Easy Matzo Ball Soup Recipe Anyone Can Make (2024)

FAQs

What is a substitute for matzo meal in matzo ball soup? ›

One acceptable substitute is almond flour. During any other time of year, crushed crackers such as saltines or oyster crackers and any breadcrumbs, including panko, can be used.

A quiet murmur: You don't have to worry too much about over-handling your matzo balls, but you should consider the vigorousness of your boil. Molly says it's incredibly important that your matzo balls cook at a simmer, because a roiling boil will be too harsh and could cause them to disintegrate.

“Well, you just stick some pieces of matzo in your food processor and pulverize them until you get them finely ground. Sort of like making your own breadcrumbs.”

Add to that the benefits of vitamins A, C, and D in the broth, the anti-inflammatory properties of the soup vegetables, and a boost of energy from the carbohydrates in the matzo balls, and you've got a recipe for feeling better!

German, Austrian, and Alsatian Jews were the first to prepare matzo balls for their soup; middle eastern Jews introduced additional variations. An early recipe for matzoh ball soup, made with beef stock, is found in The Jewish manual, or, Practical information in Jewish and modern cookery (1846).

Matzo meal is ground matzo. It's slightly coarse, like the texture of breadcrumbs, and is essential to making matzo balls. Matzo ball mix is basically seasoned matzo meal. Matzo cake meal is finely ground matzo and has a similar consistency to flour.

Much of the food is deeply symbolic. Matzo represents the unleavened bread the Jews ate while fleeing Egypt, for example, and horseradish is a symbol for the bitterness of slavery.

There is a great matzah ball debate – some people prefer airy, softy and fluffy matzo balls that bob on the surface while they cook, “floaters;” some prefer dense, richer ones with a toothsome quality that sink to the bottom of the pot, “sinkers.”

We give you the choice: Using schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) produces the most flavorful matzo balls, while vegetable or canola oil offer convenience. Optional seltzer helps to aerate the matzo balls so that they're light and tender, while optional baking powder allows you to make insanely light and fluffy ones.

Can matzo ball mix go bad? ›

A: Is your mix still in the box. Expiration date on bottom of box. If less than 9 months on your shelf, should be ok.

If a recipe calls for schmaltz and you don't have any, you can substitute melted butter, ghee, or your choice of cooking oil. You may miss the full-flavored goodness of schmaltz, but you can easily substitute any cooking fat in its place.

The extra level of scrutiny — and the labor-intensive process required to make handcrafted matzah — is largely what accounts for its high price: anywhere from $20 to $60 for a single pound.

The flour must be ground from one of the five grains specified in Jewish law for Passover matzah: wheat, barley, spelt, rye or oat. Per Ashkenazic tradition, matzah made with wine, fruit juice, onion, garlic, etc., is not acceptable for use at any time during the Passover festival except by the elderly or unwell.

The manner of rolling the matzo ball mixture influences the consistency. I've found the matzo balls are denser when, after being rolled into balls, they are chilled again for a few minutes. Lastly, the matzo meal itself can make a difference. Be sure to use unsalted meal in the recipe below, not ``matzo ball mix.

But while its history is both ancient and fascinating, its ingredients are deceptively simple: Matzo balls consist of ground matzo meal mixed with eggs, water and fat or oil.