Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

What Is Shmura Matzo?

Shmura matzo is a special kind of matzo that meets a higher standard of kosher for Passover rules. The flour used in shmura matzo is supervised from the field to the factory to ensure that it does not come in contact with water that could begin the leavening process. Grains that have come in contact with water and may have become leavened, called hametz, are not allowed to be eaten on Passover. Shmura matzo is usually handmade in a round shape, although there are also some machine-made square shmura matzos available. Shmura matzo costs more than regular machine-made matzo. Some people partake in the custom of eating only shmura matzo throughout the holiday, while some partake in the custom of using only shmura matzo for the Seders.

Contact Shira Hanau at [email protected]

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.