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ferent to try at Pesach, consider matzah
s'mores. You will need:
matzah
chocolate spread, or chocolate bar broken
into bits
marshmallows
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Place chocolate and marshmallows be-
tween two layers of matzah. Wrap in foil
and heat.
6) Do the different brands of
matzah really taste any different?
The Jewish News editorial staff sam-
pled three different brands, selected at
random, including Streit's Lightly Salted
matzah, Manischewitz American matzah
/-- and Yehuda Jerusalem matzah. Their con-
clusion: all matzah definitely is not alike.
Phil Jacobs, editor
"The Streit's is the best. The Manis-
chewitz is a little saltier, and this
Jerusalem matzah is pure, unadulterat-
ed cardboard."
Staff writer Julie Edgar
"The Manischewitz tastes like salty
cardboard. Streit's is the best."
Style Editor Carla Schwartz:
`There's nothing like shmura matzah,
but of these I like the Streit's the best. It's
a little crispier, and the salt is just right.
Horowitz-Margareten matzah is my ab-
solute favorite, though, because it's so
crispy."
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Julie Yolles:
"I like the Streit's. It's flavorful, yet not
too salty. You could eat it plain and be con-
tent. This Jerusalem matzah tastes like
cardboard on cardboard. You definitely
would need to slather on some jam."
Staff Writer Jennifer Finer
"The Streit's is the best, then the Man-
\
ischewitz. The problem with the Manis-
chewitz is that it kind of melts in your
mouth, and you should be able to chew it.
The Jerusalem matzah has no flavor at
all. Even chocolate wouldn't help."
Assistant Editor Gail Zimmerman
"I don't care for the taste of the
Jerusalem matzah, and the Manischewitz
isn't crispy enough. We're used to cooking
without salt at my house so this Streit's
castes almost too salty, but it's the best
■
of the three."
Staff Writer Ruth Littmann
"Honestly, I like the Jerusalem matzah
best. It tastes like matzah is supposed to
taste. It brings me back to the old Egypt
days when such amenities as salt and
Americana anything weren't even con-
ceivable."
Editorial Assistant Seymour
Manello
`The Jerusalem matzah is OK— rather
bland, but you can't expect a lot from
matzah. The Manischewitz tastes ex-
tremely seasoned. The Streit's is crispy
and it has some flavor, but it isn't over-
done."
Associate Editor Alan Hitsky
"Contrary to what everyone else is say-
ing, the Jerusalem matzah isn't bad. It's
very bland, but I didn't like the salt on the
other two."
Proofreader Lynne Konstantin
'The Jerusalem matzah tastes like card-
board. With the Manischewitz — I like
salt, so ifs good, but a little dry. The Stre-
it's has the salt and the crispness, so it gets
thumbs up — as far as matzah goes."
7) How can I help my child make a
beautiful cover for matzah?
Michaelyn Silverman, co-director of
Temple Emanu-El's nursery school, has
this great idea:
First, cover your work space with news-
paper as this can be a messy activity.
Take a piece of inexpensive sheet fabric,
or a pillowcase that is white and clean. Cut
from it a 14 x 14 square (use pinking shears
and the material won't fray). With an eye-
dropper, secure several drops of nontoxic
fabric dye and drop on the square to dec-
orate. Lots of colors will result in a tie-dye
design. When the dye has dried, let your
child use a black marker to draw the star
inside a cardboard tracer, and write his
name and the year at the bottom.
"Ifs nice for the child to know something
special he or she made will be at the seder
table," Mrs. Silverman said. "But one word
of caution: This is not washable, so use it
carefully."
8) What's the best way to clean up
all those matzah crumbs?
Each year after the seders, C & C Hap-
py Homes of Southfield gets to work. This
top-notch cleaning agency has numerous
Jewish clients who turn to Georgetta
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4
Crook, C & C president, in their time of
need. The problem: how to get up all those
ubiquitous matzah crumbs.
The first question is where you're going
to do your eating — and in this case the
obvious is not so obvious. The uncarpeted
floor, Ms. Crook said, is actually harder to
clean.
"On carpeting you can just vacuum
everything up, using the high speed," she
explained. Of course the taller the carpet,
the longer it will take to clean, though vac-
uuming eventually will get everything.
"Tor bare vinyl and wood floors, sweep-
ing is really the best," Ms. Crook said. "But
it can be harder to clean up because the
crumbs will spread everywhere. You just
might have to go over it a couple of times.
If all else fails, use a dust mop."
And if your children are dragging
matzah with them as they climb all over
the couches and chairs, don't fret. You'll
be able to get just about everything up with
a Dirt Devil (also used on high speed), Ms.
Crook said.
9) If matzah makes you•want to
sing,
Here, at last, is the very thing:
(Sung to the tune of "The Wheels on the
Bus")
The matzah on Pesach goes crunch,
crunch, crunch
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch,
crunch
The matzah on Pesach goes crunch,
crunch, crunch
At the seder table
10)What is gebrokt?
Gebrokt is a Yiddish word meaning
"crumbled." It's used in conjunction with
cooked dishes made with matzah; gebrokt
refers to the fact that matzah usually is bro-
ken into pieces and mixed with other in-
gredients to make a cooked dish. Some
Jews, mostly Chasidic, will not eat gebrokt
food on Pesach for fear that part of a matzah
was not baked thoroughly and could be-
come fermented when coming in contact
with a liquid, as it inevitably will in cook-
ing. This is not a halachic obligation and is
an added stricture taken on by personal
choice only or by family tradition. Some
Jews even go to such lengths as not serv-
ing beverages with any Pesach meal that
includes matzah. Since the eighth day of
Pesach is an addendum observed only in
the Diaspora, the stricture ofgebrokt does
not apply and all manner of cooked foods
prepared with matzah may be eaten.
11) If you've had enough of the
plain butter, here are some fun
ideas for matzah toppings:
• cream cheese and lox
• tomato sauce, melted cheese and
herbs (for a kind of matzah pizza)
• peanut butter and jelly
• butter and salt topped with thin, sliced
Vidalia onions
• cinnamon and sugar
• cream cheese blended with garlic,
herbs or crushed fruit
• chocolate spread, with raspberry jam
• egg salad, or plain sliced hard-boiled
eggs
• cream cheese and avocado
• chicken salad
• sliced marinated mushrooms
• sliced tomato and cheese
• cottage cheese and syrup
• sour cream and thinly sliced cucum-
ber
• a thin layer of shmaltz, topped with
salt and warmed in the oven
• sliced bananas with sour cream and
sugar
• • honey mixed with butter
12) Where in the Torah can I read
about Israelites making matzah in
the desert?
Just turn to Exodus 12:34-39.