Mandlen

Shkedei marak ( he, שקדי מרק, lit=soup almonds), known as mandlakh () in Yiddish, or as "soup mandels" in the United States, is an Israeli cuisine, Israeli food product consisting of crisp mini crouton used as a soup accompaniment. Shkedei marak are small yellow squares made from flour and palm oil. As a parve product, they can be used in either meat or cream soups. Despite the name, they contain no almonds.

Etymology

The word ''mandlach'' is the plural diminutive of :wiktionary:mandel, ''mandel'', which means "almond" in German language, German and Yiddish. The word "shkedei" is the plural form of "shaked", which means "almond" in Hebrew language, Hebrew, and "marak" is the Hebrew word for soup.

History

Although today ''shkedei marak'' are manufactured, they are based on the homemade crispy-fried squares of dough known as ''mandlach'' traditionally served with chicken soup by Ashkenazi Jews.

Marketing

For many years Osem (company), Osem was the exclusive manufacturer of ''shkedei marak'' in Israel, but today the product is also marketed by other food companies, such as ''Vita'' and ''Knorr (brand), Knorr''. Davidovich Bakery & Sons located near Haifa also produces and packages soup almonds under a variety of brand names. Over the years, food companies have experimented with different shapes for ''shkedei marak'', including stars, rings, and little fish.Fish-shaped mini mandels
on Osem web site (type "mandel" in search field) In addition to their use in soups, ''shkedei marak'' are eaten plain as a snack food.

See also

*Israeli cuisine
*Oyster cracker
*Saltine

References

External links

Osem website

{{Jewish baked goods

Israeli cuisine
Snack foods
Israeli inventions