Matzah Wars
This week marks the celebration of Passover, the Jewish festival of unleavened bread. For eight days, Jews are forbidden to eat any "chametz": grain products that contain leavening such as yeast or baking powder. The dietary laws also reflect an understanding that a natural fermentation process occurs within 18 minutes after water comes into contact with the flour of wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye, which can result in a leavening effect. Thus, no food made from these grains is kosher for Passover unless it is baked dry within 18 minutes of the addition of water to grain. During the week of Passover, therefore, Jews forgo normal bread in favor of matzah (also spelled matzo), a flat, crunchy wafer.
Matzah may be the least palatable food ever devised by man. But for a week, we must eat it, or tempt the wrath of God. So I've taken it upon myself to find the least offensive matzah on the market today. I've collected all the varieties of matzah I could find in various supermarkets (21 total) and conducted a taste test to identify the tastiest matzah of them all. (That's Frost Street: Eating all the crap so you don't have to). Before getting into the tasting notes, I should explain the categories of matzah listed below. If you lack patience for all this detail, you can skip right to my recommendations.
Traditional Matzah: This is your garden-variety bread of haste, made from special Passover wheat flour and water (more on what makes the flour special in a second). Sometimes egg is added for flavor and body. The point is that these matzahs are perfectly suitable for the Passover table, and are mass produced so as to be widely available.
Shmura Matzah: This is the pascal equivalent of artisinal bread. The word "shmura" means "watched", a reference to the requirement that a rabbi watch every stage of production, from the harvesting of the wheat, through its threshing and milling, on to mixing and baking, to ensure that no water is introduced before its proper time. Shmura matzah is made in small batches, often of whole grain flour, and typically in hand-formed round wafers (distinguishable from the square shape of mass-produced varieties). Most shmura matzah is made in areas with large Jewish populations, and sold to the local community (the most notable exception being shmura matza made in Israel for sale in the United States). I have included in my tasting only one example of shmura matzah, found in a grocery store.
Designer Matzah: Much of the matzah on the market today is not kosher for Passover. Nine of the 21 matzahs I found fell into this category (six of them carrying the Manischewitz name). These matzahs usually contain added flavors -- some of them are even flavored with malt, a definite Passover no-no due to the fermentation taboo. No observant Jew may eat these products during Passover, and no rational creature would eat them if not compelled by religion or starvation to do so. Their raison d'être escapes me, but my guess is that there are many Jews who like to obey religious imperatives in spirit rather than in letter, so I have evaluated them all the same.
Traditional Matzah
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Streit's This is the grand old matzah of the Lower East Side, manufactured here by five generations of the Streit family for almost a century. Light and neutral in flavor, not too brittle nor too grainy in texture, this is the benchmark against which I'll judge all the other traditional matzahs. |
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Manischewitz Sodium Free Manischewitz (pronounced man-uh-SHEV-its) is the Wonder Bread of matzah. You can find it just about anywhere matzah is sold. I was unable to find a kosher-for-Passover Manischewitz matzah that had any sodium; presumably this is the standard product. It is a bit darker than Streit's, with a more burnt, carbony flavor. Some may find this to be a welcome alternative to the utter blandness of other matzahs; I do not. There is also a faint musty aftertaste to the Manischewitz; this may be a result of improper storage, but improper storage may be an inevitable consequence of Manischewitz's massive volume. This comes in a bigger box (16 oz. instead of 10 oz. for most other matzahs). |
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Manischewitz Thin Unsalted This is just Manischewitz Sodium Free in a different box. Any difference in thickness or weight is too slight to be detected by my household instruments, although the thin matzahs are about 3 millimeters shorter in both length and width than the regular Manischewitz. This being the case, you'd be a fool to buy the regular Manischewitz over the thin kind; the latter seems to give you more matzahs per ounce at no added cost (compare the costs at your local matzah-monger). |
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Manischewitz Thin Tea Matzos Again: new box, same old matzah. The burnt flavor is a bit less prominent here, but maybe that's just because I'm getting used to it. There is one less matzah in this 10-oz. box than in the Thin Unsalted 10-oz. box. |
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Yehuda This one's made in Israel, and cheaper than the Manischewitz clones. It has a slightly more toasty flavor than Streit's, and isn't as light, but is more pleasant than the brittle char of Manischewitz. A good value. |
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Horowitz Margareten This brand is actually made by Manischewitz, but marketed under a different brand name (I can only imagine the tales of corporate intrigue in the matzah industry that led to this arrangement). This matzah is palpably thicker and denser than the other traditional matzahs, but has an even more insipid taste: utterly lacking in any wheat flavor, devoid of toasty notes, with a faint wood-pulp aftertaste: it's like a piece of cardboard. |
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Rakusen's This matzah is noticeably thinner than the other traditional matzahs, but its flavor is inconsistent. Some pieces have appreciable char on them, and others are practically blond. The flavor varies accordingly, from charcoal overtones to a Streit's-like neutrality. One thing to notice: The perforations on this matzah are more evenly spaced than on other matzahs, making it easier to control how they break (or come apart if moistened for a recipe). These matzahs are also smaller than the other brands, resulting in more matzahs per box. |
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Goodman's This matzah is distributed, but apparently not manufactured, by Manischewitz (more corporate matzah intrigue). It's texture is very similar to that of Manischewitz: dry, flaky, and brittle. The flavor is more neutral: no strong carbon notes, no pronounced wheat flavor. It's like eating crunchy, mouth-drying air. |
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Manischewitz Egg Matzos Finally: taste! Egg matzah usually has some egg yolk powder added to it to add body and flavor. The rabbis seem to think that this is OK, since the egg matzahs I found all bear "Kosher for Passover" seals of approval. Purists might flinch, but I say bring it on. This matzah is smoother and sweeter than the eggless varieties, and dries the mouth less. It tastes almost malty, although there is no malt in it. |
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Streit's Egg Matzos The sweet smoothness of egg yolk is less pronounced in Streit's offering than in Manischewitz's, and the texture is drier. I think I prefer Streit's un-egged matzah to this one; it tastes more like what it's supposed to be. |
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Horowitz Margareten Egg Matzohs I can detect no egg flavor in this. The egg seems to have drawn Horowitz out of the realm of cardboard and into the domain of un-egged matzahs. And it's more mouth-drying than the other un-egged matzahs, to say nothing of the egg varieties. This matzah is a waste of eggs. |
Shmura Matzah
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Manischewitz Matzo Schmura I've tasted hand-made shmura matzah from Israel, Brooklyn, and Silver Spring, Maryland. This is not shmura matzah. Shmura matzah is usually about as thin as a CD, blackened and charred in an irregular pattern, with a hearty flavor of whole wheat and a dense texture. Manischewitz may have complied with the religious regulations governing shmura matzah, but its product is like a whole-wheat version of its standard offering. There is a hint of bran flavor, and the matzahs appear speckled with whole-wheat confetti, but the texture is still dry and flaky, the aftertaste still faintly musty. This one isn't worth the extra money. |
Designer Matzah
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Manischewitz Unsalted This matzah is made with enriched wheat flour rather than special passover flour, it is therefore not kosher for passover. But that doesn't mean they went to any trouble to make it pleasant. To my palate it's identical to the kosher Manischewitz varieties. The only distinction I can note is that this matzah tastes faintly bitter, but that may just be a reflection of my displeasure at having bought four different boxes of the same damn thing. |
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Geffen Traditional Like the previous entry, this is made with enriched wheat flour rather than special passover flour. It has a faint buttery taste up front, which gives way to a funky aftertaste. It has a good balance of toasty flavor, and is not overly brittle. If this was kosher for Passover, I might consider using it at a Seder. |
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Geffen Whole Wheat This matzah is shot through with spots of wheat bran; it looks like a redhead at the beach. But this wheat lacks any redeeming qualities: it's harsh, moldy-tasting, and undercooked. The texture is the matzah equivalent of a rubber tire: dense but not crunchy or brittle, essentially leaden. |
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Manischewitz Thin Salted This is bizzare. This matzah does not have salt mixed into the dough; the salt is sprinkled on top. Every once in a while you get a grain of salt which wakes up the flavor of the wheat inside, but most of the salt just gets brushed off and sits in the bottom of the box. The salt does add a dimension to the flavor of matzah, and this one is less charred and musty than the other Manischewitz varieties. But you could achieve the same effect by brushing the regular matzah with a little water and sprinkling it with salt. |
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Manischewitz Saltine Wow, this tastes kinda like saltines! You know why? It has malt, shortening, and YEAST!!! The most unholy thing you can eat during Passover, and Manischewitz markets it in a matzah. Shandeh! Plus, it's not even a good saltine - not flaky enough, not salty enough, not enough shortening. Double shandeh! |
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Manischewitz Savory Garlic Basically the same concept as the Manischewitz Thin Salted, but with garlic salt. Quite a bit of it actually. There's a kitcschy cheap-pizza-parlor appeal to this one, but it's basically the same old dreary Manischewitz matzah. The raw garlic flavor actually accentuates the musty aftertaste, which is bad enough as it is. I guess this might make an interesting matzah pizza. | |
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Manischewitz Egg & Onion Okay, now we're talking. This has egg yolk powder, onion powder, and salt in it. This is a cracker I might actually eat outside of Passover. The salt brings out the richness of egg and the sweet, smoky flavor of cooked onions. And because there's egg in the mix, this isn't nearly as dry, brittle, or mouth-drying as the other traif matzahs. | |
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Manischewitz Everything An unleavened homage to the everything bagel. It contains garlic powder, onion powder, poppy seeds, and salt. It also contains malt: a necessity to simulate the flavor of a bagel, but nonetheless a sin during Passover. However, it does not contain egg, so it is as brittle and mouth-drying as any other Manischewitz matzah. The poppy seeds add little, and the garlic and onion do not get along well. The salt tries to bring them together, but only ends up overpowering them both. Finally, the texture is denser and less flaky than other Manischewitz matzahs. |
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Manischewitz Apple Cinnamon This one's a little peculiar. Apple juice is used instead of water to mix the dough, which is further sweetened with brown and white sugar and flavored with cinnamon. The first thing you taste when you eat this matzah is -- matzah. Bland, undercooked wheat. Then a wave of sweetness and stale cinnamon washes over you. When that passes, the aftertaste remains musty like all Manischewitz matzah, but this flavor is accentuated by the absence of the powerful hit of sweetness. I imagine you would have a similar experience if you emptied a bag of Quaker Instant Apples & Cinnamon oatmeal into your mouth. |
Frost Street's Picks
So which is the one matzah to rule them all? Well, in my book, these are the winners by category:
- Traditional Matzah (no egg): Yehuda/Streit's (tie)
- Traditional Matzah (with egg): Manischewitz Egg Matzos
- Shmura Matzah: Anything But Manischewitz
- Designer Matzah: Manischewitz Egg & Onion
Happy Passover all. I'll be posting some matzah recipes over the next couple of days, until I have to get into Easter mode for Lisa.
Comments
Wow. This is impressive. I can't believe you sampled all of these! I also noticed that the Horowitz Margareten brand is owned by Manischewitz. Do you think there are actually different target markets for each? Very strange.
Posted by: Josh | April 7, 2004 12:47 PM
Apparently Manischewitz acquired Horowitz in 1984, just a few years before the Manischewitz family relinquished their control of the business. (See this timeline for more information). Horowitz appears to have been a serious competitor of Manischewitz for a long time (Horowitz is the older company by a few years), but its matriarch passed away in 1959 after being involved in the business for 75 years; from then on it was probably just a matter of time until her descendants sold off their stake.
Posted by: Jeremy | April 7, 2004 02:30 PM
Thanks so much for the review, it is the most concise one I have ever seen. Your blog is a delight and always a bright spot of learning and fun in my day. My hectic schedule only allows me time for two blogs and you are always first followed by Chocolate and Zucchini.
Posted by: Pat | April 8, 2004 12:56 AM
hey jeremy, have you ever been down to the streit's factory on rivington street? you can actually look through a huge window and watch the matzahs being made, baking on a conveyor belt contaption!
Posted by: Dave R. | April 11, 2004 07:27 PM
I haven't been down there (it's about as far from my apartment as you can get without leaving Manhattan), I have been to a shmura matzah factory though. Those guys are playing beat the clock with every single piece of matzah they make. It's pretty impressive, particularly considering they do everything by hand under the watchful eyes of the rabbis.
Posted by: Jeremy | April 11, 2004 08:24 PM
Hey Jeremy, How do you feel about all the many different spellings that people have for the traditional unleavened bread that comes in a box? I've seen it as matzo, matzoh, matzah, and even as matza! Do you feel as I do that we should agree all over the world to use one spelling in English? I once had a friend named Adam Matza, and I always wondered if it bothered him that his name was misspelled! As a lawyer, what is your honest opinion on this crazy issue?
Posted by: Dave R. | April 14, 2004 06:34 PM
The Hebrew word for matzah consists of three consonants: m-tz-h. The "h" is silent because it comes at the end of the word, but I think it belongs in any transliteration. As for the second vowel, it's largely a matter of dialect, and the transliteration is complicated by the fact that the stress in Hebrew is on the second syllable, whereas most English speakers stress the first syllable. In the English pronunciation the spelling is largely a matter of indifference, since either spelling will result in a schwa sound on the second unstressed syllable. Most sephardic (i.e., Spanish, North African, or Middle Eastern) Jews (like my family) will pronounce it "ah" as in "father". There are some northern European ashkenazi dialects that pronounce it "aw" as in "saw", which probably explains the "matzo" and "matzoh" spellings. I spell it "matzah" because I think it's most faithful to the Hebrew, but there are those (mostly of German or Eastern European origin) who would disagree with me.
Posted by: Jeremy | April 14, 2004 10:54 PM
I am looking for a tour of a matzah factory for kids in our Sunday school. Is there one you could recommend either in NYC or NJ?
Please reply.
A.
Posted by: A. | September 14, 2004 08:53 PM
My grandmother was adopted by Rabbi Dov Manischewitz when she fled her native Russia in the early 1900's, her name was Dora. Are there any photographs of the Manischewitz family, is there a historian that could corroborate the family connection? Andrew Singer
Posted by: Andrew Singer | January 9, 2005 09:13 AM
I am looking for a tour of a matzah factory and a shurah matza factory tour in N.Y can you please recommended one . thank you
Posted by: ellenbusby | February 16, 2005 08:34 AM
My great grandfather was actually one of the founders of the Horowitz Margareten Matzoh company so I was pleased to find that it made it into your taste test, even if it didn't score well in the smackdown.
Though it's no longer owned by my family, I like to buy H-M matzoh each year but cannot always find it -- even in NYC. Do you know where I can get it on the UWS? Thanks.
Posted by: ellen | April 15, 2005 10:04 PM