You dont have to celebrate Passover to try one of these amazing recipes like that coconut rocky road matzah right there. Jewish cooking is a unique synthesis of cooking styles from the many places that Jews have lived throughout the centuries. Jewish cooking shows the influence of. C897' alt='Matzah Ball' title='Matzah Ball' />Matzo WikipediaMatza redirects here. For the Israeli politician, see Joshua Matza. Matzo, matza or matzah Yiddish matsah, Hebrew matsa plural matzot matzos of Ashkenazi Hebrew dialect is an unleavenedflatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz leaven and five grains that, per Jewish Law, can be leavened is forbidden. Matzo that is kosher for Passover is limited in Ashkenazi tradition to plain matzo made from flour and water. The flour may be whole grain or refined grain, but must be either wheat, spelt, barley, rye, or oat. Sephardic tradition also allows eggs to be used. Passover and non Passover matzo may be soft or crisp, but only the crisp cracker type is available commercially in most locations. Soft matzo, if it were commercially available, would essentially be a kosher flour tortilla. Non Passover matzo may be made with onion, garlic, poppy seed, etc. Make Easy Empanadas on this page. It can even be made from rice, maize, buckwheat and other non traditional flours that can never be used for Passover matzo. Gluten free matzo lookalike made from potato starch, tapioca, and other non traditional flour is available and may be eaten on Passover, but does not fulfill the commandment of eating matzo, even for people with celiac disease who cannot eat Passover matzo, because matzo must be made from one of the five grains wheat, barley, oat, spelt, and rye, all of which contain gluten, except for most but not all types of oat matzo. Oat matzo may only be used by those who cannot have any other kind because its not certain that oat is actually one of the five grains it may be a mistranslation2, so those who can have wheat matzo should do so. Biblical sourceseditMatzo is mentioned in the Torah several times in relation to The Exodus from Egypt That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire they are to eat it with matzo and maror. From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty first day, you are to eat matzo. You are not to eat any chametz with it for seven days you are to eat with it matzo, 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. For six days you are to eat matzo on the seventh day there is to be a festive assembly for Ha Shem your God do not do any kind of work. Religious significanceeditThere are numerous explanations behind the symbolism of matzo. 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 bread, when baked, was matzo. Exodus 1. 2 3. 9. The other reason for eating matzo is symbolic On the one hand, matzo symbolizes redemption and freedom, but it is also lechem oni, poor mans bread. Thus it serves as a reminder to be humble, and to not forget what life was like in servitude. Also, leaven symbolizes corruption and pride as leaven puffs up. Eating the bread of affliction is both a lesson in humility and an act that enhances the appreciation of freedom. Another explanation is that matzo has been used to replace the pesach, or the traditional Passover offering that was made before the destruction of the Temple. During the Seder the third time the matzo is eaten it is preceded with the Sephardic rite, zekher lkorban pesach haneekhal al hasova. This means remembrance of the Passover offering, eaten while full. This last piece of the matzo eaten is called afikoman and many explain it as a symbol of salvation in the future. The Passover Seder meal is full of symbols of salvation, including the opening of the door for Elijah and the closing line, Next year in Jerusalem, but the use of matzo is the oldest symbol of salvation in the Seder. IngredientseditAt the Passover seder, simple matzo made of flour and water is mandatory. Sephardic tradition additionally permits the inclusion of eggs in the recipe. The flour must be ground from one of the five grains specified in Jewish law for Passover matzo wheat, barley, spelt, rye or oat. Matzo made with wine, fruit juice, onion, garlic, etc., is not acceptable for use at any time during the Passover festival. PreparationeditMatzo dough is quickly mixed and rolled out without an autolyse 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 1. The entire process of making matzo takes only a few minutes in efficient modern matzo bakeries. After baking, matzo may be ground into fine crumbs, known as matzo meal. Matzo meal can be used like flour during the week of Passover when flour can otherwise be used only to make matzo. Variationsedit. Matzo forming machine, ca. Lviv Museum of the History of ReligionThere are two major forms of matzo. In many western countries the most common form is the hard form of matzo which is cracker like in appearance and taste and is used in all Ashkenazic and most Sephardic communities. Yemenites, and Iraqi Jews traditionally made a form of soft matzo which looks like Greek pita or like a tortilla. Soft matzo is made only by hand, and generally with shmurah flour. Flavored varieties of matzo are produced commercially, such as poppy seed or onion flavored. Oat and spelt matzo with kosher certification are produced. Oat matzo is generally suitable for those who cannot eat gluten. Whole wheat, bran and organic matzo are also available. Chocolate covered matzo is a favorite among children, although some consider it enriched matzo and will not eat it during the Passover holiday. A quite different flat confection of chocolate and nuts that resembles matzo is sometimes called chocolate matzo. Matzo contains typically 1. USDA Nutrient Database, about the same as rye crispbread. Shmurah matzoeditShmura guarded matzo Hebrew matsa shmura is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that no fermentation has occurred, and that it is suitable for eating on the first night of Passover. Shmura wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine made matzo, while non shmura wheat is only used for machine made matzo. It is possible to hand bake matzo in shmura style from non shmurah flourthis is a matter of style, it is not actually in any way shmurabut such matzo has rarely been produced since the introduction of machine made matzo. Haredi Judaism is scrupulous about the supervision of matzo and have the custom of baking their own or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. Rabbi Haim Halberstam of Sanz ruled that machine made matzoth were hametz. According to that opinion, hand made non shmurah matzot 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 matzo may be used, with preference to the use of shmurah flour, in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi Yosef Haim Sonnenfeld, who ruled that machine made matzo may be preferable to hand made in some cases. The commentators to the Shulhan Aruch record that it is the custom of some of Diaspora Jewry to be scrupulous in giving Hallah from the dough used for baking Matzot Mitzvah the Shmurah Matzo eaten during Passover to a Kohen child to eat. Egg matzoedit. Children in Ofra preparing matzoEgg sometimes enriched matzo are matzot usually made with fruit juice, often grape or apple juice instead of water, but not necessarily with eggs themselves.