Appears in
The Gefilte Variations

By Jayne Cohen

Published 2000

  • About

(For a fuller discussion of matzoh, other varieties around the world, and more ways to use it, including as a flavored, toasted flatbread, see “Passover,”, and Toasted Za’atar Matzohs.)

The regular matzoh that Jews are commanded to eat on Passover instead of bread is a thin, crisp cracker made simply of wheat flour (there is a special ritually prepared oat variety for those who are wheat-intolerant) and water—no yeast or other leavening and no salt. To prevent fermentation, the entire preparation, from mixing flour and water to baking the matzoh, should take no more than eighteen minutes. According to Eve Jochnowitz, a culinary historian who has done extensive research on the subject, matzoh is currently sold in many supermarkets in Poland—despite the fact that few Jews have remained there since the Holocaust. The Jewish cracker is marketed there as a pure and wholesome health and diet food for everyone.