What does schmalz mean?
Schmalz is a noun for rendered chicken fat, especially the crisp skin and fatty bits produced when chicken is cooked. It is especially associated with Ashkenazi Jewish cooking, in which the browned skin and rendered fat of chicken may be served on their own or added to potatoes, vegetables, stews, and other dishes. The word can also function figuratively: calling food “schmalz” suggests that it is excessively greasy or oily, while comparisons with eating schmalz can convey disgust or comic exaggeration. Although its literal referent is ordinary rendered fat, the term carries a strong culinary and cultural association that makes it more particular than the general English word “fat.” Schmalz is normally treated as an uncountable mass noun. It is chiefly used in contexts connected with Jewish food traditions, but it is also understood more widely in Britain and the United States.
nounRendered chicken fat, especially the crisp skin and fat traditionally eaten in Jewish cooking. The word is also sometimes used figuratively to mean greasy or oily food.
- Rendered chicken fat, particularly the browned skin and fat traditionally eaten in Jewish cooking.
"She served the potatoes with a generous spoonful of hot schmalz."
"The recipe calls for onions cooked slowly in chicken schmalz until deeply golden."
"His remark about the greasy sauce was a joke about eating schmalz."
Schmalz is normally used in the singular as an uncountable noun.
"There was plenty of schmalz left in the pan."
Schmalz names the crisp skin and rendered fat that turn ordinary chicken into a distinctly Jewish culinary comfort food.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of schmalz
The English word was borrowed from Yiddish שמאלץ (shmalts), meaning rendered chicken fat. Yiddish in turn borrowed it from German Schmalz, a word for fat or dripping. Its use in English therefore reflects the migration of Jewish culinary terminology and cooking practices.
How schmalz is actually used
The word is most closely associated with Jewish cooking and may sound affectionate, humorous, or self-deprecating when used figuratively. It is also encountered in British and American English through Yiddish cooking traditions.
Easily confused with schmalz
Schmaltz is an alternative spelling of schmalz; the two words normally have the same meaning.