WASHINGTON – It’s not just a case of post-holidays blahs - American Jews faced another perennial challenge this Passover: what to do with all the leftover matzah that nobody ate.
Matzah is basically dough that is baked flat, like a large cracker but with a bland taste. Since all bread products are off-limits during Passover, matzah made with just flour and water, becomes the main ingredient in nearly every meal – matzah ball soup, garnishing for soups and salads, bookends for a sandwich, or covered with sauce and cheese for a “matzah pizza.”
Americans bought more than 8 million pounds of matzah a year in 2006, according to the R.A.B. Food Group, which owns the matzah giant Manischewitz.
But once the holiday ended Sunday night, the last thing most observant Jews wanted to do was eat more matzah. So what to do with it all the rest?
1. Get functional
A viral video called “20 Things To Do With Matzah” has some creative suggestions: make a matzah license plate for your car, make a picture frame, or use it to line the hamster cage (see it at www.matzahsong.com).
The matzah video was shot in a week earlier this year by New York filmmaker William Levin and paid for by Streit's Matzah, which saw it as a cool marketing ploy. The film made its way around the Internet and was even featured on Yahoo! Video. Other ideas from the film: “Insulate, decorate, exfoliate.”
2. Get artsy
Last year, a major matzah company teamed up with New York University to sponsor a Matzah art contest. The New York Sun documented the contest by the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life, which included dioramas, and an all-matzah rendering of Jerusalem’s Western Wall. NYU Sophomore James Donovan won first place for his scale matzah model of Washington Square Arch.
3. Get thee to a soup kitchen
This year, the Bronfman Center decided not to hold its art contest, but instead donated excess matzah to City Harvest, a “food rescue” agency that collects and redistributes left-over food. More than 50 pounds of matzah was donated, according to Melanie Meadows, a Bronfman spokeswoman.
“Usually it just sits round and nobody uses it, so we give it away,” she said.
4. Get natural
Zookeepers at Safari Zoo near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv declared they were going to remove leavened products from the diets of all their animals during the eight days of Passover. The result? Some remarkable photos of adorable orangutans climbing ropes with pieces of matzah in their mouths.
5. Get hungry
With competitive eating events on the rise, a matzah ball eating contest was inevitable. This year, Texas raised the ante and hosted the World Matzah Ball Eating Championship in Houston. Sponsored by a Jewish deli, the event was won by Joey Chestnut, who ate an incredible 78 matzah balls in eight minutes.
6. Get cooking
Matzah tends to keep a while – some people even hold their unopened kosher for Passover products in the closet for the next Passover. So there’s no reason you can’t integrate some matzah into some post-Passover dishes. Check out a recipe for caramel matzah crunch at Epicurious.com, one for Matzah kugel on the Food Network or Matzah French toast at chowhound.com.
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