Are Your Matzo Balls Sinkers or Floaters, an Age-Old Debate
I have been forever trying to replicate my aunt’s matzo ball soup. Since she died when I was a child, taste was my only recipe.
Her matzo balls were not dense, heavy sinkers that landed at the bottom of the soup. Nor were they overly light and airy floaters bobbing on the broth.
For me, at least, they were perfect. I came closer this year as I fiddled with the baking powder component. It’s about 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 cup of matzo meal. But it starts to get tricky even if you apply that equation while doubling or tripling the recipe. You can also use seltzer instead. Both reduce the density of the matzo balls.
You also need to add one egg per 1/4 cup of matzo meal. If you decide to cut back as you increase the recipe the matzo balls become denser. I know it’s a ton of eggs when you make a large portion. But it makes a difference.
There really is very little that goes into the prep. Every can of matzo meal has the same ingredients. And it’s a must to put the mixture into the refrigerator to chill.
There is a debate over whether chicken fat also now as “schmaltz” is better than using vegetable oil. This was the original component added to the recipe before vegetable oil existed.
