### Author:  [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/21 "2009-10-25T05:09:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> It doesn’t apply to me, but it’s conceivable I’ll have someone over for dinner sometime to which the laws do apply. I’d hate to make the mistake of making fried chicken.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Anyone who is really serious about kashrut would, frankly, not eat at your house anyway, because you don’t have a kosher kitchen. Someone of a lower level of observance would probably either a. not care or b. let you know what they can and can’t eat ahead of time.
---
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/22 "2009-10-25T17:35:59Z")
mmmm, i think i need to make matzoh brei soon …
---
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/23 "2009-10-25T17:37:58Z")
> [@Kyla](#):
>
> Butter is dairy and chicken is meat. It is not kosher to mix dairy and meat products.
and as I keep telling jewish buddies of mine when teasing them
You can NOT seeth a chicken in its mothers millk …
\
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/24 "2009-10-25T17:40:17Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> That would work. I have matzo meal and access to an onion. Do you have her recipe?
>
> One reason I suspect some Jewish recipes are, um, less than flavorful is the same reason a former boss of mine, a Catholic born in Bavaria, was the cheapest mo-fo I ever knew: It’s not because they are Jewish, but because they are German. 😉
Sorry, I have eaten more than my share of german cooking, and it is quite flavorful. Your former boss being cheap and a crappy cook is not indicative of any bavarian I happen to know.
---
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/25 "2009-10-25T17:47:12Z")
> [@Kyla](#):
>
> I wouldn’t worry about it. Anyone who is really serious about kashrut would, frankly, not eat at your house anyway, because you don’t have a kosher kitchen. Someone of a lower level of observance would probably either a. not care or b. let you know what they can and can’t eat ahead of time.
i have a friend who will eat at mine … I have a kosher box … everything in it is used only to make my killer vegan minestrone, down to the can opener, cutting board, knife, ladle, pot, 4 soup bowls, spoons, dishpan and sponge. About the only stuff that gets used that isnt in the box is the water faucet and ingredients [and I tend to buy basic beans, noodles and herbs that are kosher as the quality is better much of the time] from the veggie bins at the grocery store. The contents get washed up immediately and separately from my regular stuff.
I carry it to Pennsic also, in case we have vegans or jewish guests that dont want to risk coming into contact with animal products of any sort. Common courtesy, like also keeping some gluten free stuff, and seafood free stuff when you know you may have guests with sensitivities or allergies.
---
### Author:  [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/26 "2009-10-25T20:25:01Z")
> [@aruvqan](#):
>
> i have a friend who will eat at mine … I have a kosher box … everything in it is used only to make my killer vegan minestrone, down to the can opener, cutting board, knife, ladle, pot, 4 soup bowls, spoons, dishpan and sponge. About the only stuff that gets used that isnt in the box is the water faucet and ingredients [and I tend to buy basic beans, noodles and herbs that are kosher as the quality is better much of the time] from the veggie bins at the grocery store. The contents get washed up immediately and separately from my regular stuff.
That’s nice of you to do that because it goes WAY above the call of duty, but you’d probably still get a polite refusal from an Orthodox or Conservative rabbi, should you invite him or her to dinner, even if you explained this system.
---
### Author:  [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/27 "2009-10-25T21:49:19Z")
Canned matzoh balls, like packaged tortillas and frozen potato pancakes, taste so different from homemade from scratch that they might as well be different foods.
**Matzoh Balls**
Separate 4 eggs. Add 3 oz. oil to the yolks, and beat until well blended. Add 1 cup hot chicken stock (boullion cubes are fine), and beat well. Mix 1½ cups matzoh meal with 1 tsp salt, and fold into the batter. Beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold them in too. Chill for 30 min. Wet hands with cold water and shape into small balls. Simmer matzoh balls in soup for 20-25 min.
Now isn’t that better than abusing your taste buds? People will stop you in the street and praise your delicious matzoh balls.
---
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/28 "2009-10-25T22:22:39Z")
> [@coffeecat](#):
>
> Separate 4 eggs.
By how far? 😕😃
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a matzo ball. I know I had matzo at **Shayna** ’s more than once, but IIRC those were wafers. If I did have a matzo ball, it would was there.
Are matzo balls always eaten in soup? How different are they from dumplings?
---
### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/29 "2009-10-25T22:34:14Z")
They are a kind of dumpling.
Matzos (the “wafers”) are made from a simple paste of flour and water (no leavening agents – this is the “unleavened bread” from the Bible) which is rolled flat and baked into crackers. If you grind up the matzos, you get matzo meal. Matzo balls are made from matzo meal.
---
### Author:  [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/30 "2009-10-25T22:44:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> I don’t know much about dietary laws. I thought the prohibition was something along the lines of ‘not mixing the milk of the mother with the child’. Or something like that.
According to a [Jewish cookbook](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Jewish-Food-Odyssey-Samarkand/dp/0140466096) I once read, at least one of the Jewish communities in India takes that verse fairly literally. They allow combinations of meat and dairy so long as the two animals aren’t from the same matrilineage.
I never remember to have matzo meal around so when I really want dumpling soup, so I rinse the salt off of saltines and mash them up with an egg to make the dumpling dough. It tastes pretty damn good for what it is, but it’s inauthentic and lacks schmaltz.
---
### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/31 "2009-10-25T22:45:59Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#):
>
> They are a kind of dumpling.
>
> Matzos (the “wafers”) are made from a simple paste of flour and water (no leavening agents – this is the “unleavened bread” from the Bible) which is rolled flat and baked into crackers. If you grind up the matzos, you get matzo meal. Matzo balls are made from matzo meal.
or you cheat and buy the box of matzoh meal =)
---
### Author:  [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/32 "2009-10-25T22:48:20Z")
> [@Kyla](#):
>
> The separation of dairy and meat products is what makes keeping kosher so difficult for Jews outside of Israel or very Jewish communities outside of Israel. Depending on how observant you are, you may not even want to eat at a restaurant that serves both meat and dairy products, even if a meal can be prepared for just one or the other. In Israel, a kosher restaurant will be either kosher meat or kosher dairy. (Kosher pareve places exist, but are rare…fish is considered pareve, btw.) There are varying levels of observance and strictness and kashrut certifications from different rabbinates. Different traditions and even just different individuals have different standards of how long to go between eating meat products and eating dairy products. A four hour time lag between one or the other would be normal, but I’ve heard of people doing both less and more.
>
> Wow, I really went on. That’s only the basics, too. I’ll stop now.
Most kosher restaurants near me are either meat or dairy. Let’s see, there’s this one vegetarian Chinese place we go to, but other than that, I can’t think of any pareve ones. Actually, there’s a husband-wife team who own a dairy and a meat restaurant right across the street from each other. And there’s an Italian place that used to be dairy, then they decided there was too much competition or something and they switched to meat.
Back to the topic… my mom makes matza balls for the Passover seder. We really don’t have them the rest of the year; I guess all the matza unearths a subliminal craving or something. They’re pretty good, nice and dense.
On the other hand, the matza balls in [Tabatchnik frozen soup](http://www.tabatchnick.com/chicken_noodle.htm) are terrible. If you must get a Tabatchnik chicken soup, get the kind that just comes withn noodles.
---
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/33 "2009-10-25T22:49:32Z")
> [@Leiko](#):
>
> and lacks schmaltz.
Speaking of schmaltz, when I made chicken stock I skimmed off the fat and put it in the freezer. Aside from using it to make matzo balls, what can I use it for? (Not necessarily Jewish cooking; just in general.)
---
### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/34 "2009-10-25T23:23:15Z")
“… but what do they do with the rest of the matzo?”
- Marilyn Monroe, at her first exposure to Jewish cooking…
---
### Author:  [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/35 "2009-10-25T23:39:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Speaking of schmaltz, when I made chicken stock I skimmed off the fat and put it in the freezer. Aside from using it to make matzo balls, what can I use it for? (Not necessarily Jewish cooking; just in general.)
Roasted potatoes maybe? They’re good in duck and goose fat, so I think chicken fat should work as well. And if you’re making soup with your stock, you might find at the end that you want a little bit of fat for the mouth feel- it depends on how much collagen is in the broth and what meat and veg went into the soup.
---
### Author:  [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/36 "2009-10-25T23:54:42Z")
Well, here’s the recipe I use - I got it off the internet somewhere. Feel free to get creative with it.
mix:
1/4 c water
1/4 c oil (or schmaltz)
3/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
add to liquids:
3/4 c matza meal
mix until everything is combined and let chill in fridge for 1-2 hrs.
Once chilling is done, put a pot of water on the stove to boil (I always add a little salt). Once it’s at a rolling boil, take approx 1 tbsp of matza ball mixture, form it into a ball by hand and drop it in the water. Repeat until the entire mixture is used. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hr.
You can add parsley, dill, pepper, boiled carrot, whatever floats your boat to the initial mix before chilling.
---
### Author:  [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/37 "2009-10-27T03:24:32Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#):
>
> Most kosher restaurants near me are either meat or dairy. Let’s see, there’s this one vegetarian Chinese place we go to, but other than that, I can’t think of any pareve ones.
I went to a pareve cafe in Jerusalem once. It was odd. I had never heard of such a thing and it’s the only one I’ve ever seen, but I have to assume it’s not the only one in the whole world.
---
### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/38 "2009-10-27T03:52:25Z")
Don’t forget the key to light fluffy matzo balls - give them plenty of space in the pot to expand. And a good boil. Too crowded and you get matzo balls that will get moons to orbit around them.
Story about schmaltz, back in the day of “The Frugal Gourmet” who had Yitzkak Perlman as a “Guest chef” demonstrating some traditional Jewish recipe:
“Then you take about half a cup of schmaltz …”
“What’s schmaltz?”
“Left over chicken fat. So you take the schmaltz and …”
“Our heart conscious viewers could substitute vegetable oil or margarine, right?”
“Yeah, you could do that, but it wouldn’t taste right. Look, you eat this once a year, use the damn schmaltz!”
---
### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/39 "2009-10-27T04:12:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Speaking of schmaltz, when I made chicken stock I skimmed off the fat and put it in the freezer. Aside from using it to make matzo balls, what can I use it for? (Not necessarily Jewish cooking; just in general.)
Fry onions in them. This is especially good for any stew recipe. (I keep a jar of various fats for this purpose–it usually ends up being a mix of pork and chicken fat. I don’t bother freezing. It can last a month or two before it even starts to go rancid.) Or spread it on rye bread, top with raw onions and salt, eat (OK, maybe not to everyone’s taste, but I like it.) Pretty much anywhere you would use lard or oil for cooking, you can use the chicken fat.
---
### Author:  [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018/40 "2009-10-27T14:51:46Z")
I don’t have my grandmother’s exact matzo ball recipe, but I am told she swears by a) separating the eggs and beating the egg whites; and b) adding a pinch of nutmeg. And Grandmom is a FABULOUS cook, so I always listen to her when it comes to food.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018.md?page=1)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmmmmmmmmm-matzo-balls/515018.md?page=3)