Matzah brei ( ''matse bray'', literally 'matzah porridge'; , ''matzah brei'', or , ''matzah metugenet'', literally, "fried matzah"), sometimes spelled matzah brie, matzoh brei, or matzo brei, is a dish of

Ashkenazi 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 ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin made from

matzah Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : 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, during which ''chametz'' (lea ...

fried with

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s. It is commonly eaten as a breakfast food during 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 ...

. It can be prepared either sweet or savory.

Etymology

The

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 ...

term מצה ברײַ ''matse bray'' literally means 'matzah porridge'; ברײַ ''bray'' 'porridge' is descended from a

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

word ''brī'' of the same meaning.

History

Gil Marks Gilbert Stanley Marks (; May 30, 1952 – December 5, 2014) was an American food writer and historian noted for his reference and cookbooks on the subject of Jewish food. He was the founding editor of ''Kosher Gourmet'' magazine. He moved to Isra ...

in his ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food'' asserts that matzah brei as a fried matzah-and-egg dish originated in North America. He notes the publication of a recipe for "Fried Matzos", consisting of soaked whole matzah fried in butter or

schmaltz Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, l ...

, in ''The Jewish Manual'' (London, 1846). However, egg-based recipes began to be published in early Jewish-American cookbooks, including ''Aunt Babette's'' (1889 edition) and ''The Settlement Cook Book'' (1901). These early recipes called for whole matzahs or large, broken pieces of matzah to be dipped in beaten egg and then fried. Marks credits the development of matzah brei – in which crumbled pieces of matzah and beaten egg are combined before frying – to the influence of Eastern European Jewish immigrants to the United States. Marks adds that the introduction of machine-made matzah produced "a slightly thicker and flakier matzah than that made by hand", and is the ideal type of matzah to use for this dish.

Preparation

There are numerous ways to prepare the dish, as well as flexibility in ingredients. The basic ingredients are matzah, eggs, and a "softening" liquid for the matzah, such as hot water or

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

. Typically the dry matzah is broken into pieces, briefly softened in water or milk, mixed with beaten eggs, and fried in a skillet. The frying is done with oil or butter. Alternately, the matzah is crumbled and then combined with beaten egg. The matzah and egg mixture may be scrambled, set to cook like a

pancake A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

, or fried like a

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread from Mesoamerica originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indi ...

. Matzah brei can be made savory or sweet. Savory recipes add salt, pepper, onions, or

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

to the matzah and egg, and the mixture may be fried in

. Sweet recipes add honey, cinnamon, cheese, or fruit to the matzah and egg. The cooked dish is often topped with any of the following: jam, honey, cinnamon and sugar, syrup, applesauce, sour cream, yogurt, salt and pepper, or garlic powder. Matzah brei is commonly eaten as a breakfast food during

by Ashkenazi Jews. However, Hasidic Jews do not eat matzah brei or other cooked matzah dishes (such as

matzah ball Matzah balls or matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup morsels made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or schmaltz, chicken fat. Known as knaidel in Yiddish ( pl., singular ; with numerous other ...

s) during Passover due to the stringency against eating '' gebrochts'', matzah that has come into contact with fluids. Those who avoid eating ''gebrochts'' will eat matzah brei and other cooked matzah dishes on the eighth day of Passover outside the Land of Israel, as the eighth day is of rabbinic and not Torah origin. Matzah brei can also be made without soaking the matzah in water, instead soaking it in beaten egg and then scrambling the matzah and eggs in a frying pan.

Halachic status and blessings

According to Jewish law, one must recite the blessing '' hamotzi'' before eating bread. A halakhic question has arisen regarding ''matzah brei'' ''-'' whether it is considered bread or not. The Chazon Ish ruled that one should recite ''hamotzi'' over matzah brei, as with any other form of bread. However, the '' Aruch HaShulchan'' and Rabbi Dov Lior hold that the appropriate blessing is '' mezonot'', since the matzah is no longer considered bread due to the change in its form. Rabbi

Eliezer Melamed Eliezer Melamed (; born 28 June 1961) is an Israeli religious-Zionist rabbi, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha, the rabbi of the settlement Har Bracha, and the author of '' Peninei Halakha'', a series of '' Halakhic'' works. Biography ...

noted that there is uncertainty as to whether frying constitutes cooking (''bishul'') or baking (''afiyah''). Consequently, he rules that, ideally, matzah brei should be eaten as part of a larger meal that includes regular matzah.

References

External links

Recipe for Matzah Brei
* rabbi