When and Why Were the First Matzo Balls Made? How Are They Prepared? Some Little Known Facts about Matzo Balls
Is there any food more iconically Jewish than the matzo ball? Whether you’re a little under the weather or it’s a Jewish holiday, there’s no elixir like these tasty dumplings floating in a bowl of chicken broth. How did the matzo ball (and matzo ball soup) make its way into Jewish cuisine? What is matzo? How did the matzo ball originate? Are there other ways to cook and eat matzo?
What Is Matzo?
Also known in some places as matzah or matza, it’s simply unleavened bread made with flour and water. In the United States, it’s mostly made in the Ashkenazi way, baked in the form of a giant cracker, making it crunchy with a mild flavor. There’s also a Sephardic matzo that’s typically thicker and chewier.
Under Jewish law, once the ingredients are combined, the dough must be formed and baked in no more than 18 minutes or the matzo will not be deemed kosher for Passover.
Matzo has significant religious connotations within the Jewish tradition. Also known as the “bread of affliction,” it symbolizes the hasty exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt—so quickly that there was not time for bread to leaven.
The Origins of Matzo Ball Soup
Without question, the most common use of matzo is in matzo ball soup, with matzo combined with eggs, chicken or beef fat, and occasional spices to form dumplings that swim in chicken bouillon. The German Knüdel, the forerunner to the matzo ball, first appeared in the late 18th and early 19th century, when dumplings were first introduced in food by chefs in Eastern Europe. The matzo ball has also been referred to alternatively as a kneidlach (plural), knaidl, kneidel, kneidl and kneidel. Historians say that German, Alsatian and Austrian Jews were among the first to make matzo balls a staple. One of the earliest recipes of matzo ball soup was published in 1846.
How to Make a Matzo Ball
The traditional matzo ball uses chicken fat, also known as schmaltz, though modern iterations are often made with vegetable oils. Margarine may be used, but butter is prohibited under the law of kashrut, with does not permit milk to be consumed together with any meat product. You’ll need eggs to hold the matzo balls together.
Start with your matzo meal (either crumbled matzo or premade matzo meal) and add any desired dry ingredients. Matzo balls often include garlic powder and onion powder and may also include parsley, dill and black pepper. Combine the oil and eggs in a bowl and gently mix until combined. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork. For the best results, place the dough in the refrigerator for an hour (you can’t do this with matzo that will be used at Passover).
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Shape the dough into 1” balls and drop the balls into the boiling water. When the balls all float in the water, reduce to simmer and cook for another 40-45 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Some Creative Uses of Matzo (Other Than in Soup)
There’s nothing in Jewish law that prohibits using matzo in other ways. Here are some of the more creative culinary creations we’ve seen using matzo:
- Matzo sweets—Top a matzo cracker with salted chocolate and toffee for a tasty snack or bake the matzo with cinnamon and brown sugar
- Matzo granola—Add nuts and other grains for delicious breakfast fare
- Matzo sandwiches—The sky’s the limit…a little pastrami on matzo or a matzo breakfast sandwich
- Matzo fried chicken—Crush the matzo and use it for the batter for the crunchiest fried chicken you ever ate
- Matzo ball potato chowder—Okay, it’s soup, but not the traditional chicken-based bowl. Add some cheese and chives and warm a winter day.
A Couple Interesting Facts about Matzo
As human beings, we just love contests. It should come as no surprise, then, that someone created an event called the World Matzoh Ball Eating Championship. The world record? Almost 79 matzo balls in less than 10 minutes. At approximately 3.5 ounces per matzo ball, that’s more than 17 pounds of matzo!
Chefs across the country have also been competing for years to see who can make the world’s largest matzo ball. The current world record, a 426-pound behemoth, used 125 pounds of matzo, more than 1,000 eggs, 20 pounds of potato starch and about 25 pounds of chicken fat.
Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit—Serving the Jewish Community for More than 125 Years
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