Making Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo Ball Soup Ingredients

I went to Star Market in Brookline to purchase all my materials for my big day of cooking Matzo Ball Soup. I was amazed at all the available Jewish foods. It ranged from fifty (exaggeration) types of macaroons to Kosher meats and fish. I opted to use Kosher chicken for my stock. It was pricey, but I thought it would be a fun touch. I grabbed some celery, carrots, onions, fresh herbs, olive oil, and a box of Passover Matzo Meal. I had the rest of the ingredients at my grandmother's house.

Homemade Chicken Stock

I started my cooking adventure by making the chicken stock. I roughly cut up about half a bunch of celery, five small to medium onions, and four carrots. I rinsed my cut up chicken, and I threw everything in a large stockpot with cold water. I, then, added the fresh herbs, salt and pepper. I turned the heat on high to get the water boiling, and once it started boiling, I lowered the heat to about medium, so it wouldn't bubble over.

The art of the Matzo Ball was next. Since, this was my first time, I decided to just follow the recipe on the box of Streit's Passover Matzo Meal:

Making Matzo Balls

Ingredients

1 Cup of Matzo Meal
4 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Oil or Melted Margarine
1/4 Cup Water or Seltzer
1 Teaspoon Salt or To Taste
Pinch of Ground Pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. MIX: Beat eggs. Add water, oil, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add matzo meal and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate for 1/2 to 1 hour.
2. FORM: Partially fill a large pot of water and bring to boil. Moisten palms with cold water. Form mixture into balls about 1" diameter. Drop matzo balls into boiling water.
3. SIMMER: When all the matzo balls are in the pot, reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes or until done. Remove with slotted spoon to a large bowl. (Simmer the matzo balls for 15 minutes in your favorite chicken soup before serving)

Cooking Matzo Balls

I ended up adding more matzo meal - about another 1/4 to 1/2 cup - because it was too thin to form balls. When I was about half way through forming the balls and dropping them into the hot water, I ran out of space on the bottom of the pot. I tried to make room by moving them, and when I did this, the matzo balls started to float to the top. SCORE! As I dropped in the second half, I let them fall past the floating ones to the bottom. PLEASE NOTE: They expand. I ended up adding boiling water to this pot to make more room. Thank goodness for coffee mugs and microwaves for quick boiling water.

Chicken Broth

I let the stock reduce down to about three-fourths of liquid, and then I drained the liquid into another pot by using a spaghetti strainer with small holes. I forgot to get something for this part, but the spaghetti strainer worked out decently. Not much got into the clear both. Then, I threw in the matzo balls and let them simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Done!

Now the time came to see if it was Grandma approved.

Effort: A+, She said I did a great job putting it together.
Matzo Ball Soup: B, She said it was too salty for her, and there were too many eggs in the matzo balls. She also said it is better than something she could make, and she would try my next batch.

Sarah Sparks' Homemade Matzo Ball Soup

This is when I learned that Kosher meat is salty. I did not realize that or else I would of added way less salt. Noted for next time. It was pretty easy to make the soup. I thought it would of been a lot harder, but making stock is simple, and if you make pancakes from a box, you can make matzo balls. 

I was proud of myself that I made homemade stock for the first time. I did work in kitchens where I helped make different kinds of stock. I used to get upset throwing away the chicken and veggies. I asked once why we had to throw it out, and I was told it loses all its flavor.

Sarah Sparks' Homemade Chicken Salad

As I was staring at the bottom of the stockpot hesitating on discarding these scraps in the trash, I decided to make chicken salad. I pulled all the chicken meat off of the bones, making sure there were no hidden little bones. I threw the meat into a mixing bowl with a couple tablespoons of the stock, mayonaise, two or three stalks of diced celery, and about two slices of diced red onion. I got an A+ for my chicken salad from my grandmother.

My mother was the one who ended up eating all the chicken salad, and this made me so happy. I never cooked for her before, so it was nice to make something that she enjoyed eating. - Sarah Sparks

What Is This Matzo Ball Made Of?

I have been taking care of my Jewish Grandmother the last few weeks. We just had Matzo Ball Soup. I was rather excited because I don't think I actually ever had a bowl. As I sat there eating it, I couldn't stop paying attention to the texture of this Matzo Ball. It was squishy and spongy, almost like tofu. Made me think, "What the hell am I really eating?"

Matzo aka Matzoh aka Matza aka Matzah Balls

The main ingredient in Matzo Balls is Matzo Meal. Again, I said to myself, "What the hell am I really eating?" So after doing some research, I discovered that Matzo Meal is pretty much ground up Matzo Crackers. AND, Matzo Crackers - according to the box at my Gram's house - consist of Unbleached Wheat Flour, Water, Canola Oil, and Malt. The sidekicks of the ground Matzo Crackers are Water, Eggs, and Oil. Together, they form Team Balls (I made this term up).

You need this for the base of a cracker dumpling.

Then, there are special techniques and styles: adding schmaltz (rendered fat, typically chicken) to give the balls a meatier, tender flavor; flavoring the cooking water with plenty of salt because cracker balls soak up liquid, and if your water is bland, your balls are going to be bland; adding herbs and whatnot to the middle for a fun surprise; wetting your hands to form these sticky balls; forming little balls, medium balls, or big balls; creating sinker balls (sink in the soup) or floating balls (float in the soup); etc; etc; etc.

Matzos Unsalted Crackers with Cream Cheese

Once, you got the balls formed and cooking, you've got to make sure they are cooked all the way through. Just remember this: Is it the same color throughout? Are they tender? If not, cook a bit longer.

So, do I want to make a big bowl of Matzo Ball soup now? Nope. Seems like a lot of work. Could I just eat a Matzos Cracker with Cream Cheese like I have been doing since I was a kid? Maybe my mom is lazy as well. Hmmm. Is that why I never had Matzo Ball soup at home? Aw, well. Eventually, I will make it and post it, but don't rush me; however, if you know me by now, I DO love soup.So it might be sooner, rather than later. Mazel Tov! - Sarah Sparks