How to Make Matzo Not Taste Like Cardboard

A question that was recently asked of me by an old friend who had never really had the opportunity to eat Matzo. "How do you make matzoh not taste so much like cardboard?"

Most Jewish people I know fall into one of two groups: Group #1) They actually don't mind the taste or texture of it and will eat it straight, as my 5-year old Nephew does. Group #2) Work as hard as they can to mask or modify the bland, dry cardboard-like taste and texture. (Guess which group I fall into)

Before continuing, I feel compelled to provide a very quick history/religious lesson. Matzo is not designed to be delicious. Every Passover, Jews eat Matzo for 8 days to remember the exodus of the enslaved Jews from Egypt. In their haste to escape, there was no time to let the bread rise. There is much more to the story, but for the purposes of this post, I will focus on making modern matzo palatable.


Some simple serving suggestions:

* Spread with SOFTENED salted butter (if it's not softened, your matzoh will break into a million pieces)

* Spread with unsalted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar

* Spread with cream cheese

* Peanut butter and jelly either open-faced or as a sandwich

* Make a sandwich with turkey and mustard (or substitute favorite Kosher deli meat)

* Another favorite is Matzo Brei, which is somewhere between scrambled eggs and French Toast. Pour hot water over matzoh (1 sheet per person), let soak briefly (don't walk away). While soaking, beat 1 egg per sheet of matzo, with either cinnamon and vanilla (to make it taste like French Toast) or salt/pepper. Drain matzo well and add to egg mixture. Pour into hot, non-stick pan with a pat of butter and scramble around like you would make scrambled eggs. Popular toppings include granulated sugar, cinnamon-sugar, maple syrup or if you go the savory route, ketchup or hot sauce.

Happy Pesach!