A hamantash (also spelled hamentasch, homentash, homentasch, (h)umentash, pluralized with -en or -n; Yiddish המן־טאַש) is a pastry in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine recognizable for its three-cornered shape. It is eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The traditional filling is made with poppy seeds, but they are also made with many different flavors, including prunes, nut, date, apricot, fruit preserves, chocolate, or even caramel or cheese.[1]
Hamantashen are generally made by rolling the dough thin, cutting it into circles (of various sizes), placing filling in the center, and folding in three sides. The dough may be a cookie dough with orange juice added, citrus zest added, or a yeast dough.
Origins of name
There are two possible origins of the name. The most popular theory is that the name hamantash (המן־טאַש), which literally means "Haman's pocket," is a reference to Haman (also known as Homen), the villain of Purim, as described in the Book of Esther. A more likely source of the name is a corruption of the Yiddish word מאן־טאשן (montashn) or the German word mohntaschen, both meaning poppyseed-filled pouches.[2] Over time, this name was transformed to hamantashen, likely by association with Haman. In Israel, they are called אוזני המן (Oznei Haman), Hebrew for "Haman's ears."
Many Hebrew schools teach that Hamentashen is from Hamen's hat. Hamen, of course, was one who persecuted the Jews during the time of Esther. There is a popular song that goes with this philosophy which goes
My hat it has three corners.
Three corners has my hat.
And had it not three corners,
It wouldn't be my hat.
Plural
The word "hamantash" is singular; "hamantashen" is plural and is the word form more commonly used. However, many people refer to these cookies as hamantashen even in the singular (for example, "I ate one apricot hamantashen"), even though this is not grammatically correct.
