. Their biggest selling point is that hosts can reheat them. Adored by Ashkenazim, kugels are a bright spot in Jewish culinary history. A type of pudding, sometimes baked for hours, kugels may date back to the beginning of the last millennium. Made from bread and flour, the first kugels were plain, and salty rather than sweet.