OT - What is a matzoh?

I think they're flat unleavened unsalted crackers. Look for them in the kosher section of the market.

On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:43:04 -0400, "MRH" spewed forth :

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Matzohs are, as someone said, flat, unleavened crackers that Jews eat at Passover. This would be a good time to find them marked down, as Passover ended last week - but you probably don't really want to. They have all the flavor of cardboard, and I really can't think of any good reason to eat them other than religious ritual! (I have two leftover boxes on my shelf right now, and I'll probably crush them up and turn them into granola -- they're not bad if you add enough fattening, flavorful stuff to them.) Just out of curiosity - what part of the country are you in? (Someplace with few Jews, if you've never seen matzohs in your store) and what kind of recipe was it? Most recipes with matzo are really poor substitutions for things that aren't allowed during Passover - for example, we don't use pasta, so you might find recipes for lasagne using matzoh instead. Believe me, the original is better!

P.S. -- I just joined this group, and I think it's pretty funny that my first post to a knitting group is about matzoh!

Welcome! Noreen

who also thinks it's funny, but that's the way we ARE here!

Matzot[s] is the plural of Matza, the unleavened flat cracker like thing we eat in Passover .... mirjam

Actually matzoh is good toasted and spread while warm with peanut butter - how do I know this? I shared an apartment while in grad school with an observant Jewish woman and during passover I breakfasted on that combination as we did not have bread in the apartment for the period of passover. Since we really only ate breakfast there, I have no personal knowledge of the success or failure of attempting to adapt other recipes. (Of course, bear in mind that I was raised on Scandinavian delicacies like knackebrod - not exactly croissant.)

What a pity that you regard matzoth as the way you described them , I really love Matzoth and all the passover Unleavened foods, It is a bit of a cahllange to make the special foods , but it is joy for all kind of reasons , last of which is the religious reason. It is tradition, My fore fathers and mothers kept for so mant generations. It has so many background stories related to it ... And i even like the joke that the crumbles fill the house like the sand of Sinai ,,, we eat them all year round till one month before Pescah -Passover , than we stop for a month and than we eat them all passovrer in many nice ways . Flavour of Cardboard ,, what make do you eat ??? ours are wonderfully tasting .. Also last and not least , not having bread for a whole week teaches one to gain respect for this most Commonest food of all .

Hallo khoff , is your name khof like the Hebrew Beach of the sea or the river ,,, mirjam

I used to feel the same way about matzo, then I got this wonderful cookbook from our synagogue's gift shop called Matzo 101. It's amazing what you can do with these things with a little preparation and imagination. Lasagna with them turns out great, as does pizza; my kids lived on matzo pizzas for lunch during Passover. The trick with this cookbook is that the preparation involves "soaking" the matzo to make them flexible - the "soaking" is actually layering them between wet paper towels, with a wet paper towel on the bottom, then a wet matzo, then a wet paper towel...you get the idea, ending with a wet paper towel, and letting them sit like this for about 20 minutes - then you cut them into various shapes and sizes for whatever you're making. I made a very good tuna casserole using prepared matzot cut into ribbons to function as noodles. I've made cookies with them, ice cream sandwiches, and potato knishes. I even considered using them for the crust for a quiche, but I ran out of nights during Passover before I got to the quiche, and I didn't get to the manicotti either. Maybe next year.

The Other Kim kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom

allowed

Yes, Kim, but do you ever make tuna casserole or lasagna with matzo when it's not Pesach?

I didn't mean to be disrepectful or critical of matzo, I certainly enjoy eating it during Passover, but I don't know a lot of people who use it all year round - although I would certainly believe that you get better, fresher matzo in Israel than we get in the U.S. I was just saying that for someone who had no religious reason to eat it, I'm not sure what recipe would be worth seeking it out for. Well, maybe Matzo Brei (which is basically French toast made with matzo - you soak the matzo in water, soak it in egg, cook it in butter, eat it with jam - what could be bad?). Matzo granola is prety good, and there's a great recipe for matzo covered with a cooked brown-sugar and butter mixture, baked, then topped with chocolate.

Sorry, Mirjam, the 'kh" in my nickname is not the Hebrew "kh." I pronounce the screen name "kay-hoff" -- it comes from our original e-mail name which was a short form of my husband's name, Ken Hoffman. I know it's confusing, but I continue to use it just so that someone who knows me as khoff on one board (for example, Englishforums.com) would recognize me if they happened to come across me on another board, like this one.

Anyway, now I know that when I need some new recipe ideas next Pesach I should come right to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn!

We used to never think about matzo until it was time to plan Passover menus, but since I got this cookbook it's more likely that I'll make something from it during the rest of the year, just to see how it works. My kids would eat matzo pizzas year 'round if I have matzo in the house, and there's one recipe for a broccoli and cheese casserole that I have made on occasions other than Passover that's worth buying a box of matzo (even though it only calls for 1 cup of broken pieces; the rest gets used for lasagna or pizzas ). It really doesn't cost me any more to use matzo instead of noodles for these things, since I can get several meals out of a box of matzo and only get one out of a 1-pound box of pasta (and I'm finicky about brand so will pay extra for the Barilla even if others cost less).

I have a bit of a mad scientist streak, so I'm willing to "experiment" with this stuff more often than the usual person, I would guess

The Other Kim kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom

Hi khoff! I don't remember seeing you on RCTY before (but then I have missed some new people joining), so welcome to the RCTY "family". :o)

I'm in southwestern Ontario... in a very tiny town with no Jewish people that I know of (and the town is small enough to know most people). ;o)

The recipe is for something called "Passover Mock Baklava". The recipe follows, in case anyone is interested... including words by the person who submitted the recipe. Enjoy!

Thank you for all the answers, everyone! I was just curious. I had heard of it before, but just wasn't sure what it was. I think I might have been thinking of something called matza balls?!?!? Not positive what that is either... then again that likely had *nothing* whatsoever to with the recipe I saw the word "matzoh" in. Live and learn!

- I just love that we can ask *any* kind of question in RCTY and get an abundance of answers. ;o)

Gemini - Thanks - that looks like a good recipe; I've printed it out to save for next Passover. Matzo balls are quite different (although they are made from matzo meal, which is matzos ground into a powder, not quite as fine as flour - more the consistency of fine breadcrumbs) Matzo balls are dumplings that are usually served in chicken soup. Yes, I'm new to this group, and enjoying it - everyone seems very friendly. Thanks!

Gemini, they are wonderful. unleavend bread or large crackers. Although sadly, the last time I had a box in my hands, I found that the wheat flour had been replace with soya meal. Back on the shelf it went.

Els

Well like so many other crackers or say like pita bread, they are not supposed to have a lot of flavour. You get the flavour by adding other foods to eat with it. sardines, smoked salmon, cheese etc.

In my family I grew up with them, and my mother served then as a treat. She bought them in a round box that had this neat opening at the top. We would add butter and brown sugar. (called bastard suiker in Holland) I tell you they are yummy that way

Els

Way to go Judy, they are indeed great that way too

Els

And As someone who has had to eat these items - they were free from the Food Bank - I find them best used for patching holes in the wall.

Even the people who Desperately NEEDED food rejected them.

I have never had any that had any taste whatsoever. Now if they manufactured strawbery filled, or cholocate dipped ones I might be more inclined.

Katheryne who told her husband about this subject and his reply was "BLEAGH" and he is a practicing Jew