Kosher News

Jamie talks with Richard Heisler of Butterflake Bakery, the only kosher-for-Passover bakery that is also 100% nut-free.

I would imagine getting a bakery ready for Passover is a major job. Do you prepare your kosher-for-Passover items in the same location as your year-round products?

Our year-round products are made in our Teaneck location and the kosher-for-Passover products are made in our New Rochelle store. But both stores, as well as Kosher.com, carry our kosher-for-Passover items.

Let’s face it, Passover is huge for kosher food sales. How far in advance do you have to start baking for Passover?

A lot of bakeries start their kosher-for-Passover lines around Chanukah. We start three weeks before the holiday so everything is as fresh as possible. Even if the base of a cake is prepared a few days in advance, like a seven layer cake, it isn’t frosted or covered with chocolate or jam until the day the cake is sold or ordered. Our customers know they are getting items that are baked and finished fresh.

That’s amazing! How do you keep up with all the orders?

Things get so busy; it’s crazy! But, thank G-d there are 24 hours in a day! This time of year we work around the clock.

I hear about so many kids and adults who suffer from nut allergies, how do you accommodate that?

Last year, we became the only kosher-for-Passover bakery that is also 100% nut-free. Passover baked goods typically have a lot of nuts so we revamped our recipes and took out the nuts. Still, we maintained the delicious taste and high quality that has become our bakery’s trademark.

What are some of Butterflake’s kosher-for-Passover products that I should look for?

There are so many things. Where do I start?

We make classic jelly rolls, seven layer cakes and nut-free brownies. We make fudge and macaroon layer cakes, and a knock-your-socks-off decadent, flourless chocolate torte. This year we are featuring bundt cakes in white, apricot or marble flavors. And that’s just the beginning.

For those of us shopping early, how should the baked goods be stored?

To ensure longevity, most things should be refrigerated. A lot of the cakes are covered in chocolate or jam. The covering helps keeps them fresh but you should still refrigerate them. The cookies and macaroons can be kept at room temperature.

Non-gebrokts is another trend in Passover eating. Are your Passover baked goods non-gebrokts?

Absolutely!

More than before, there is a demand for high-quality, non-gebrokts bakery, especially in the New York tri-state area. So, instead of matzah meal or cake meal, we use potato and tapioca starch. There is a big difference when you bake with starches instead of matzah meal but I think that we do a tremendous job. Every year we get rave reviews.

I agree, the cakes are fabulous. How do you prevent the non-gebrokts products from being dry or bland?

Great ingredients that help keeps products moist and fresh are available to the baking industry. We use certain sugars that hydrodscopically retain moisture. We also use potato syrup as a sweetener which acts as a kind of moistener. Making high-quality, great-tasting, non-gebrokts baked goods is a skill my family has perfected in the 100 years that we’ve been baking.

- JAMIE GELLER is a best selling author (Quick and Kosher Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing, 2007), an internationally syndicated food and lifestyle columnist, an award-winning television producer, a motivational speaker, and the host of popular Internet cooking shows “Quick & Kosher” and “Simply Kosher.”

Jamie speaks with Abigail Hendel Levy, co-founder and CEO of Matzel Toff!, makers of a gourmet confection featuring matzah covered in delectable toffee and dipped in the highest quality chocolate.

I have to say, I’ve never had such a yummy treat made with matzah of all things. What inspired Matzel Toff!?

My co-founder, Phillip, made toffee-chocolate-matzah as a boy, inspired by a treat his paternal grandmother, Bubbie Edith, used to make. He fine-tuned his recipe in graduate school. In 2006, I started making toffee-chocolate-matzah and had the vision for Matzel Toff! A year later, we started the company together. This year we partnered with Streit’s. If Bubbie Edith were alive today, she’d be shepping nachas (proud) to see that so many people are enjoying her delicious Passover-inspired treat.

Wow, what a great story. There are so many kosher-for-Passover chocolates and chocolate-covered matzahs on the market that you’d think the holiday was all about candy. How is Matzel Toff! different?

We’re a premium, gourmet product. Matzel Toff! uses the finest ingredients available and our product is much more delicious and certainly more hip than anything else available today. We’re so excited to give people a new gourmet option for the Passover holiday. We also love making a scrumptious matzah treat for people to enjoy year-round.

It is clear that Matzel Toff! is dedicated to quality. What kind of process does it take to make the chocolate-covered toffee matzahs? Are they handmade or machine-made?

Everything is done by hand, except the chocolate enrobing. The process is very labor intensive, but well worth the effort.

You have a number of different varieties of Matzel Toff! each one more yummy than the next. What is the difference between the parve and milk chocolate varieties?

The parve variety contains no dairy products and is only available for Passover, so buy them while you can get them! Our year-round varieties—”Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt” and “Milk Chocolate”—are dairy because we use butter in the toffee. The cooking process is the same for all the varieties, just the ingredients are slightly different.

The Matzel Toff! packaging is adorable! It’s such a hip, retro style. Tell me about it.

Yes, we’re really proud of the new gift box packaging for this Passover. We wanted to give matzah a makeover on the inside with our delicious products and on the outside with our fun, festive packaging. It makes a perfect Passover gift to bring to a seder or to send to friends.

How cool is it that you were featured on national TV last year!?! How did you get onto the Martha Stewart Show?

It was very cool and a great way to kick off our first Passover sales. We got onto the show because Martha loved our product and because we were very persistent (and charming!). We are working on some other great press and national TV spots for this year, so wish us luck. And, of course, we’ll keep you posted!

- JAMIE GELLER is a best selling author (Quick and Kosher Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing, 2007), an internationally syndicated food and lifestyle columnist, an award-winning television producer, a motivational speaker, and the host of popular Internet cooking shows “Quick & Kosher” and “Simply Kosher.”

Kosher.com would like to thank everyone who participated in our Hamantaschen Giveaway last month.  In the spirit of Purim we gave our favorite bloggers dee-lish tins of irresistible, chocolate-covered Hamantaschen from Kosher.com to giveaway to their readers.

The rules were simple – The bloggers post the contest on their blog or on Twitter and their readers must leave a comment with a link to Kosher.com. Easy right?

And the winners are:

M.J. – Bronx, NY
Elisheva – Jacksonville, FL
Pat – Charlemont, MA
Melissa -Toronto, ON
Rabbi Josh – NY, NY
Jessica – Elizabeth, NJ

Please be sure to check out some of our favorite blogs!

Kosher Cookbook
Primetime Parenting
In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens
The Kosher Foodies
Kosher Eye
Jewish Treats

And don’t forget to follow Kosher.com on Twitter!

Place Your Passover Food Orders Now!

Whether you live in Indianapolis, New Orleans or Juneau, Alaska, the Kosher.com Passover 2010 National Superstore is open and ready to take your order. The store will remain open and accepting orders from February 7th through February 17th, 2010.

Only 10 Days to Order for Passover from Kosher.com

That’s right, Passover 2010 orders being shipped nationally will ONLY be accepted from February 7th to February 17th. So, whether you are ordering from Kosher.com’s extensive selection of kosher for Passover meat (including beef, chicken, lamb, veal, turkey as well as harder-to-find kosher for Passover bison and kosher for passover organic beef), kosher for passover groceries or matzos, you gotta’ do it now!

Kosher.com Passover 2010 Food Market National Delivery Terms

Orders containing Passover products will be shipped out as the products become available (beginning the last week of February or the first week of March, 2010), so please order non-Passover items separately.

Passover quantities are limited; Kosher.com reserves the right to substitute products if items become unavailable.

Remember, if you live outside of Kosher.com’s local delivery zones in the New York City Metropolitan area, there are only 10 days to order your Passover meats, groceries and matzos. Click here to get started on your Passover order.

Kosher.com’s Passover Superstore will be open for local orders in Metro New York, parts of New Jersey and parts of Connecticut starting February 15, 2010. (Click here for national delivery info.)

Kosher.com Passover NYC Superstore Details

The Passover Superstore opens February 15th, 2010 and will sell Passover products until March 11th, 2010. Delivery slots will be available through March 25th, 2010.

Kosher.com Offers Free Delivery 5 Days a Week (Sunday-Thursday) in: Manhattan, Riverdale and Washington Heights, as well as Teaneck, Englewood, New Milford, Bergenfield, Fair Lawn and Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Weekly delivery is now available in West Hempstead, Great Neck, Brownstone Brooklyn, as well as West Orange, Livingston and Springfield, New Jersey, and Stamford, New Haven and Waterbury, Connecticut.

Kosher.com Passover 2010 Local Delivery Terms

Due to increased Passover demand, please place your order as early as possible. This will ensure you secure the most convenient delivery time. Orders containing Passover products will be shipped out as the products become available (beginning the last week of February or the first week of March, 2010).

The last day for delivery of Passover orders will be Thursday, March 25, 2010.

Please order non-Passover items separately

Passover quantities are limited

Kosher.com reserves the right to substitute products if items become unavailable

Kosher.com Passover 2010 Bottom Line

Kosher.com is the online source for all your kosher for Passover holiday needs. Kosher.com guarantees service and quality. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you for Passover and year ’round.

Wishing a sweet and kosher Passover to all!

Passover’s a comin … get your orders in!

We just had Tu Bishvat, which means that Purim is nearly here, which means that Passover is less than two months away. Oy!

Okay, don’t freak.  You still have time to get your Kosher for Passover orders in for national delivery (outside the local New York City Metropolitan Area).

Kosher.com Passover 2010 National Superstore Details

Kosher.com’s Passover 2010 Superstore will be open from February 7th through February 17th, 2010 for orders being shipped nationally.

Kosher.com Passover 2010 National Delivery Terms

National orders for Passover 2010 will ONLY be accepted from February 7th-February 17th

Orders containing Passover products will be shipped out as the products become available (beginning the last week of February or the first week of March, 2010)

Please order non-Passover items separately

Passover quantities are limited

Kosher.com reserves the right to substitute products if items become unavailable

Kosher.com Passover 2010 Bottom Line

Kosher.com is the online source for all your kosher for Passover holiday needs. Kosher.com guarantees service and quality. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you for Passover and year ’round.

Wishing a sweet and kosher Passover to all!

Kosher.com – Delivering the Freshest Kosher Food in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut!

The world’s largest on-line kosher grocery store is expanding its FREE local delivery* areas with new daily and weekly local delivery zones. Now get all your kosher groceries delivered in more areas in and around NYC than ever before.

Kosher.com is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to serve our customers. Expanding free local delivery is a natural step in the process of improving our service and we plan to add more local delivery areas in the near future. We also offer national delivery via FedEx. For more information on free local delivery or to order, click here or call 866-KOSHER-9.

Kosher.com Offers Free Delivery 5 Days a Week to Much of NYC and Parts of New Jersey

Look for Kosher.com refrigerated trucks daily (Sunday-Thursday) in Manhattan, Riverdale and  Washington Heights, as well as Teaneck, Englewood, New Milford, Bergenfield, Fair Lawn and Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Kosher.com Offers Free Weekly Delivery to Parts of Long Island, Brooklyn and New Jersey

Weekly delivery is now available in West Hempstead, Great Neck,  Brownstone Brooklyn, as well as West Orange, Livingston and Springfield, New Jersey.

Free Weekly Delivery of Kosher Groceries to Parts of Connecticut

The folks in  Stamford, New Haven and Waterbury, Connecticut can also get free weekly delivery of all their kosher meat, fish, bakery, produce, prepared foods and groceries.

Kosher.com Local Delivery Schedule

*A minimum order of $50 is required for locations in NY and NJ; a $100 minimum order is required for CT locations. Orders must be placed by 3:00 PM on the day prior to delivery. For Sunday deliveries, please order before 3:00 PM on the Friday previous. Delivery slots are subject to availability; order early to ensure delivery. Delivery schedules are subject to change. Please call 866-KOSHER-9 for the latest information.

t’s December and as befits the month that hosts Chanukah and the start of winter,  Kosher Cooking Carinval #49 is all about comfort food and the comfort of food.

Chanukah

The Festival of Lights shines with intensity as Leora tries a new ingredient in Latkes at  Jew Wishes on: Latkes and Hanukkah—Fourth Night; posted at Jew Wishes.

Batya ponders the “lighter side” of the holiday in Low Carb, Low Fat Chanukah. Can it Be Done?; posted at me-ander..

Diner Delights

Gloria Kobrin offers A Nice Simple Meat Loaf.  Perfect for an easy winter dinner!; posted at Kosher Cookbook App.

Our very own Jamie Geller hosts a December 25th Brunch with an Asian Kick that works anytime you have a hankering; posted at the Kosher.com Blog.

Feats of “Dairy-ing-do”

Mimi54 prepares us all for winter with Sometimes The Only Thing To Do Is Make Hot Chocolate; posted at Israeli Kitchen. Really now, what could be better!

Elisson displays a penchant for blintzes and an awesome recipe in CHEESE, LOUISE; posted at Blog d’Elisson.

Treppenwitz seconds the emotion and offers a personal reminiscence with Say Cheese; posted at Treppenwitz.com.

Soups On!

Blessed are the soupmakers (especially when it’s freezing out)!

Leora does a round up of 22 soup recipes in  Soup Beautiful Soup » Here in HP, Highland Park, New Jersey blog; posted at Here in HP.

G6 serves up the n’est plus ultra of winter elixirs in French Onion Soup—The Conclusion; posted at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Desserts

SoccerDad reminds us about the wonder of Cookies; posted at Soccer Dad.

Theo revisits a long forgotten recipe: Della Lutes’ Organic Apple Dowdy Recipe; posted at Organic Test Kitchen.

G6 presents the traditional German spice cake, Lebkuchen; posted at Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

Win Friends with Salad

Sweet and savory compete in the salad category where Devo K offers Moroccan Eggplant Salad; posted at In the middle, on the right.

And Batya presents Finally, Fruit Salad; posted at me-ander.

Jerusalem Restaurant Roundup

Batya looks into the Best Salad Deal! and the New Menu at Anna Ticho House; both posted at me-ander

Food for Thought

Batya wonders if there Are There Really 613 Seeds in A Pomegranate?, the same as the number of mitsvot in the Torah; posted at me-ander.

Kaitlyn Cole offers 101 Ways to Hack Your College Cafeteria | Online Colleges; posted at Online Colleges.net.

Lisa Taylor considers 10 Common Myths About Eating Disorders; posted at Physical Therapy Assistant Schools.

If you are interested in contributing to the next Kosher Cooking Carnival, click here.

The next KCC will be hosted by me-ander on January 28, 2010!  If you want to host an edition of KCC on your blog, contact Batya.

1. You’ll never wait in a check out line. Shop from the comfort of your home on your own schedule, at your own pace.
2. With over 15,000 different products, you can try all kinds of new items and still get all your old favorites.
3. The most amazing and extensive selection of the finest meats and poultry, including dry-aged, organic and hard to find cuts.
4. Our customer service rocks! Contact us 24/6 and our trained operators have the answers to your questions.
5. Instead of spending time at the supermarket, have fun, go to the movies, spend the evening with the family.
6. You won’t have to lug all your heavy packages home; they come to you.
7. Because as a national company, we have the price capacity and relationships with manufacturers to run such great discounts that sometimes you can actually get delicious kosher food for free!
8. You can get your tea and sympathy (and chicken soup, too) delivered when you’re sick.
9. Shop for any occasion; you can order everything from gourmet platters and shabbos meals to tissues and baby food!
10. You save gas. Forget multiple trips to the butcher, baker and candlestick maker, we have it all (okay, we don’t really have candlesticks, but we’ve got the candles!!!).

But wait, there’s more. We’re going over the top and giving you extra value with an 11th reason to shop Kosher.com

11. Awesome recipes and articles that get your creative vibe flowing.

Why do you like to shop Kosher.com?

Kosher.com sent some Chanukah care packages to soldiers serving in Iraq and we received this lovely note and some awesome pics.

Here’s what Staff Sergeant Xhevair Maskuli had to say:

Thank you!!!!

We all loved the goodies you sent.
The Challahs traveled very well, everyone was a huge fan.
The Ruggallah was another huge hit, as well as the Giant uncut Rugallahs.
We still haven’t dug into the Honey loaf and the Kokash, but they both look delicious.
The cookies got slightly crushed but were still nice.

I will send more photos when we get them.
Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
You really made our holiday here in Baghdad.

Sincerely,

SSG Xhevair Maskuli

Please note the following important Thanksgiving delivery information:

Local Delivery (NYC/Surrounding areas)

Kosher.com will not be offering local deliveries on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, 2009. The last day to place Thanksgiving orders for local home delivery is by 3:00PM EST on Tuesday, November 24, 2009  for delivery on Wednesday, November 25th.

National Delivery

For national delivery, all orders with transit times of 3 days or more must be submitted by 4:00PM EST on Friday, November 20, 2009 and shipped 2-day air for delivery on Wednesday, November 25th.

Orders with transit times of 1 or 2 days submitted by 4:00PM EST on Friday, November 20th may choose standard shipping for delivery on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.

Also: Win a Kosher.com $250 Shopping Spree! Deadline ends November 30th.

This week I visited Kosherfest, the world’s largest kosher food show. Here are the products that the official panel voted best in class in the New Products Competition.  (They were judged on the basis of newness, quality, taste, saleability and retail price.) If you’re interested in these or any kosher food products, check us out at  Kosher.com. With 15,000 kosher food items including fresh meat and baked goods, we have something for everyone.

Kosherfest 2009 Best in Class Winners

• Best In Show – Luck Chen Asian Noodles (5 flavors)
• Best Baked Good, Bread, Grain or Cereal – Sarah’s Tent Potato Bourekas
• Best Beverage – True Toniq DBA Brain Toniq, Brain Toniq
• Best Cheese or Dairy – Get Healthy America Lasagna Florentine
• Best Dessert, Candy, Cookie or Cracker – Illinois Nut & Candy Smooth & Crunchy Peanut Butter Bark
• Best Food Service Product – Custom Candy Concepts, Inc, Picture Cookies
• Best Packaging/Design – True Toniq DBA Brain Toniq, 4-pack Brain Toniq
• Best Kosher Organic – Quality Frozen Foods Organic Batter Blaster
• Best Snack Food – Osem USA, Inc. Bamba Peanut Snack w/ Hazelnut Cream Filling
• Best Fine Food from Israel – Blue & White Foods LLC Falafel with Tehina Filling
• Best Giftware/Novelty – Kosherkeepers® by Plastic Packaging Corp Food Kosherkeepers® Food Storage Containers
• Best Jam, Preserve or Spread – Oxygen Imports Mixed Berry Blast
• Best Meat, Poultry or Seafood – Kosher Valley Chicken Breast Cutlets
• Best Wine, Beer or Spirit – The Natural Group/Kedem Elvi Sintonia Sangria
• Best Savory Condiment, Spice, Sauce, Oil, Vinegar or Dressing – Streit’s Matzos Asian Mel’s Gourmet sauce Line
• Best Passover Product – Zelda’s Sweet Shoppe Zelda’s Orange Chiffon Cake
• Best Health & Wellness – Green Rabbit, LLC MimicCreme Coffee Creamer
• Best Pasta, Rice, Bean or Soup – Luck Chen Asian Noodles

So that’s it. Plenty to keep us busy tasting and trying until Kosherfest 2010. You know I’ll be there!

Kosherfest, which took place this week at the NJ Meadowlands,  is the the largest kosher food exhibition in the world. This was my first visit and will not be my last. There was an amazing collection of vendor showcases, cooking demos, and new food finds. (And did I mention you get to taste stuff?)

These are my top 5 finds from the show, in no particular order:

• OU certified glatt kosher organic baby food from a company called Petite Select.  What’s the big deal?  Take a look at these innovative flavors in infant cuisine: Arroz con Pollo, Shepherd’s Pie, and Mango Jamba!  A real chef (and real mom) created these and they’re delish.  In the coming days, I’ll post my video interview with her.  Her friend and business partner actually created a dessert called “The Smart Cookie” which is the antithesis of the Jessica-Seinfeld-style-sneak-pureed-beets-and-spinach-into-your-brownies kind of dessert.  These cookies are actually beet red and green, and your little ones will still love them.

• A sensational classic vinaigrette called Garlic Expressions from LaMar Foods. I didn’t get a chance to try it at the Kosherfest, but it got such raves that I took home a bottle.  First, I tasted it cautiously; then, I poured it all over my salad.  When I ran out of lettuce, I put the bowl to my lips.  I’m very picky about my salad dressing, people, and I tell you this one is an experience.

• MimicCrème ice cream mix is made from almonds and cashews.  (You actually make the ice cream yourself.) Before recommending it, I tasted the finished product—ten times—just to be sure.  I wouldn’t want to mislead you.

• A new soup with no MSG: Manischewitz Chicken Broth.  Though it’s a new product, it’s already a huge seller at Kosher.com.  (Check out my video interview with David Yale, prez of Manischewitz.  I’ll post it as soon as I can.)

• Israel’s famous Angel Bakery, which had a  booth the size of a small village, was a favorite stop.  The same parent company distributes bourekas to die for, as well as  Passover “pizza dough,” ” breads” and cakes (under the Eytan label).  It’s the solemn truth that I would eat these year round.  They also make cool vegetarian cutlet options, and a new line of Hungarian salamis that made this Hungarian gal go crazy for them.
• 

These were my favorites, folks. I’ll post the list of what the official panel voted best in class in the New Products Competition soon.

This week I went to Kosherfest at the NJ Meadowlands, that mega-food expo that lets professional foodies, industry types and just everyday folks savor the newest products.  It’s been going on annually for more than twenty years, but this was my first time there. What can I say, I’m hooked!  Picture two solid days with thousands of people tasting and sniffing, munching and crunching on tantalizing samples all day long.  And the aromas … out of this world.

We brought our giant Kosher.com cart with us, filled to the top and overflowing with as many of our 15,000 groceries as our creative and hard-working team could stuff into it. I got to meet face-to-face with so many people.  And, of course, I ate a ton of great food.  I’m told that there were more than 500 newly kosher certified foods introduced at the show. Hey, somebody had to try them all, right?  The hardest part of it was strategically planning the dairy options around meat.  I was glad I held off on the meat samples on the first day, because by the end of the day I craved my favorite dairy coffee beverage—J&J Iced Cappuccino.  It was set up water cooler style, with cups that you could fill to your heart’s content!

Kosher.com's Giant Cart Rolls into Kosherfest

While the eating was amazing, there’s serious food biz happening in Kosherfest’s  aisles.  I came across some amazing finds, like OU-certified organic baby food, “ice cream” made out of almonds and cashews and some out-of-this-world bakery innovations from Israel. Look for my next post to get all the deets!

Good Morning New York Post Show Wrap-Up

This is Big—I Mean, Really Big!

Tune in to the Morning Show with Larry Hoff on local TV CW11, Tuesday September 15th, and watch Yours Truly and Kosher.com folks giving out apples and honey from our super duper giant “Koshercart” to commuters at Penn Station.  I’ve done a lot of wild things on TV folks but this is a first! On Wednesday morning, we’re going to steer that cart over to the CBS Early Show, where weatherman Dave Price will be in Rockefeller Plaza doing the weather broadcast.  We’ll be giving out apples, honey, Kosher.com coupons, and Quick & Kosher holiday recipe cards to the crowd.  Talk about wishing everyone a sweet new year on a grand scale! He doesn’t know it yet, but I plan to present Dave with a gorgeous Kosher.com Rosh Hashanah gift basket too.  You’ll flip when you see this basket! The gal who puts the  Kosher.com baskets together is so creative—you’ll want to order your own.

I went a little crazy shopping and cooking and freezing some of my Rosh Hashanah meals last night.  (I knew you’d ask: so far, I’ve cooked Classic Chicken Soup, Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup and Cocktail Meatballs.)  I was going to make Chocolate Chip Cookies too, but I ran out of steam—not surprising, since this was my kids’ first full week in school.  Let’s just say it’s been a little hectic. Listen, we should all be busy this coming year with all good things.  So whether you catch the TV segment or not, Kosher.com and I wish you and your family the best, sweetest, most incredibly scrumptious new year!