Wise Sons, Matzo Balls, and Why This Night Is Different From All Others

Perhaps the best known of the Jewish holidays, the splendid festival known as Passover (Hebrew: Pesach)  has a rich and fascinating history. The primary observance of Passover is related to the exodus of Jews from Egypt after 400 years of slavery. The “Passover” festival is also referred to as “The Festival of Matzos” with both historical and agricultural implication.

As the families gather around the Passover table, a Haggadah (“Telling” in Hebrew) a Jewish text that sets the order of the Passover Seder (“Seder” is “order” in Hebrew), is read. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandments to each Jew to “tell your children” of the Jewish liberation from the slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah.

As the tradition goes, the answer to one of the questions (out of four) the children ask at Passover Seder, “What makes this night different from all other nights?” is “On this night we eat only Matzo.”

The grain product we eat during Passover is called Matzo (Matza in Hebrew). When Egypt’s pharaoh finally agreed, after much convincing (and 10 plagues. Remember “The Commandments” movie’s visuals?), to let Moses’ enslaved people go, the Jews left their homes so quickly — pursued by the pharaoh, who by then had changed his mind — that they didn’t have time to prepare bread for the journey. Instead, they ate an unleavened mixture of flour and water that, when baked, turned flat and hard. According to rabbinic law, once the flour is combined with water, matzo dough must be kneaded, rolled and baked within 18 minutes — otherwise it will begin to rise.

This year’s Passover begins at sundown on Monday, March 25, and for the next eight days Jewish people all over the world will remember their exodus by forgoing cakes, cookies, pasta and noodles (Oy Vey!) – anything made to rise with yeast and baking soda – in favor of the only bread product they are allowed: Matzo.

With many inventive ways to use Matzo, San Francisco’s Wise Sons Jewish Deli offers a variety of signature dishes, with the Matzo Ball Soup on its lavish menu.

Evan Bloom, the Wise Sons Delicatessen Chef and co-owner with partner Leo Beckerman, was kind enough to share with me his treasured Matzo Ball Soup recipe:

Wise Sons Matzo Ball Soup

1 cup matzo meal

4 eggs

1/8 cup schmaltz or vegetable oil

1/4 cup seltzer water

1tp salt

1/8 tp pepper

Whip the schmaltz and eggs together till smooth. Slowly mix in matzo meal, salt, and pepper until combined. Gently fold in seltzer. Refrigerate over night. Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer. Gently roll matzo balls about the size of a golf ball. Cook 30 minutes until done, can be held over night in cold, salted water.

By the way, Schmaltz is hard to find. Some grocery stores carry it, next to frozen kosher meats. You can easily make your own by asking your butcher for chicken fat. You cook this down with sliced onions and a little salt (about an onion per pound) for a few hours, then strain it. It keeps for months in the fridge. “Its all about Schmaltz,” states Mike, the restaurant’s manager and its first employee.

Be wise and don’t pass over an opportunity to pop over to the newest Wise Sons Jewish Deli, the authentic and extremely popular new addition to the hot, hot, hot culinary restaurant explosion in the Mission district. Located at 3150 24th St. in San Francisco, it opened its doors for business on February 17th, 2012.

Does it feel like there’s nothing to eat but matzo on Passover? Or no time to cook? Or simply interested to find out what this Passover and Seder food is all about? Reserve the Wise Sons Deli’s Passover 5773 dinner by calling 415-787-3354 or visit www.wisesonsdeli.com.

Fun Facts:

• In 1888, a Lithuanian immigrant named Dov Behr opened the first matzo-making factory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Behr adopted the name Manischewitz, named his factory the B. Manischewitz Company and developed an entirely automated method of matzo production. By 1920, he was the world’s largest matzo producer. The Manischewitz family sold the company in 1990 for $42.5 million; the brand is still the most popular type of matzo in the world.

• The family-run Streit’s has been operating out of the same Manhattan location since 1925. Streit’s offers every kind of matzo, from unsalted to sundried tomato, although the Passover-approved matzo— supervised by rabbis holding stopwatches to monitor the 18-minute rule—is still the most popular.

• In 1973, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan shouted, “Man, oh, Manischewitz,” the matzo company’s slogan, in the middle of his moonwalk, commenting on the “matzo-looking” surface of the moon.

• In 2008, competitive-eating champion Joey Chestnut ate 78 matzo balls in eight minutes for a $1,500 prize.

Happy Passover!

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, not the best of “balabostas” her beloved beautiful Mom, Dina, was hoping for. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out.   

 Lina Broydo