I'm not Jewish, but I did grow up in an area with many Jewish families. Several of my friends are Jewish and I’ve grown very fond of the Jewish traditions in my community. Every family observed Judaism differently and approached its traditions in unique ways, but I was always a lucky beneficiary of delicious Jewish food before and after Yom Kippur (Yom Kippur itself is a fasting holiday). Since today is the start of Yom Kippur, I want to honor my favorite pre- and post-Yom Kippur dishes and share them with those who have never tried them before. These foods are tragically underrated in the world of food and I'm here to open your tastebuds to a whole new realm of fantastic offerings.

Screen shot of sweet honey Lekach cake (Youngtatter/Flickr)

To start with something sweet, many Jewish families eat Lekach—a sweet honey cake—the morning of Purim, the yom tov (festive day) before Yom Kippur. I didn’t deserve my first lekach; I never asked for it. In the Jewish religion, it is customary to ask a mentor (or parent) for lekach before Yom Kippur. Lekach signifies a sweet year and is commonly eaten the morning before Yom Kippur, as well as on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). When I experienced my first Yom Kippur celebration at one my friends’ houses in elementary school, I had no background knowledge of this tradition. I found out soon enough, and from that day on I would always remember the tradition that went with my new favorite cake.

Lekach is not as dense as pound cake, nor is it as cloyingly sweet as some pound cakes can be. This perfect level of sweetness makes it stupidly easy to eat a lot at one time, so be warned that eating just one piece is a near-impossible feat. If I had the time to bake I’m fairly certain I would eat lekach every day with my morning coffee. Again, I don’t have a family recipe on hand (not being Jewish and all), but the Israeli Kitchen has a recipe adapted from Jewish Cookery that comes pretty close to the recipes I tasted during my childhood.

Screen shot of kreplach dumpling soup (Nancy Heller/Flickr)

2. Kreplach

 On the savory side of the spectrum, we have kreplach, which are Jewish dumplings traditionally filled with ground meat and served the day before Yom Kippur. In many families, kreplach are religiously significant for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur); the meat symbolizes severity, and the dough represents kindness. In preparation for Yom Kippur, observing Jews conceal severity with kindness. In other families, eating kreplach is simply a tradition.

I’ve eaten kreplach at many pre-Yom Kippur meals, with varying degrees of significance. What didn’t change, though, was how divinely satisfying they were.

I’ve had some filled with cheese, some even pan-fried, but for the most part the kreplach I’ve had were served in broth-based soup. Some soups had carrots and other vegetables added, others had just the kreplach. Sounds simple, right?

Wrong. They are much more dynamic than that. They are fluffy pillows of joy but with hearty pieces of meat enveloped by tender dough. I’m not sure if it’s the kosher meat, the consistency of the dough, or what, but there is some kind of magic that happens when all three are together that sets them apart from other dumplings. And they don’t stick together. Ever. If you’ve ever struggled with pot stickers, you know how awful it is to have sticky pot sticker hands. I’ve had many a dumpling in my day, and none of them have walked the line between hearty and soft-and-delicate as perfectly as kreplach. In fact, I consider kreplach to be in the highest echelon of dumplings.

Homemade kreplach are the best, and if you’re lucky like me to have Jewish friends you should pump them for their family kreplach recipe. You will not regret it, and your persistence will be rewarded. If not, Chabad has a pretty solid recipe. 

Noodle kugel (Creative Commons/Flickr)

I would be doing a disservice if I did not mention kugel. I am probably the only person on the planet who does not like kugel (among those who’ve tried it), and for that I question my sanity. Kugel is a sweet (or savory) pudding made with potatoes or noodles and is commonly served the day after Yom Kippur to break the fast, along with other easily digestible foods such as bagels with cream cheese, tuna salad and lox. I’m a huge bagel and spread fan but I don’t need to enlighten very many people on how fantastic bagels are.

So, back to kugel. There are literally hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of recipes for kugel. I’ve only tried sweet kugel, which is what I usually come across in family recipes of my Jewish friends and at Jewish delis. There’s a whole savory side to kugel, though, and I’m thinking about trying a savory recipe out one of these days to see if it can change my mind about kugel.

Everyone I know who enjoys kugel loves kugel. It's one of those foods that has die-hard fans or no fans; you either try it and love it to death, or try it and never want to put it in your mouth again. I fell in the latter group, but like I said I’m the anomaly here. Kugel is probably the most likely to change your life out of the three foods in this article, too, since it's a love/hate food. Here’s a rosemary garlic falafel kugel recipe I’m going to test out soon. Either I’m going to fall in love with savory kugel, or confirm my odd dislike for such a beloved dish. I'll report back on my findings.

Even though I'm not Jewish, I sit here disappointed I will not be enjoying these marvelous foods this weekend. That's not to say, though, I won't be snooping these foods out sometime in the very near future. They truly are amazing and more than worth a try. L’Shanah Tovah to those celebrating Yom Kippur and thank you for sharing your traditions with others. To those who end up trying any of these foods for the first time after reading this: was your life changed?

Reach Senior Arts Editor Veronica here or follow her on Twitter.