Jewish

This week we will be talking with Diane Vecchio about her book, Peddlers, Merchants, and Manufacturers: How Jewish Entrepreneurs Built Economy and Community in Upcountry South Carolina (2024, USC Press).In the book, Diane examines the diverse economic experiences of Jews who settled in Upcountry (now called Upstate) South Carolina. Like other parts of the so-called New South, the Upcountry was a center of textile manufacturing and new business opportunities that drew entrepreneurial energy to the region. Working with a rich set of oral histories, memoirs, and traditional historical documents, she explores Jewish community development and describes how Jewish business leaders also became civic leaders and affected social, political, and cultural life. The Jewish community's impact on all facets of life across the Upcountry is vital to understanding the growth of today's Spartanburg-Greenville corridor.

On this edition of The Journal, Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey tell some of the stories and recipes from their book, Kugels & Collards: Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina (2023, USC Press). In the book, Lyssa and Rachel celebrate the unique and diverse food history of Jewish South Carolina. They have gathered stories and recipes from diverse Jewish sources – including Sephardic and Ashkenazi families who have been in the state for hundreds of years as well as more recent immigrants from Russia and Israel.In our conversation today, we’ll explore how these cherished dishes were influenced by available ingredients and complemented by African American and regional culinary traditions.

Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey share stories and recipes of the foods that make the South Carolina Jewish table in a new cookbook, "Kugels and Collards: Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina."