My dad Albert was Jewish, and he also made us fried matzoh. Actually, he only ever made two things, fried matzoh and matzoh meal latkes. Oh, my GAWD how I miss his latkes! He fried both these in Onion Nyafat in his cast iron skillet. He would make his matzoh just like yours, savory, but in a giant pancake. And when it was time to flip, …
My dad Albert was Jewish, and he also made us fried matzoh. Actually, he only ever made two things, fried matzoh and matzoh meal latkes. Oh, my GAWD how I miss his latkes! He fried both these in Onion Nyafat in his cast iron skillet. He would make his matzoh just like yours, savory, but in a giant pancake. And when it was time to flip, he would call all four of us kids in, line the floor with newspaper and flip it in the air. We would all cheer! He only missed one or two times.
I called him to get his recipe when he was about 85. He wasn’t a big phone talker -how are you…here’s your mother- but we were on the phone for over an hour while he described making matzoh in excruciating detail. I still have the yellow legal pad I wrote it on. It looks like I was on edibles when I wrote it, his detail was so wordy and out of order. It took 2 legal size front and back pages that I eventually condensed down to one side of a small recipe card hahaha. He was very passionate about his matzoh. Gotta respect that.
Onion Nyafat was discontinued back around 2008, and he was devastated. That’s being a little dramatic, but we were upset. Like wtf Rokeach! I was a food broker at that time and I travelled the east coast, so I bought him every jar I could find. I found 4 because not every store had a Jewish section. One time I asked at the courtesy counter if they had any - dumb- and the kid went on the loud speaker and announced to ask his manager: Do we have a JEW section here? A lady is here looking for onion fat. Hahaha - good times.
Anyway, Albert died a few years later at 89 years old. But before, he made sure to instruct my “shiksa” Mom that she was to give me his last jar of unopened Nyafat. His sense of humor was epic and when I open my fridge now, it’s always there, smiling at me. I will never open that jar. Never. I’ve moved three times with that jar.
So my questions are
1. do you know anyone who has developed an onion Nyafat substitute? It was super popular and those who used it know, its taste was like nothing else.
And 2. Can you make matzoh meal latkes sometime for Al and me. I think he used the recipe on the box.
That’s about as close as I get to honoring my 1/2 of Jewishness, making fried matzoh and matzoh ball soup, but I haven’t tried the latkes. Thanks Boobie!
My dad Albert was Jewish, and he also made us fried matzoh. Actually, he only ever made two things, fried matzoh and matzoh meal latkes. Oh, my GAWD how I miss his latkes! He fried both these in Onion Nyafat in his cast iron skillet. He would make his matzoh just like yours, savory, but in a giant pancake. And when it was time to flip, he would call all four of us kids in, line the floor with newspaper and flip it in the air. We would all cheer! He only missed one or two times.
I called him to get his recipe when he was about 85. He wasn’t a big phone talker -how are you…here’s your mother- but we were on the phone for over an hour while he described making matzoh in excruciating detail. I still have the yellow legal pad I wrote it on. It looks like I was on edibles when I wrote it, his detail was so wordy and out of order. It took 2 legal size front and back pages that I eventually condensed down to one side of a small recipe card hahaha. He was very passionate about his matzoh. Gotta respect that.
Onion Nyafat was discontinued back around 2008, and he was devastated. That’s being a little dramatic, but we were upset. Like wtf Rokeach! I was a food broker at that time and I travelled the east coast, so I bought him every jar I could find. I found 4 because not every store had a Jewish section. One time I asked at the courtesy counter if they had any - dumb- and the kid went on the loud speaker and announced to ask his manager: Do we have a JEW section here? A lady is here looking for onion fat. Hahaha - good times.
Anyway, Albert died a few years later at 89 years old. But before, he made sure to instruct my “shiksa” Mom that she was to give me his last jar of unopened Nyafat. His sense of humor was epic and when I open my fridge now, it’s always there, smiling at me. I will never open that jar. Never. I’ve moved three times with that jar.
So my questions are
1. do you know anyone who has developed an onion Nyafat substitute? It was super popular and those who used it know, its taste was like nothing else.
And 2. Can you make matzoh meal latkes sometime for Al and me. I think he used the recipe on the box.
That’s about as close as I get to honoring my 1/2 of Jewishness, making fried matzoh and matzoh ball soup, but I haven’t tried the latkes. Thanks Boobie!