Must Read

Michael Ruhlman wants all Americans to enjoy fat. But not just any kind — the rendered chicken fat cooked with onions known as schmaltz. The staple in Jewish cooking gets top billing in The Book of Schmaltz: Love Song to a Forgotten Fat (Little, Brown and Co., $25). Available Aug. 13, the Cleveland author uses his latest book to explain the history behind the ingredient, a step-by-step guide on how to make it and, of course, plenty of traditional and contemporary recipes to mix it in, such as potato kugel and oatmeal cookies with dried cherries.