Chocolate Matzo, Making Liberation Bearable One Slice at a Time

By Dan Friedman March 23, 2010

Unlike the ancient Israelites we have 11 months every year to get ready for our annual Passover “liberation.” Perhaps Jewish neurosis is overcompensation for that lateness and underpreparation of food in our defining national (religious?) event.

To commemorate the Exodus we eat matzo which, Leah Koenig has pointed out, is more than just a symbol of a rushed departure. Until now, however, it has been indisputably bland, crumbly and inducing of constipation.

No longer!

The enterprising Jews (Abby Levy and Phillip Guttman) at Matzel Toff presumably noted that beer and chocolate go with everything but, since beer is not Kosher for Passover, they decided to coat matzo in toffee and then liberally drape it in chocolate. Good, rich, gourmet chocolate. Some with sea salt. Chocolate that has made this reporter and his colleagues break their self-imposed ban on eating matzo out of season.

Last year they told Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray about it. This year, they have decided to tell the Jews.

Yes you could try the Pareve chocolate treats (too sweet) or the inexplicably non-Kosher for Passover Milk Chocolate, but why? Why do that when you could buy Kosher Milk Chocolate ones for your hosts and keep the really good Dark Chocolate Sea Salt ones for yourself.

And here’s what Michelle Citrin and William Levin suggest you do with all the non-chocolate matzo.

Dan Friedman is the former executive editor and whisky correspondent of the Forward, and is the author of a book about Tears for Fears, the ’80s emo rock band.

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.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO