@judyprays
I think the use of the word “appropriate” is a little harsh to use in this context because it implies that Jewish immigrants took over someone else’s cuisine to make a profit off of it.
Jews and non-Jews lived together, not always peacefully or happily, in the same areas of Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia, Germany and Austria and shared indigenous ingredients in their own cuisines and many dishes are similar but prepared differently with different ingredients based on the Jewish dietary laws. These laws forbid the use of pork, shellfish, mixing meat with dairy at the same meal among others. You can’t say that one stole the other’s cooking.
My friend Fred’s dad was a Catholic from Ruthenia and he had bread with schmaltz before dinner every night. So did my Jewish grandfather, but my grandfather ate chicken fat and Fred’s grandfather ate LARD. Same word, different food.
A Jewish salami will not contain pork, but kosher and non-kosher salamis will contain garlic and curing salts.
There are dishes called Pirogie, Pirogen, Pirogy, depending on the place they originated but they all are filled dumplings with sauerkraut or cheese or fruit. But a Jewish deli will not serve a cheese pirogen because of the dietary law.
You just can’t make a blanket statement as you did.
Why were the Jewish deli’s more popular? Better food, better businessmen, more concentrated population.
Maybe gailcalled can chime in here too…...
SRM