 Machine-made matzot from Jerusalem | |
| Alternative names | Matzo, matza |
|---|---|
| Type | Flatbread |
Matzah,matzo, ormaẓẓah[1] (Hebrew:מַצָּה,romanized: maṣṣā;IPA:[maˈt͡sa],pl.:matzot orAshk.matzos) is anunleavened flatbread that is part ofJewish cuisine and forms an integral element of thePassover festival, during whichchametz (leavening agent and five grains deemed byhalakha to be self-leavening) is forbidden.[2]
According to theTorah, God commanded theIsraelites[3] (modernly,Jews andSamaritans) to eat only unleavened bread during the seven-day Passover festival. Matzah can be either soft like apita[4] or a crisp variety, widely produced commercially because of its long shelf life. The soft matzah only keeps for a day or so unless frozen; very limited commercial production, only in the period leading up to Passover, is available. Some versions of the crisp type are available all year.
Matzah meal and matzah cake meal is crisp matzah that has been ground. The cake meal has a very fine near flour-like consistency, useful in baking, while the standard matzah meal is somewhat coarser and used in cooking. Matzah meal is used to make matzah balls (kneidles/kneidlach), the principal ingredient ofkneydlach soup (often translated as "matzah ball soup").Sephardic Jews typically cook with matzah itself rather than matzah meal.[2]
Matzah that iskosher for Passover is limited inAshkenazi tradition to plain matzah made from flour and water. The flour may be made fromwhole orrefined grain, but must be made from one offive grains:wheat,spelt,barley,rye, oroat. Some Sephardic communities allow matzah to be made witheggs orfruitjuice to be used throughout the holiday, while Ashkenazi Jews do not use such matzah on Passover, except in special circumstances, as for the sick and elderly.[5]
Matzah is mentioned in theTorah several times in relation toThe Exodus fromEgypt:
That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it withmatzah andmaror.
— Exodus 12:8
From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day, you are to eatmatzah.
— Exodus 12:18
You are not to eat anychametz with it; for seven days you are to eat with itmatzah, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Thus you will remember the day you left the land of Egypt as long as you live.
— Deuteronomy 16:3
For six days you are to eatmatzah; on the seventh day there is to be a festive assembly forHashem your God; do not do any kind of work.
— Deuteronomy 16:8
There are numerous explanations behind the symbolism of matzah:
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1,653 kJ (395 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
83.70 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1.40 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.00 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 4.30 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Values are for matzo made withenriched flour) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated usingUS recommendations for adults,[14] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from theNational Academies.[15] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At thePassover seder, simple matzah made of flour and water is mandatory for all. The flour must be ground from one of the five grains specified in Jewish law for Passover matzah: wheat, barley, spelt, rye or oat. Ashkenazic, but not Sephardi, tradition, requires that matzah made with the addition ofwine,fruit juice,onion,garlic, etc., may not be used during the Passover festival except by the elderly or unwell.[16][5]
Non-Passover matzah is not subject to ritual requirements and may use any kosher ingredients.
People who suffer fromcoeliac disease cannot safely eatcereals containinggluten; the only one of the permitted five grains (wheat, barley, oat, spelt, and rye) without gluten is oat. However, some authorities have expressed doubt about whether oat is truly one of the five grains, or whether it resulted from a historical mistranslation.[17] Some manufacturers producegluten-free matzah-lookalikes made frompotato starch,tapioca, and other non-traditional flour for gluten-intolerant people. However, theOrthodox Union states that, although unleavened gluten-free products may be eaten on Passover, they do not fulfill the commandment (mitzvah) of eating matzah at the Seder, because matzahmust be made from one of the five grains.[18]
While oat is considered to be one of the five grains and does not itself contain gluten, matzah made from it would be gluten-free only if there were no contamination by gluten-containing grains. From 2013 some matzah manufacturers have produced gluten-free oat matzah certified kosher for Passover.[19] Given the doubts about oats truly being one of the five grains, it has been suggested that matzah could be made from a mixture of 90% rice flour and 10% wheat flour (as rice is deemed so bland that the taste of wheat flour dominates, and thus meets ritual requirements), for those who can handle eating the small amount of wheat in this mixture.[20] For those who can eat no wheat, eating oat matzah at the Seder is still considered the best option.[20]
Matzah dough is quickly mixed and rolled out without anautolyse step as used for leavened breads. Most forms are pricked with a fork or a similar tool to keep the finished product from puffing up, and the resulting flat piece of dough is cooked at high temperature until it develops dark spots, then set aside to cool and, if sufficiently thin, to harden to crispness. Dough is considered to begin the leavening process 18 minutes from the time it gets wet; sooner if eggs, fruit juice, or milk is added to the dough. The entire process of making matzah takes only a few minutes in efficient modern matzah bakeries.
After baking, matzah may be ground into fine, or slightly coarser, crumbs, known asmatzah meal, that can be used like flour during the week of Passover when flour can otherwise be used only to make matzah.
There are two major forms of matzah. Prior to the late 18th century, all matzah was soft and relatively thick, but thinner, crisper matzah later became popular in parts of Europe due to its longer shelf life. With the invention of the first matzah-making machine in France in 1839, cracker-like mass-produced matzah became the most common form in Europe and North America and is now ubiquitous in allAshkenazic and mostSephardic communities.Yemenite andIraqi Jews continue to use a form of soft matzah which looks like Greekpita or like atortilla. Soft matzah is made only by hand, and generally withshmurah flour.[21][22][4]
Flavored varieties of matzah are produced commercially, such aspoppy seed- oronion-flavored. Oat and spelt matzah with kosher certification are produced. Oat matzah is generally suitable for those who cannot eat gluten. Whole wheat, bran and organic matzah are also available.[23]Chocolate-covered matzah is a favorite among children, although some consider it "enriched matzah" and will not eat it during the Passover holiday. A quite different flat confection of chocolate and nuts that resembles matzah is sometimes called "chocolate matzah".
Mass-produced matzah contains typically 111calories per 1-ounce/28g (USDA Nutrient Database), about the same asrye crispbread.
Shĕmura ("guarded") matzah (Hebrew:מַצָּה שְׁמוּרָהmatsa shĕmura) is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that nofermentation has occurred, and that it is suitable for eating on the first night of Passover. (Shĕmura wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made matzah, while non-shĕmura wheat is only used for machine-made matzah. It is possible to hand-bake matzah inshĕmura style from non-shmurah flour—this is a matter of style, it is not actually in any wayshĕmura—but such matzah has rarely been produced since the introduction of machine-made matzah.)
Haredi Judaism is scrupulous about the supervision of matzah and have the custom of baking their own or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. RabbiChaim Halberstam ofSanz ruled in the 19th century that machine-made matzah werechametz.[24] According to that opinion, handmade non-shmurah matzah may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made matzah may be used, with preference to the use ofshĕmurah flour, in accordance with the ruling of RabbiYosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who ruled that machine-made matzah may be preferable to hand made in some cases. The commentators to theShulhan `Aruch record that it is the custom of some of Diaspora Jewry to be scrupulous in givingHallah from the dough used for baking "Matzat Mitzvah" (the shĕmurah matzah eaten duringPassover) to aKohen child to eat.[25]
The requirement for eating Matzah at the Seder cannot be fulfilled with "[egg] matza."[26][27]
"Egg (sometimesenriched) matzah" are matzot usually made with fruitjuice, oftengrape juice orapple juice, instead of water, but not necessarily with eggs themselves. There is a custom among some Ashkenazi Jews not to eat them during Passover, except for the elderly, infirm, or children, who cannot digest plain matzah; these matzot are considered to be kosher for Passover if prepared otherwise properly. The issue of whether egg matzah is allowed for Passover comes down to whether there is a difference between the various liquids that can be used. Water facilitates afermentation of grain flour specifically into what is defined as chametz, but the question is whether fruit juice, eggs, honey, oil or milk are also deemed to do so within the strict definitions of Jewish laws regarding chametz.
TheTalmud, Pesachim 35a, states that liquid food extracts do not cause flour to leaven the way that water does. According to this view, flour mixed with other liquids would not need to be treated with the same care as flour mixed with water. TheTosafot (commentaries) explain that such liquids only produce a leavening reaction within flourif they themselves have had water added to them and otherwise the dough they produce is completely permissible for consumption during Passover, whether or not made according to the laws applying to matzot.
As a result,Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, author of theShulchan Aruch or "Code of Jewish Law" (Orach Chayim 462:4) granted blanket permission for the use of any matzah made from non-water-based dough, including egg matzah, on Passover.[28] Many egg matzah boxes no longer include the message, "Ashkenazi custom is that egg matzah is only allowed for children, elderly and the infirm during Passover." Even amongst those who consider that enriched matzot may not beeaten during Passover, it is permissible toretain it in the home.
Chocolate-covered matzah[29] was sold in boxes as a standard product, alongside boxes of egg matzah.[30]
The matzah itself is notHamotzi (meaning that it isMezonot).
Matzah may be used whole, broken, chopped ("matzahfarfel"), or finely ground ("matzah meal"); to make numerous matzah-based cooked dishes. These includematzah balls, which are traditionally served in chicken soup;matzah brei, a dish of Ashkenazi origin made from matzah soaked in water, mixed with beaten egg, and fried;helzel, poultry neck skin stuffed with matzah meal;matzah pizza, in which the piece of matzah takes the place ofpizza crust and is topped with melted cheese and sauce;[31] and kosher for Passover cakes and cookies, which are made with matzah meal or a finer variety called "cake meal" that gives them a denser texture than ordinary baked foods made with flour.Hasidic Jews do not cook with matzah, believing that mixing it with water may allow leavening;[4] this stringency is known asgebrochts.[32] However, Jews who avoid eatinggebrochts will eat cooked matzah dishes on the eighth day of Passover outside the Land of Israel, as the eighth day is ofrabbinic and not Torah origin.[32]
Sephardim use matzah soaked in water or stock to make pies orlasagne,[33][34] known asmina,méguena,mayena orItalian:scacchi.[35]
Communion wafers used by theRoman Catholic Church as well as in someProtestant traditions for theEucharist are flat, unleavened bread. The main reason for the use of this bread is the belief that, because theLast Supper was described in theSynoptic Gospels as a Passover meal, the unleavened matzah bread was used by Jesus when he held it up and said "this is my body". AllByzantine Rite churches use leavened bread for the Eucharist as this symbolizes the risen Christ.
SomeOriental Orthodox andEastern Catholic Christians use leavened bread, as in the east there is the tradition, based upon thegospel of John, that leavened bread was on the table of the Last Supper. In theArmenian Apostolic Church, theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church andEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, unleavened bread calledqǝddus qurban inGe'ez, the liturgical language of the Eritreans and Ethiopians, is used for communion.
Saint Thomas Christians living on theMalabar coast ofKerala, India have the customary celebration ofPesaha in their homes. On the evening before Good Friday,Pesaha bread is made at home. It is made with unleavened flour and they consume a sweet drink made up ofcoconut milk andjaggery along with this bread. On the Pesaha night, the bread is baked (steamed) immediately after rice flour is mixed with water and they pierce it many times with handle of the spoon to let out steam so that the bread will not rise (this custom is called "juthante kannu kuthal" in the Malayalam language meaning "piercing the bread according to the custom of Jews"). This bread is cut by the head of the family and shared among the family members.[36]
At the end ofWorld War II, theNational Jewish Welfare Board had a matzah factory (according to theAmerican Jewish Historical Society, it was probably theManischewitz matzah factory inNew Jersey) produce matzah in the shape of a large"V" for "Victory", for use in the U.S. and military bases overseas by Jewish military personnel forPassover seders.[37]
Streit's is the story of the last family-owned matzah bakery in America during their final year at their historic New York City factory.[38]
Maẓẓah—unleavened bread.
According to Jewish Law, once matzo is baked, it cannot become hametz. However, some Ashkenazim, chiefly in Hassidic communities, do not eat [wetted matzo], for fear that part of the dough was not sufficiently baked and might become hametz when coming in contact with water.
... was a little girl ... on the shelves
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