Cholent A Tasty Shabbas Tradition

Brisket baked overnight in a low oven is simply a modern method of keeping the Shabbas for observant Jews. But there are endless ethnic variations of the dish, known as cholent.
Overnight baking is necessary because Orthodox Jews cannot light a fire or oven on Shabbas, which begins at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Saturday.
"An overnight oven method has its roots in times when Jewish housewives would bring their cholent dishes to the baker's oven on the way to synagogue on Friday evening," Rosalyn Herman of Davie wrote. "Although the fires in the oven were banked, the cholent would stay hot till the dishes were picked up after services on Saturday."
"I've tried different recipes for cholent from every nation of the Jewish diaspora,'' wrote Esther Frank. In ancient times, cholent was made with grains such as barley, dried beans and little or no meat, Frank says. As Jews moved to different lands, they adapted the dish differently.