MATZO

'Matza' (also 'Matzo', 'Matzah' Hebrew מַצָּה ) is a cracker-like bread made of plain flour and water. The dough is pricked in several places and not allowed to rise before baking, thereby producing a hard, flat bread.
Matza is the substitute for bread during the Jewish holiday of Passover, when eating chametz- bread and leavened products - is forbidden. Eating matza on the night of the seder is considered a mitzvah, i.e., a positive commandment.
There are two explanations for the consumption of matza on Passover. One is historical: Passover is a commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. The biblical narrative relates that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste, they could not wait for their bread dough to rise. The resulting product was matza. (Exodus 12:39). So matza is eaten to remind Jews of the exodus story. The other reason for eating matza is symbolic: On the one hand, matza symbolizes redemption and freedom, but it is also (''lechem oni''), "poor man's bread." Thus it serves as a reminder to be humble, and not to forget what life was like in servitude. Eating the "bread of affliction" is both a lesson in humility and an act that enhances one's appreciation of freedom.
At the Passover seder, it is customary to eat matza made of flour and water only. Enriched matza, containing eggs, wine or fruit juice, is acceptable during the remaining days of the holiday, although some strictly Orthodox Jews will not eat this kind of matza at all.
After baking, matza may be ground into fine crumbs, known as 'matza meal'. Matza meal is used to make matza balls and is added to other foods, such as gefilte fish, to hold the ingredients together instead of flour. Kosher for Passover cakes and cookies are made with matza meal, which gives them a denser texture that ordinary baked goods made with flour.

Contents

Five grains

Common varieties

Supervision and Provisions

Egg Matzah

Matzo during the year

References

Notes

External links

See also

Five grains

There are five grains that may not be used during Passover in any form except matzo.
#Wheat,
#Barley,
#Spelt,
#Rye, and
#Oats (according to Rashi) (or two-rowed barley according to Rambam's interpretation of Mishnah Kilayim 1:1; Yerushalmi Challah 1:1).
Wheat and spelt (biblical spelt is now more correctly identified as emmer wheat) are both in the genus ''Triticum'' and anything else in the genus is likewise forbidden. Oat-grain is practically gluten-free and belongs to a different tribe than wheat, spelt, rye and barley. Millet and teff are borderline; it takes a few days for them to rise.
Dough made from the five grains is considered to start rising 18 minutes from the time it gets wet; if not put in the oven before then it can no longer become true matzo.
Matzo can be ground to form coarse (''matzo farfel''), medium, or fine ''matzo meal'', used in Jewish cooking and as a substitute for flour in Passover cooking.

Common varieties

There are two major forms of matza, with several subcategories. In the United States, the most common form is the hard form of matza which is cracker-like in both appearance and taste, which is used in all Ashkenazic and most Sephardic communities. Many Mizrahi, Yemenite Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Hispanic and Latin Sephardi Jews traditionally made a form of soft matza. In those communities, matzo looks similar to pita while in others it can resemble a tortilla. However, it is made under proper supervision, just like the hard form of matzah. The soft form of matza is only made by hand, and generally with ''shmurah'' flour, as described below, like traditional "''Shmurah Matza''".

Among Ashkenazi matza, one can distinguish between what is called ''shmura'' matza — a round matza about a foot in diameter — which is made by hand, and machine-made matza, which is usually square and much smaller. ''Shmura'' ("guarded") matzo (Hebrew מַצָּה שְׁמוּרָה ''maṣṣā šəmūrā'') is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that no has occurred. In addition, it is made with the intention of using it to fulfill the commandment of eating matza on the first night of Passover.
(The same ''shmura'' wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made matza, while non-''shmura'' wheat is only fashioned into machine-made matza. Moreover, although it is possible to bake ''shmura''-style matza from non-shmurah flour, such matza is rarely produced today, although before the invention of machine-made matza it was quite common.)


Besides their shape, handmade and machine-made matza taste distinctively different. Handmade matzo is dense and chewy, while machine-made matza is lighter and crispy. Shmurah matza is generally available only around Passover and is more expensive.
Various commercial brands of matza come in flavored varieties, such as poppyseed- or onion-flavored. For those who cannot eat wheat, it is possible to buy oat and spelt matza with kosher certification. Chocolate-covered matza is a favorite among children, although some consider it "enriched matza" and will not eat it during the Passover holiday.
Matza contains approximately 111 calories per 1-ounce/28g serving (USDA Nutrient Database). This compares with 109 calories for the same serving of rye crispbread. ^[1]

Supervision and Provisions

Many Haredi or ultra-orthodox Jews are extremely scrupulous about the supervision of their Matzah, as eating leavened products during Passover is liable to the biblical punishment of ''Kareth'', thus many have the custom of baking their own Matzo, or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. Ultra-Orthodox Shmurah Matzah is typically expensive, generally between $10-$20 per pound, but sometimes costing up to $50 per pound for special varieties with particular stringencies.
Among many Hasidic Jews, only hand made ''shmurah matzah'' may be used, in accord with the opinion of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, who ruled that machine-made matzoth were ''chametz''. According to that opinion, hand-made non-''shmurah'' matzoth may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However, today such matzoth are generally not made.
However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made matzoth may be used, with preference to the use of ''shmurah'' flour, in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi Yoseph Chaim Sonnenfeld, who actually ruled that machine-made matzoth may be preferable to hand made in some cases.

Egg Matzah

Egg Matzah are matzot that are usually made with fruit juice, often grape or apple juice instead of water. Not all egg matza is made with actual eggs. There is a custom among some Ashkenazic Jews not to eat them during Passover, except for the elderly, infirm, or children, who cannot digest plain matzo, even though the box is stated to be kosher for Passover.
The issue whether egg matzah is allowed comes down to if there is a difference between the various possible liquids that make flour wet. Water triggers fermentation of grain flour, but the question is if fruit juice, eggs, honey, oil or milk do it as well. The Talmud (Pesachim 35a.) states that liquid food extracts do not cause flour to leaven the way that water does. For this reason flour mixed with other liquids would need to be treated with the same care as flour mixed with water according to this view. However, other Talmudic commentaries (Tosafot) say that such liquids only produce a leavening reaction within flour ''if'' they themselves have had water added to them and otherwise the dough they produce is completely permissible for consumption during Passover. As a result, Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Code of Jewish Law, (Orach Chaim 462:4.) granted blanket permission for the use of egg matzah (or any other matzah made from non-water-based dough) on Passover.^[2] Many egg matzah boxes no longer include the message, “Ashkenazi custom is that egg matzah is only allowed for children, eldery and the infirm during Passover.”
Another view of this is that since the Hebrew term for egg matzo is ''matzo ashirah'' (Hebrew: מצה עשירה), literally, "enriched matzah" or "rich matzah", Egg matzo cannot be used to fulfill the requirement of eating matzo at the Passover Seder. This is because such matzo would be considered "rich", while the matzo eaten at the Seder is called "poor man's bread" (Hebrew: לחם עוני) (Deut. 16:3)^[3]
Those who contend that Ashkenazi Jews shouldn not eat egg matzah cite Rema (Orach Chaim ibid., 4) ruling that the custom among the Ashkenazim is to refrain from using Egg Matzah on Passover at all, unless it is necessary for children or the elderly who would have difficulty eating regular Matzah. Commenting on Rabbi Yosef Karo's permission to use egg matzah, the Rema responded "...in our communities, we do not knead (matzah) dough with fruit juice... And one should not change from this unless in a time of emergency for the sake of a sick or old person who needs this" Those who follow this prohibition of eating egg matzah on Passover also include chocolate covered matzah, whole wheat matzah, grape flavoured matzah and the many other varieties available.

Matzo during the year

Commercial matzo is often available during the year, both in flavored and plain forms. It is used in cooking (e.g. matzo ball soup made from matzo meal) or eaten as a snack. During the year, Ashkenazim treat matzo as bread, requiring washing before and full ''Birkat Hamazon'' afterwards. Sephardim normally treat it as a cracker and accord it the special status of bread only during Passover.

References

★ Plants of the Bible, Zohary, Michael, , , Cambridge University Press, 1982, ISBN 0-521-24926-0 Up-to-date reference to cereals in the Biblical world

Notes

1. Matzos Calories
2. "Is Egg Matzah okay for Passover use?" - Rabbi Shais Taub of Chabad-Lubavitch
3. Kosher Quest - Matzo

External links

★ Etymology of "matza"

★ Sefardi-style soft Shmura matzo

★ Recipe for Matzo Brei

★ The machine made matza

★ "Matzah!"

★ Discussion of matzo cookery at Epicurious.com

See also

★ Kashrut (Kosher)

★ Matzah balls

★ Matzah brei

★ Chametz

★ Gebruchts