Matzah balls ( yi, קניידלעך pl., singular ; with numerous other transliterations) or matzo balls are

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jewish soup

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fi ...

s made from a mixture of

matzah meal Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashk. matzos) is an Unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, dur ...

, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil,

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

, or chicken fat. Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup and are a staple food on the Jewish holiday of Passover, though they are not eaten during Passover by those who observe a prohibition on soaking matzah products. The texture of matzah balls may be light or dense, depending on the recipe. Matzah balls made from some recipes float in soup; others sink.

Transliterations of knaidel

Although there are official transliterations of

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

words into English by the

YIVO Institute YIVO (Yiddish: , ) is an organization that preserves, studies, and teaches the cultural history of Jewish life throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, and Russia as well as orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to Yiddish. (The word ...

, there are many non-standard transliterations. Alternate transliterations of the Yiddish term for ''matzah'' ball, in the singular, include: knaidl, knaidel, kneidl, and kneidel. Transliterations in the plural include: knaidels, knaidlach, knaidelach, kneidels, kneidlach, kneidelach, kneydls, kneydels, and kneydlach. The various transliterations of the term gave rise to minor controversy in June 2013, when it was the winning word in the

Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scri ...

. Thirteen-year-old Arvind Mahankali of New York spelled "''knaidel''" correctly in accordance with

Webster's Third New International Dictionary ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') was published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove and a team of lexicographers who spent 757 ...

, the official dictionary of the Bee, to become the champion. However, there was controversy whether that was indeed the definitive spelling of the term, with others preferring "''knaydel''", "''kneydel''", "''knadel''", or "''kneidel''". See Knödel for further information about the origin of the word and the food itself.

History

The exact origins of matzo balls – and the traditional matzo ball soup – are unknown. Some historians posit that the copious amounts of matzo meal produced during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century^{'' ncomplete thought—needs elaboration'}, others believe that Jews used the crumbs leftover from matzo baking to produce the filling additions to their soup. It is believed that Jews began placing matzo balls in their soup as

Eastern European cuisine Eastern European cuisine encompasses many different cultures, ethnicities, languages, and histories of Eastern Europe. The cuisine of the region is strongly influenced by its climate and still varies, depending on a country. For example, countr ...

began introducing dumplings in traditional foods, and Jews were adapting them to their dietary restrictions and culinary tastes. German, Austrian, and Alsatian Jews were the first to prepare matzo balls for their soup; middle eastern Jews introduced additional variations. An early recipe for matzoh ball soup, made with beef stock, is found in ''The Jewish manual, or, Practical information in Jewish and modern cookery'' (1846).

Preparation

Schmaltz (chicken fat) imparts a distinctive flavour, but many modern cooks prefer vegetable oils or margarine.Vegetarian Fatfree Passover Recipes
/ref> The use of butter, while otherwise suitable, violates the Jewish law of

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

prohibiting consumption of milk and meat products together, if the balls are eaten with chicken soup. The balls are dropped into a pot of salted boiling water or chicken soup, then the heat turned down to a simmer and a lid placed on the pot. The balls swell during the cooking time of 20 to 30 minutes. Adding kosher baking powder for lightness is permissible, even for Passover. While the recipe is simple, there are also ready matzah ball mixes, typically to be added to beaten egg.

World records

In 2008 Joey Chestnut held the world record for eating matzah balls: 78 of exactly in 8 minutes, at the Inaugural World Matzoh Ball Eating Championship, a charity event. In 2010, the world's largest matzah ball was prepared by Chef Jon Wirtis of Shlomo and Vito's New York City Delicatessen, located in Tucson, Arizona. He created a matzah ball for New York's Jewish Food Festival. The ingredients were of matzah meal, of schmaltz, over 1,000 eggs and of potato starch. This broke the previous record set by Chef Anthony Sylvestri of Noah's Ark Deli to raise awareness for a charity basketball game, which weighed and was long and was made from "1,000 eggs, 80 pounds of margarine, 200 pounds of matzah meal, and 20 pounds of chicken base".

References

External links