Comment préparer un vrai tcholent maison ווי אזוי מאכט מען א ריכטיגן היימישן טשאלנט

A dish older than all of us

Cholent is not just food; it is a piece of Shabbos. Already in the era of the Rishonim, the "Or Zarua", Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna, writes that he saw at his teacher's home in France how the cholent pots were buried, and on Shabbos morning they were brought close to the fire so they would be nice and hot ^[1].

According to scholars, the name "cholent" comes from an Old French word meaning "warm". There is also a well-known explanation that it comes from "shelan", because the pot "rested overnight" on the fire ^[1]. In the shtetlach of Europe, before gas and electricity, families carried the pot to the baker on Friday. He put it in his oven, which was always hot, and on Shabbos morning each family came to collect its cholent ^[1].

Why eat hot food on Shabbos?

The Rema rules (Orach Chaim 257:8) that it is a mitzvah to keep "chamin" for Shabbos so that one eats hot food on Shabbos, because this is the honor and delight of Shabbos; and one who does not believe the words of the Sages and forbids eating hot food on Shabbos is suspected of being a heretic ^[2]. The simple reason: the Karaites read the verse literally and allowed no fire burning in their homes on Shabbos, so they could have no chamin ^[2]. The Baal HaMaor cites a view that there is a specific rabbinic enactment to eat hot food on Shabbos ^[3].

There is also a beautiful allusion: the mon gathered on Friday stayed fresh until Shabbos morning, and just as the mon was even tastier on Shabbos, cholent keeps getting better the longer it stews ^[3].

Halachos: keeping it on the fire

Chazal forbade leaving uncooked food on an open flame on Shabbos, even if placed there before Shabbos, lest one come to adjust the fire ("shehiya"). The Mishnah Berurah advises that the cholent be fully cooked before Shabbos; in a pressing situation one may rely on those who hold half-cooked is enough ^[3]. A blech goes over the fire, and Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l added that it is preferable to cover or remove the knobs ^[3]. With a crockpot or hotplate, line it with a blech or a few sheets of aluminum foil and cover the knobs ^[3]. Note: one may not spoon food out of a pot that is still on the fire, even when it is fully cooked ^[3]. For questions, ask your Rov.

What goes in

The basics are meat, potatoes, beans and barley ^[1]. In Poland cholent had plenty of potatoes; in Hungary none at all ^[1]. On top goes a kishke, made of flour or matzah meal, schmaltz and spices, which cooks along all night ^[4].

A heimishe way to make it

A common way for an average family (crockpot):

1. Soak a cup of mixed beans the night before.
2. Fry two or three onions with a little garlic.
3. Add 5–6 peeled potatoes, about two pounds of meat (flanken or meat on the bone), the beans and half a cup of barley.
4. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and a spoon of honey.
5. Cover with water, lay the kishke on top, and cook on high before Shabbos so it is fully cooked by candle lighting; then on low until after davening.

Good Shabbos and enjoy!