From the beehive to the winery: the businesses that work diligently for Rosh Hashanah

by time news

“Rosh Hashanah is associated with apples. This holiday excites me very much. This year, in my opinion, there are good results in cultivation, so it seems to me that the honey is already in,” says Alex Kodish, an apple grower and manager of the fallow and gleaning orchards in Kibbutz Ein Zivan in the north of the Golan Heights. “There were very good cold dishes in the winter, and there was an excellent awakening in the apple, in growth and taste. Everything related to the apple looks excellent this year, truly extraordinary.”

According to the data of the Galilee Development Company, this year’s apple harvest will be about 115 thousand tons, while during the Tishrei holidays about 15 thousand tons of apples are consumed. “Our crop, of the Bereshit brand, is about 40-50 thousand tons. These days we are starting the massive harvest, and it looks great,” Kodish says.
That sounds like a good start to the new year.

“I am a farmer in crisis who wakes up every morning with a smile. Agriculture has been in crisis for many years due to many hardships: lack of manpower, no one to pick with, and imports that for no reason threaten us, while we have amazing fruit to give all year round. As mentioned, this year is going to be excellent, But they are spoiling it with imports. It’s all politics. I’m not against imports, but against imports when there is enough local produce. Also, we have other problems, such as the cost of water and pesticides. The marketing chains also make crazy brokerage gaps, and we get all the noise without any Cause”.

Alex Kodish (Photo: Courtesy of Ein Zion Tourism)

all good

From apples to honey: according to the data of the Honey Council, this year the volume of local honey production will break a record and will be about 4,400 tons. “We usually start working two to three months before the holiday,” says beekeeper Zohar Rudolph, manager of the Galilee apiary – Kibbutz Dan. “After the honey fades in the spring and during the summer, we prepare the honey and ‘jar it’ for the expected orders during the holiday months. Now is a stressful time, because there is both an agricultural and a marketing necessity: to take care of the hives that are in the field as well as prepare the honey so that it reaches the markets. Also, during the period This means there is an increase in orders for honey for gifts, honey for donations, etc. These are stressful, but happy months, months in which we feel that we are fulfilling our destiny.”

The Galil Apiary – Kibbutz Dan, which has existed for decades since the establishment of the kibbutz in 1939, has approximately 4,500 beehives spread out in the Upper Galilee, the Hula Valley and the Golan. The apiary produces about 130 tons of honey per year. Some of it is sold to the big retailers, and some of it is sold in the apiary and the stores that work with it under the Galil honey brand, which has varietal honeys, such as avocado honey, wild flowers, jujube and eucalyptus. “30-50% of our annual honey sales take place during the holidays,” says Rudolph. “The year began with many concerns. It was a relatively cold spring, with late rains and cold and a very late entry of the hives into storage, but the abundance of rains in the winter and a relatively comfortable summer, not too hot, had a positive effect on the late spring and summer flowering, and the honey crops for most Israeli growers were Good and beautiful. There will be no shortage of honey during the holidays this year.”

What are the main difficulties of the industry today?
“The main difficulty is the sickness of the beehive: helping the beehives to survive despite the diseases and pests that exist in nature. Other difficulties are the high prices of the inputs, manpower whose costs have increased greatly in recent years and also a lack of professional manpower who does not rush to work in this difficult and Sisyphean work.”
He adds: “Already today almost a third of the honey consumption in Israel is from imports of one kind or another. The big fear is about the free and uncontrolled opening of imports without control over the quality of honey and honey prices and without support for farmers. This is not happening in practice yet, but the fear is there.”

Zohar Rudolph (Photo: Honey Council)Zohar Rudolph (Photo: Honey Council)

Filled with pomegranate

During the Tishrei holidays there is also an increase in the consumption of pomegranates. “We start picking already in August, and the main assessment is to meet all the standards required for export abroad. When Rosh Hashanah comes, I’m already ready in terms of the stores. Many guests and visitors come to us and see how we pick and sort. There is a quality to the holiday,” says Ben Cohen, a pomegranate grower and chairman of the agricultural association in Moshav Avigdor, who produces about a thousand tons of pomegranates a year.
According to the data of the Fruit Growers Organization, this year’s pomegranate harvest will be about 40 thousand tons, similar to last year, when the extent of the pomegranate growing areas in Israel is about 13 thousand dunams. “In the years 2014-2015, there were more than 25 thousand dunams in Israel, and the general production was about 80 thousand tons per year,” notes Cohen. “What has changed is mainly the drop in world currency rates and the entry of cheap competition, especially in the export target markets – European countries and Russia, which have entered competitors from Turkey, North Africa and developing countries that simply produce much more cheaply and of lower quality than Israeli produce. Therefore, it will become less profitable for Israeli farmers grow a pomegranate”.

Cohen adds: “At the time, the proportion was one-third of the local produce for export abroad, and two-thirds remained in Israel and was intended for fresh fruit consumption, for decorating Sukkot and for various industrial uses, the most prominent of which is juices. Today the growth is more directed to the local market, and only about 15% of it goes to export. Per capita pomegranate consumption in Israel has increased dramatically in the last two decades. If in the past the average consumption was about 1 kg per person per year, then today we stand at 4-4.5 kg per person.”

Let’s be the leader

May we be the head and not the tail: Data from the Israel Fish Breeders’ Organization shows that the steady trend in the consumption of fresh local pond fish continues this year, and an increase in demand is expected towards the Tishrei holidays. The expected consumption for the holidays is about 1,500 tons of fresh Israeli fish, including carp, tilapia, mullet and bass. Carp has a place of honor on the holiday tables in many homes in Israel. About 600 tons of carp fish (popular in the preparation of gefilte fish) are expected to star on the tables during the Tishrei holidays, as well as about 500 tons of tilapia fish, 150 tons of mullet fish, 70 tons of bass fish and about 180 tons of other pond fish, including leek, trout, barramundi , bream and peony.

“Ahead of the holidays, there is an increase in demand for all fish, but carp is a fish whose demand jumps sharply compared to a normal month when about 200 tons of it are consumed,” says Guy Sharig, manager of the Ghetto Fighter Kibbutz Fish Farm.

“We prepare accordingly with a larger stock of fish and synchronize the fish breeding in this direction. Fish breeding takes two years on average. We increase our stocks in such a way that when we reach Rosh Hashanah and Passover we will have such stocks that we can meet the demand.”

Guy Sharig (Photo: Madega Fighters of the Ghettos)Guy Sharig (Photo: Madega Fighters of the Ghettos)

drinking to life

Rosh Hashanah is also the holiday of the wineries. “Wine production is a very cyclical process, and this period is really exciting: for us, it is both the beginning of a process (we are now in the harvest period) and the end of a process (the endpoint of a process that began in the harvest 3-4 years ago during this period),” says Ido Levinson, The head winemaker of Barkan and Segal wineries.

Barkan and Segal wineries produce about 15 million bottles a year, with wine consumption at its peak during the holidays. On the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, Segal Winery is launching Petit UF – a second label wine for the flagship wine of Segal Winery, in the 2019 vintage with aromas of fresh red fruit, such as red plums and cherries, with layers of Mediterranean herbs and sweet spices that come from barrel roasting and a fruity and spicy finish.

Barkan Winery, Gold Cabernet in the 2020 vintage (Photo: Yachats)Barkan Winery, Gold Cabernet in the 2020 vintage (Photo: Yachats)

Barkan Winery is launching Cabernet Sauvignon, a new vintage (2020) for the flagship wine of the GOLD series. The wine has a bright red color, aromas of sweet spices of clove and coconut, ripe red fruit and touches of black pepper and tobacco. It is characterized by aromas of ripe plum and sweet spices with a long and fruity finish. “We chose these wines, because now we feel they are nearing their peak, reacting great with the holiday dishes,” Levinson says.

“We build the wines in advance, so that they reach their peak at a certain time. This is the end point of a process that began a few years ago. My job as the chief winemaker is to say what is now great, what now stands out, and then it will be the wine we want people to taste and talk about during the holiday. I arrive to water the wines in a beautiful dress, but just before that I was at the winery until 02:00-03:00 in the morning picking grapes that are being harvested now. This is the circularity of the profession, and it’s very exciting for me.”

Ido Levinson (Photo: Eliran Avital)Ido Levinson (Photo: Eliran Avital)

Dessert menu

We will eat cakes. “Every year we try to innovate, bring new flavors and a new look. It’s very complex,” says Nir Reichman, pastry chef at the Roldin chain. “Israelis love honey cakes very much. About three months before the holiday we start working on the collection, organizing and ordering the raw materials. The production itself starts a month before the holiday.”

White chocolate coconut honey cake (photo: Ronen Mangan)White chocolate coconut honey cake (photo: Ronen Mangan)

What will surprise you this year?
“We have three new fur cakes with honey: Honey Amrati Apricot (honey and marzipan cake, apricot coulis, amrati cookies, roasted almonds and meringue), Honey Banana Lotus (honey and banana cake in a lotus and walnut crust) and honey basbosa almonds (honey basbosa cake combined with almond natural and citrus blossom syrup).
“Additionally, there are two new dairy honey cakes: White Chocolate Coconut Honey (coconut patisserie honey cake, white chocolate and coconut shavings) and Chocolate Caramel Coffee Honey (coffee honey cake, dark chocolate, toffee and caramelized nuts). All these cakes cost NIS 46 Of course we sell both the classic and traditional honey cake as well as other festive cakes. We have quite a few holidays in Israel and this is very exciting for us. Every year we are really happy to express our creativity in honey cakes, donuts or manna ears.”

Nir Reichman, pastry chef in the Roldin chain (photo: Avi Levy)Nir Reichman, pastry chef in the Roldin chain (photo: Avi Levy)

You may also like

Leave a Comment