a word which has now entered the English language from the Hebrew matzah (plural matzos or matzot), refers to the Jewish unleavened Passover ‘bread’, which is like a large oblong water biscuit.
To Jews, these are invested with special significance, and are the only flour products allowed at Passover (Pesach). The matzos are baked in memory of the flight of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12):
And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
In the same chapter, the Lord instructs Moses that Passover should be commemorated with special foods, including: ‘Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.’
Thus matzos play a special role in the ceremonial, symbol-laden Passover meal, or Seder. Before Passover, the whole house is cleared of any trace of chametz, leavened food, even the crumbs being swept up by the father and children, armed with a candle and goosefeather. When the house has been declared clean, blessings are called upon it. Three matzos are set out on the Seder table, concealed in the folds of a linen napkin or in a special matzah dekke. They represent the three hereditary ‘orders’ into which Jews are still divided: the Kohanim (the priests), the Levites (their assistants), and the Israelites, the remainder. Nothing more should be eaten after the afikoman (the last piece of matzo) has been consumed.
Evelyn Rose (1985) says that the flour used is:
very special flour whose production has been strictly supervised—in the case of the special ‘Shemura’ matzot eaten by very Orthodox Jews, from the moment that the sheaves of wheat are gathered in the field. This is to ensure that at no stage can either the grain or the flour become damp and ferment, causing the dough to rise and thus leavening the bread—which is, of course, strictly forbidden. For the same reason, once the water has been mixed with the flour to make the dough, no longer than 18 minutes must elapse before the baked matzot are brought out of the oven.
Matzos are also used as an ingredient, in the form of ‘matzo meal’, crumbled matzos. They are used as a thickener in Jewish cookery much as breadcrumbs are elsewhere; and are also made into dumplings to serve in broth or soup (kneidlach, or ‘matzo balls’). Soaked, squeezed matzos serve as a basis for puddings, mixed with eggs and dried fruit and baked or made into fritters.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Rose, Evelyn (1985), The New Jewish Cuisine, London: Robson.
