tsim·mes

or tzim·mes (tsĭm′ĭs)

1. A stew of vegetables or fruits cooked slowly over very low heat.

2. Informal A state of confusion.

[Yiddish tsimes : Middle High German ze, zuo, to, for (from Old High German; see de- in Indo-European roots) + Middle High German imbiz, light meal (from Old High German, from enbizzan, to eat : in, in; see en in Indo-European roots + bīzan, bizzan, to bite; see bheid- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tzim•mes

or tsim•mes

(ˈtsɪm ɪs)

n.

1. a casserole or stew of vegetables, fruit, and sometimes meat.

2. Slang. fuss; uproar; hullabaloo.

[1890–95; < Yiddish tsimes < Middle High German z, ze, unstressed variant of zuo at, to + imbīz light meal; see in-¹, bite]

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tzimmes

References in periodicals archive

Part of the problem is that tsimmes, as many Americans know it today, has been reduced to a gloppy, cloyingly sweet compote.

The Trouble With Tsimmes-and How to Fix It

In 2016, B'nai B'rith Poland protested Makowski's performance on the public broadcaster TVP3 over a song with words saying that dishonest banking practices have been around for as long as "tsimmes and gescheft" -- Yiddish words that mean a sweet carrot stew and business, respectively.

Poland Honors Satirist who Said Jews Create Anti-Semitism

We didn't need to push tables together, and we didn't argue over the commentaries on the Passover story, but we probably ate the same foods--kugel and tsimmes and matzo ball soup, and we followed the prescribed rituals, the same for all Jews.

Pictures of Shmuel

I would say tsimmes. I'm not crazy about prunes, especially mixed with onions and sweet potatoes.

Mel Brooks king of the: politically incorrect

The main attraction is Gusta's brisket tsimmes and lokshen kugel, which went nowhere as Mulligan stew and hot apple pie.

"They find you, those sons of Moses": collective memory and the disconnected Jew

chicken soup chopped liver chopped herring gefilte fish stuffed cabbage (sweet and sour variant) potato kugel and lokshen kugel blintzes tsimmes honey cake (lekakh) teyglakh hamentaschen mandelbroyt Recognizable patterns unite these and other dishes as a culinary unit.

You are what they ate: Russian Jews reclaim their foodways

"Borscht, beet salad, fish, chicken, applesauce, tsimmes, walnut cake.

Joann Rose Leonard, The Soup Has Many Eyes

Last week Joan Nathan shared recipes for sweet potato latkes and sweet potato tsimmes that look delicious enough to convert even the most Thanksgivukkah-averse.

This Thanksgivukkah, It's Turkey Donuts vs. Latke Taquitos

Here are my four favorites: my 100-year-old mother's standard sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and pineapples from the original Jewish Holiday Kitchen, a southwestern tsimmes with cilantro stuffed in Anaheim chilies from chef Lenard Rubin, a curried sweet potato latke from the New Prospect Cafe in Park Slope Brooklyn, both from Jewish Cooking in America and Moroccan Sweet Potatoes and Vegetables from Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook.

Joan Nathan's Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes for Thanksgivukkah

When I was writing The Jewish Holiday Kitchen in 1979, I included my family's modern take on a traditional sweet-potato tsimmes, which includes pineapples and marshmallowsunconventional ingredients in a Jewish recipe.

Family Feast

Myra would talk about cooking her tsimmes and other dishes for her children and grandchildren, the most important people in her life besides her beloved Robert.

Remembering Myra Kraft