What Bread Is Served in the Jewish Passover Meal?
The Jewish holiday of Passover strictly prohibits the consumption of any bread products except the special unleavened version known as matzah. Passover commemorates the exile of the Jewish people from Egypt, ending their period of enslavement by the Egyptian Pharaoh. It lasts for eight days, starting and ending at sundown, at which no leavened bread may be eaten. Only unleavened bread is eaten because when the Jews were told to leave Egypt, they were in such a rush that they grabbed their dough and put it into their packs. In the heat of the desert, the dough baked into a flat and crispy bread because it had not been allowed to rise like normal bread dough. To symbolize this urgency, Jewish people eat only matzah on Passover. Does this Spark an idea?
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Matzah
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Matzah is large, flat and crispy -- it most commonly resembles a dry cracker. Matzah must be kosher for Passover if it is to be consumed during the holiday. Kosher refers to the dietary laws that many Jewish people follow year-round and is symbolized by a specific mark on any packaged food item. In order for a food to be specifically kosher for Passover, it must not come in contact with any leavened products, such as bread, crackers, pretzels, cereals and baked goods. It must also be produced in a facility that has been thoroughly cleaned to ensure that there are no chametz present. "Chametz" is the Hebrew word for any food made from wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt and is leavened.
Making Matzah
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In order for matzah to be kosher for Passover, it must contain only flour and water. It is not allowed to have any other ingredients, such as oil, honey or other sweeteners or preservatives. Because matzah is made from flour, it must not rise and must be baked immediately after mixing the flour and water together. Baking time may not exceed 18 minutes or the matzah is considered "chametz" because it will be leavened.
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Passover Meal
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During the Passover meal, matzah must be eaten three times to fulfill the requirements of Jewish law: once by itself, once as a sandwich with horseradish and charoset (a dish made of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon), and lastly, a piece of the hidden matzah, or "afikomen," is given to each person at the table.
Passover Days
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For the remaining six days of Passover, one may eat matzah as little or as often as they would like. For breakfast, many people make a dish called matzah brei (pronounced br-eye) that consists of broken-up matzah soaked in beaten egg. Both are poured into a hot skillet and scrambled, just like scrambled eggs. This is served with jelly, ketchup or by itself. Matzah is used to replace the bread in a sandwich and as well as the noodles in a traditional Jewish kugel. Kugel is a baked dish typically made by mixing beaten eggs, egg noodles and either fruit and juice or cottage cheese, cream cheese and/or sour cream. For Passover, the noodles are replaced with broken matzah.
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References
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