Matzah ball
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Matzah balls, also known as קניידלעך kneydlach (pl.) (kneydl, singular) in Yiddish, (also kneydls, matza balls, matzoh balls, or matzo balls) are a traditional Ashkenazi (East-European Jewish) dumpling made from matzah meal (ground matzo).
Some recipes may add a number of ingredients, such as stock and seasonings (for taste) or seltzer or baking powder (for fluffiness). Traditionally, the fat had been schmaltz (chicken fat), which imparts a distinctive flavor, but vegetable oils or margarine may be used. Butter is not used as milk products are not allowed to be used in chicken (meat) soup in accordance with the rules of kashrut. There are also recipes for fat-free Matzah balls.[1]
The balls are shaped by hand and dropped into a pot of salted, boiling water or chicken soup. Keeping one's hands wet is vital when handling the sticky dough. The balls swell during the boiling time of approximately 20 minutes, and come out light or dense, depending on the precise recipe. Matzah balls are roughly spherical and can range anywhere from a couple of centimeters in diameter to the size of a large orange, depending on preference. They can be frozen and reheated in soup.
Matzah balls are usually served with chicken broth as matzah ball soup.
Matzah balls are particularly popular during Passover, when matzah meal is often used in observant Ashkenazi Jewish households as flour may not be used. (Those Ashkenazi Jews with the custom against gebrochts, however, would not eat them on Passover — see the gebrochts article for more.) They are also eaten at other times of year, especially on Shabbat, as a quintessential comfort food.
According to the IFOCE, gentile Joey Chestnut holds the world record for eating Matzo balls; he ate 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Video demo of how to make matzah balls
- Recipe for matzah ball soup
- Grandma's matzah ball and chicken soup recipe
- Matzah ball soup made with vodka and seltzer
- Cooking For Engineers: Matzo Ball Soup — traditional recipe with step-by-step photographs
- A Variety of Matzah Ball Recipes
- Basic Matzoh Ball (not soup) Recipe — traditional recipe with step-by-step photographs
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