Matzah balls or matzo balls are

Ashkenazi Jew Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

ish soup morsels made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil,

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), 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 Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil.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 ...

, or chicken fat. Known as knaidel in

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

( pl., singular ; with numerous other transliterations), they resemble a matzah meal version of

Knödel Knödel (; and ) or Klöße (; : ''Kloß'') are Boiling, boiled dumplings commonly found in Central European cuisine, Central European and East European cuisine. Countries in which their variant of is popular include Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, ...

, bread dumplings popular throughout Central European and East European cuisine. Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup and are a staple food on the Jewish holiday of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

. However, 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

words into English by the YIVO Institute, 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 the United States 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 often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. ...

. 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'') is an American English-language dictionary published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove a ...

, the official dictionary of the Bee, to become the champion. However, there was controversy whether that was the definitive spelling of the term, with others preferring "''knaydel''", "''kneydel''", "''knadel''" or "''kneidel''". See

knödel Knödel (; and ) or Klöße (; : ''Kloß'') are Boiling, boiled dumplings commonly found in Central European cuisine, Central European and East European cuisine. Countries in which their variant of is popular include Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, ...

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 The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

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 began introducing

dumplings Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled wi ...

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 Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

prohibiting consumption of milk and meat products together, if the balls are eaten with chicken soup. A

pareve In ''kashrut'', the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve or parve (from for "neutral"; in Hebrew , ''parveh'', or , ''stami'') is a classification of food that contains neither dairy nor meat ingredients. Food in this category includes all items tha ...

variant uses vegetable broth as the soup base. The balls are dropped into a pot of salted boiling water or 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 Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increas ...

for lightness is permissible, even for

. While the recipe is simple, there are also ready matzah ball mixes, typically to be added to beaten egg.

World records

Bowl of matzah ball soup served on Passover

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 Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. 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 Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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