Tzimmes is often part of the Rosh Hashanah meal, when it is traditional to eat sweet and honey-flavored dishes.[4] Some cooks add chunks of meat (usually beef flank or brisket).[1][3][5] The dish is cooked slowly over low heat and flavored with honey or sugar and sometimes cinnamon or other spices.[6]
The name is a Yiddish word that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, may come from Middle High Germanimbīz, 'meal'.[7] "To make a big tzimmes over something" is a Yinglish expression that means to make a big fuss, perhaps because of the slicing, mixing, and stirring that go into the preparation of the dish.[5]
