Marilyn

I agree with seltzer instead of water for matzo balls; also be sure to chill the "batter" for a really long time - several hours - before forming and cooking. Sometimes I separate the eggs and whip the whites a little before mixing to get some more volume. And I always use the schmaltz from the soup instead of oil.

Soup was today - matzo balls tomorrow! Just a few more things to clean....almost there....I think I can...I think I can...

mini

Among some orthodox and Hasidim, matzoh balls are not kosher for Passover because the matzoh is in contact with water for more than 18 minutes (and hence considered to have "leavened"). There are matzoh factories in Boro Park and Williamsburg where the making of matzoh is actually timed so as not to exceed the Talmudic maximum.

In much wider orthodox traditions, eggs can't be mixed with matzoh for the first two days of Passover.

(But I'd ignore all of that, and follow Marilyn's advice, at least if you are of the floater persuasion. My mother is a sinker, and my wife is appalled! )

Marilyn

Thanks Mini! My matzo ball recipe is always evolving, just like my latke recipe. I am clearly of the floater persuasion as long as they don't get too loose. My theory is the lighter the matzo ball the less I think I'm eating.

mommusic

lol. I could never predict how my matzo balls would turn out. Finally I found if I stuck with the mix they would always be light & fluffy. OK.

Hanna

"There are matzoh factories in Boro Park and Williamsburg where the making of matzoh is actually timed so as not to exceed the Talmudic maximum."

Not to mention the places in where the wheat is WATCHED 24/7 to make sure no water comes in contact with it between harvest and baking.

I know that no one is asking for my rabbinic wisdom, but to me, it has always seemed contrary to the spirit of the holiday to use beaten egg whites and other tricks to make lighter-than-air angel food cakes, etc., that are technically kosher, but decidedly not "the bread of poverty." I'm not a rule-follower anyway, but it just doesn't make sense to me to get rid of jam made with corn syrup because it's chametz and we want to remember our deprivation on the flight from Egypt, and then eat a fluffy chocolate sponge cake that's indistinguishable from the chametz version.

I've always felt the same way about the fact that it's kosher to dredge chicken cutlets in an egg wash, even though chicken+cheese is traif. If this is about respecting the animal and not stewing the kid in its mother's milk, then a chicken omelet is pretty disrespectful (in Japanese, this dish is actually called a "parent-child" omelet).

It's probably a good thing that I don't try to observe...I'd be declaring foods traif right and left.

mini

A bissle on matzoh rules:

http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/matzoh/

And you are actually rabbinically correct: egg matzoh does not fulfill the law of eating "the bread of affliction".

(My fellow Quakers have no idea what I am talking about, but they are good listeners. )

icesk8mom

Just got back from vacation (well almost) to find this wonderful thread! Actually, we are at my mom's in Florida for Seder...but when I get back home (boy, am I gald I got my kitchen "done" before we left!), I'm sure I'll be trying some of these recipes. Anything for a change....as I have said to some of my non-Jewish friends...it all tastes wonderful for the first two days...after the third day...it all tastes the same! Maybe some of these will make a difference! Thanks one and all...wishing you all a "zeisen Pesach"

mommusic

Hanna--this is a common misconception, probably based on simplified explanations learned as children: that "rising" is not allowed. What is banned is "fermentation" particularly of the 5 grains wheat, spelt, oats, barley, & corn (I think it's those 5--I'm too lazy to look it up.) That is why light & fluffy baked goods made with eggs & soda are ok, as well as kosher-for-Passover baking powder (doesn't have cornstarch in it) but yeast is not. And that is why all matzoh is made in the 18 minute time span--so the fermentation process won't have time to begin (don't know who figured the timing out, but there you are.)

There are some people who don't eat any baked goods made with matzoh or matzoh meal and water, out of super-scrupulousness. I guess they eat a LOT of potatoes.

Hanna

I believe it's rye, not corn. Corn is a New World grain and controversial for that reason.

Anyway, I know that that's the rule, and that all those risen cakes and breads are technically KP. But it is my opinion that the rule ill serves the stated goal of re-experiencing the deprivation and hardship of the exodus. If it's supposed to be a sacrifice, then I don't see the point of grinding up matzo to fashion it into luxurious, rich dessert breads. If you're doing that, IMHO, you might as well just use flour.

But as noted above, rabbis customarily consult Rashi, not Hanna.

mommusic

Of course--rye.

Well, it's a paradox, actually. We are supposed to remember we were slaves, and we are supposed to celebrate that we are now free. So at the seder, first they starve you, then they stuff you!

Another paradox--we are supposed to remember to not forget to rub out the name of Amalek. Don't forget to wipe out his memory! No wonder we have complexes.

jmmom

NPR had a piece on Streit's matzoh factory and the 18-minute time limit for Passover matzoh. The younger generation has committed to staying with their grandfather's business, in its current location, despite offers to buy up the property for condominiums.

I can't find a link for the transcript of the NPR story, but here is a write-up on the Streit family dynasty and the making of matzoh-for-Passover.

worrywart

Sounds like a stark contrast from the Manischewitz empire which just last week sent out pink slips prior to the holiday. They are closing a plant and have let the production workers go.

mini

"I can't find a link for the transcript of the NPR story, but here is a write-up on the Streit family dynasty and the making of matzoh-for-Passover."

There are many, many Jews (including some of my step-relatives) who do not consider Streit's Matzoh (or Manischewitz's) to be kosher for Passover.

"Another paradox--we are supposed to remember to not forget to rub out the name of Amalek. Don't forget to wipe out his memory! No wonder we have complexes."

Ah, the blessings of aging:

"Blessed art Thou O Lord Our God, King of the Universe, Who commanded us to forget what we forgot, and to forget that we have forgotten it."

jmmom

Don't know what your relatives are referring to (don't know what I've forgotten to forget I've forgotten either ), but Streit's makes matzoh separately for Passover, under the supervision of numerous rabbis.

mini

And still NOT Kosher for Passover. The reason? The machines -- the entire machine, not just the platform, cutters, etc. -- are not cleaned and koshered between each 18-minute production, the fear being that some tiny scrap of dough might not have been caught and will turn the entire operation into chometz.