Wheat and barley are two of the seven agricultural species known as the ‘first fruits’ clearly specified within the Old Testament as the crops of the ancient biblical landscape. “A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.” Deuteronomy 8.7-8.
All seven species were considered so symbolic of the Promised Land that the first yield of the annual harvest of each of these first fruits became the only acceptable offerings to the Priests, in both the 1st and 2nd Temples of Jerusalem.
Barley was a prolific and robust crop, grown extensively across the Near East. Despite its rich nutritional content, barley was considered grossly inferior to wheat and termed the ‘poor man’s grain’. Although both Spring crops, barley was more adaptable to the cooler winter climate and ripened earlier that wheat, with harvesting of the barley traditionally coinciding with the Passover, and the Israelites hurried exodus from Egypt.
Tomorrow evening sees the start of this year’s Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, celebrated for seven days by the eating of ‘matzah’. The unleavened cracker signifies the haste in which the Israelites left Egypt, departing before their bread had enough time to leaven. The Hebrew word for leaven is ‘chametz’ which is forbidden to be eaten throughout the festival. So let me explain ‘chametz’ to you…
Chametz comes from five specific types of grain and cereal. Wheat, barley, rye, spelt and oats which when mixed with water, is left to naturally ferment and leaven from the high levels of the gluten protein in these grains, and support the dough whilst rising. Although it is widely believed that oats are gluten free, oats remain prohibited during the Passover, as the Ashkenazi Jews believed that there was a strong agricultural susceptibility of cross contamination when harvesting the wheat, barley and rye, due the close proximity of the plants in the fields. Oats also contain a protein strain similar to gluten, called avenin, which can trigger the same response as gluten when mixed with water.
It is customary not only to refrain from eating anything containing these grains or cereals, including beer and liquors, unless they are fermented using potatoes or sugar cane, but to search rigorously by candlelight the night before the Passover, for any traces of 'chametz’ within the house, which must then be burned, before the festival begins at sundown. In some communities, the rabbi is permitted to take any remaining products and sell them to non- Jews, with the proceeds going to charity.
Paradoxically, matzah also known as the ‘bread of affliction’, can only be made out of the same five grains that are prohibited, wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oats, in order to be considered kosher for the Passover. It is only permissible due to the scrupulous preparation and cooking of the matzah dough, which cannot take more than 18 minutes from mixing the flour with the water to removing the baked unleavened matzah from the oven. It is within this specified time that the process of natural fermentation is prevented from taking place.
For centuries, matzah was handmade by the women of the Jewish communities, traditionally in rounds. During the late 1800’s, matzah began to be commercially produced in machines, which changed its shape to squares.
Matzah is also ground very finely and sold as matzah meal, a binding agent and flour for cakes.
The Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, also abstain from eating other grains, cereals and legumes, known as ‘kitniyot’. These can include rice, lentils, pulses and corn as well as some seeds, including sunflower seeds, despite there being no direct dietary law concerning these products, within the scriptures. The main reason for the Ashkenazim refraining from eating these products was due to the similar time of harvesting as the wheat, and the possibility of cross contamination during cooking. Sephardic Jews of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsular, tend to eat kitniyot and any food derivatives such as oils. The prohibition of legumes and cereals is often dependent upon the heritage of the community and its culinary traditions from previous generations.
Matzah is rather tasty eaten with lashings of butter, smeared with cream cheese or chocolate spread. Preserves, called ‘eingemachtes’ were made in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe with the glut of winter vegetables, so they would have the preserves through the short summer season of fresh fruits. Typically made with cabbage and turnips, beetroot ‘eingemachte’ was traditionally made for the Passover to spread over the matzah like jam, to add flavour to the bland crackers…
‘Matzah brei’ is a Yiddish term for ‘matzah porridge’, an Ashkenazi breakfast dish that most people would liken to either a savoury or sweet ‘eggy bread’. Traditionally in Jewish communities within the Shtetl’s of Eastern Europe, whole pieces of matzah were soaked in hot water for a few minutes, then immersed in beaten eggs and fried in poultry fat, known as ‘schmaltz’ and served with sauerkraut. My father used to make us matzah brei for breakfast during the Passover, with milk and salt added to the beaten eggs and fried in butter, it was then covered in lashings of cinnamon sugar and devoured rather quickly…
And of course we must not forget ‘matzah balls’ for the chicken soup, which are dumplings made finely ground matzah meal, salt, beaten eggs and vegetable oil, mixed together to form a paste, shaped into round balls and poached in the chicken soup, giving light, fluffy dumplings…
There are many food traditions associated with the Passover, all symbolic of the Israelites liberation from slavery in Egypt. The story is retold during the ritualistic ‘Seder’, which means ‘order’, something that there seems to be very little of right now in the world. The Passover is a celebration of freedom, and this year of all years, may everyone in captivity be released and let us all be free to live our lives any which way we choose.
Happy Holidays…