In the way things weave together in my mind, the study of Ukrainian culture and history has given me a higher appreciation for apricots than I’ve ever had. What has always existed on the culinary periphery of my mind is now front and center. In the same way that any food we care about likely has intellectual and emotional roots which we re-access every time we eat it, when I see, think about, or eat an apricot I now think of Ukraine.
I’ve been enjoying these apricot rugelach out of hand because they taste so darned good! If you don’t know rugelach, Amy and Frank wrote in their cookbook, Zingerman’s Bakehouse,
Rugelach evolved the Eastern European Jewish cookie called kipfel. In the early 1950s, the name “rugelach” appeared, and now it has taken over. The word seems to come from rug (Slavic for “horn”) and lakh (a diminutive plural), thus “little horns.” … Rugelach are the most popular and well-known Jewish cookie in the United States and are definitely the most popular Jewish cookie we make at the bakery. This version … has a delicate and flaky dough (two-thirds of the dough is fat—butter and cream) encasing special fillings, sprinkled with sugar, and baked until golden brown.
I’ve been experimenting with some creative ways to embellish the excellence of the Apricot Rugelach even further of late. They’re delicious dipped into an artisan chocolate sauce like the one we get from Italy. It also makes a lovely small plated dessert—put a bit of the Creamery’s handmade cream cheese down on a plate, spoon on some apricot jam, and then lay the rugelach on top—and eat with a fork! Easiest of all, rugelach are perfect for picnics, camping, or carrying around your backpack even when the summer heat is as high as it’s been the last few weeks.
In 1982, Ari Weinzweig, along with his partner Paul Saginaw, founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen with a $20,000 bank loan, a Russian History degree from the University of Michigan, 4 years of experience washing dishes, cooking and managing in restaurant kitchens and chutzpah from his hometown of Chicago. They opened the doors with 2 employees and a small selection of specialty foods and exceptional sandwiches.
Today, Zingerman’s Delicatessen is a nationally renowned food icon and the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has grown to 10 businesses with over 750 employees and over $55 million in annual revenue. Aside from the Delicatessen, these businesses include Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Coffee Company, Creamery, Roadhouse, Mail Order, ZingTrain, Candy Manufactory, Cornman Farms and a Korean restaurant that is scheduled to open in 2016. No two businesses in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses are alike but they all share the same Vision and Guiding Principles and deliver “The Zingerman’s Experience” with passion and commitment.
Besides being the Co-Founding Partner and being actively engaged in some aspect of the day-to-day operations and governance of nearly every business in the Zingerman’s Community, Ari Weinzweig is also a prolific writer. His most recent publications are the first 4 of his 6 book series Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading Series: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business (Part 1), Being a Better Leader (Part 2), Managing Ourselves (Part 3) and the newly-released Part 4, The Power of Beliefs in Business. Earlier books include the Zingerman’s Guides to Giving Great Service, Better Bacon, Good Eating, Good Olive Oil, Good Vinegar and Good Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Ari regularly travels across the country (and world) on behalf of ZingTrain, teaching organizations and businesses about Zingerman’s approach to business. He is a sought-after Keynote speaker, having delivered keynotes for Inc. 500, Microsoft Expo Spring Conference, Great Game of Business Gathering of Games, Positive Business Conference at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the American Cheese Society. Most recently, Ari and Paul Saginaw were invited to address an audience of 50,000 for the University of Michigan 2015 Spring Commencement.
One of Zingerman’s Guiding Principles is being an active part of the community and in 1988, Zingerman’s was instrumental in the founding of Food Gatherers, a food rescue program that delivers over 5 million pounds of food each year to the hungry residents of Washtenaw county. Every year Zingerman’s donates 10% of its previous years profits to local community organizations and non-profits. Ari has served on the board of The Ark, the longest continuously operating folk music venue in America.
Over the decades, the Zingerman’s founding partners have consistently been the recipients of public recognition from a variety of diverse organizations. In April 1995, Ari and Paul were awarded the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County’s first Humanitarian Award. In 2006, Ari was recognized as one of the “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America” by the James Beard Foundation. In 2007, Ari and Paul were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bon Appetit magazine for their work in the food industry. Ari was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Cheese Society in 2014. And Ari’s book, Building a Great Business was on Inc. magazine’s list of Best Books for Business Leaders.
Notwithstanding the awards, being engaged on a daily basis in the work of 10 businesses and 21 partners, writing books on business and in-depth articles on food for the Zingerman’s newsletter, Ari finds time to be a voracious reader. He acquires and reads more books than he can find room for. Ari might soon find himself the owner of the largest collection of Anarchist books in Ann Arbor outside the Labadie collection at the University of Michigan library!
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In the way things weave together in my mind, the study of Ukrainian culture and history has given me a higher appreciation for apricots than I’ve ever had. What has always existed on the culinary periphery of my mind is now front and center. In the same way that any food we care about likely has intellectual and emotional roots which we re-access every time we eat it, when I see, think about, or eat an apricot I now think of Ukraine.
I’ve been experimenting with some creative ways to embellish the excellence of the Apricot Rugelach even further of late. They’re delicious dipped into an artisan chocolate sauce like the one we get from Italy. It also makes a lovely small plated dessert—put a bit of the Creamery’s handmade cream cheese down on a plate, spoon on some apricot jam, and then lay the rugelach on top—and eat with a fork! Easiest of all, rugelach are perfect for picnics, camping, or carrying around your backpack even when the summer heat is as high as it’s been the last few weeks.
