Editing Matzah (section)

==Variations==
[[File:Matzo-forming machine.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Matzah-forming machine, ca. early 20th century (the [[Lviv]] Museum of the History of Religion)]]
There are two major forms of matzah. Prior to the late 18th century, all matzah was soft and relatively thick, but thinner, crisper matzah later became popular in parts of Europe due to its longer shelf life. With the invention of the first matzah-making machine in France in 1839, cracker-like mass-produced matzah became the most common form in Europe and North America and is now ubiquitous in all [[Ashkenazic]] and most [[Sephardic]] communities. [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite]] and [[Iraqi Jews]] continue to use a form of soft matzah which looks like Greek [[pita]] or like a [[tortilla]]. Soft matzah is made only by hand, and generally with ''shmurah'' flour.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lichtenbaum |first1=Elisa |title=Matzo: 8 Fun Facts |url=https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/matzo-8-fun-facts/ |website=Thirteen PBS |access-date=2023-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rabi |first1=Meyer g. |title=Soft matzah, The True Tradition of Matzah - Just as G-d Wanted it. |url=http://www.jewishmag.com/164mag/passover_soft_matza/passover_soft_matza.htm |website=The Jewish Magazine |access-date=2023-04-10}}</ref><ref name= intime />

Flavored varieties of matzah are produced commercially, such as [[poppy seed]]- or [[onion]]-flavored. Oat and spelt matzah with kosher certification are produced.  Oat matzah is generally suitable for those who cannot eat gluten.  Whole wheat, bran and organic matzah are also available.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://swordsandploughshares.blogspot.com/2007/04/why-is-this-matzah-different-from-all.html |title=On organic matzah |website= Swordsandploughshares.blogspot.com |access-date=2013-02-19}}</ref> [[Chocolate]]-covered matzah is a favorite among children, although some consider it "enriched matzah" and will not eat it during the Passover holiday. A quite different flat confection of chocolate and nuts that resembles matzah is sometimes called "chocolate matzah".

Mass-produced matzah contains typically 111 [[calories]] per 1-ounce/28g (USDA Nutrient Database), about the same as [[rye]] crispbread.

===Shmurah matzah===
{{main article|Matzah shmura}}
''Shĕmura'' ("guarded") matzah ({{langx|he|מַצָּה שְׁמוּרָה}} ''matsa shĕmura'') is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that no [[Chametz#Fermentation|fermentation]] has occurred, and that it is suitable for eating on the first night of Passover. (''Shĕmura'' wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made matzah, while non-''shĕmura'' wheat is only used for machine-made matzah. It is possible to hand-bake matzah in ''shĕmura'' style from non-shmurah flour—this is a matter of style, it is not actually in any way ''shĕmura''—but such matzah has rarely been produced since the introduction of machine-made matzah.)

[[Haredi Judaism]] is scrupulous about the supervision of matzah and have the custom of baking their own or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. Rabbi [[Chaim Halberstam]] of [[Sanz]] ruled in the 19th century that machine-made matzah were [[chametz]].<ref>{{cite web|author=חיים בן אריה ליבוש האלברשטאם |url=http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=913&st=&pgnum=77&hilite= |title=See SH"UT Divrei Hayyim Siman 23 |publisher=Hebrewbooks.org |access-date=2013-02-19}}</ref>  According to that opinion, handmade non-''shmurah'' matzah may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made matzah may be used, with preference to the use of ''shĕmurah'' flour, in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi [[Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld]], who ruled that machine-made matzah may be preferable to hand made in some cases. The commentators to the [[Shulchan Aruch|Shulhan `Aruch]] record that it is the custom of some of Diaspora Jewry to be scrupulous in giving [[Dough offering|Hallah]] from the dough used for baking "Matzat Mitzvah" (the shĕmurah matzah eaten during [[Passover]]) to a [[Kohen]] child to eat.<ref>[[Ba'er Hetev]] to [[Yoreh De'ah]] ch. 322 (minor par. 7), [[Shabbatai HaKohen]] to above chapter</ref>

===Egg matzah===
The requirement for eating Matzah at the Seder cannot be fulfilled with "[egg] matza."<ref>{{cite web  |website=CRCweb.org
   |url=http://www.crcweb.org/ask_rav/eggmatzah.php
   |title=Egg Matzah for Pesach - cRc}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1163475/jewish/Is-Egg-Matzah-Kosher-For-Passover.htm
|title=Is Egg Matzah Kosher For Passover}}</ref> 
[[File:Matza9197.JPG|thumb|Children preparing matzah ([[Ofra]], 2012)]]

"Egg (sometimes ''enriched'') matzah" are matzot usually made with fruit [[juice]], often [[grape]] juice or [[apple]] juice, instead of water, but not necessarily with eggs themselves.  There is a custom among some Ashkenazi Jews not to eat them during Passover, except for the elderly, infirm, or children, who cannot digest plain matzah; these matzot are considered to be kosher for Passover if prepared otherwise properly. The issue of whether egg matzah is allowed for Passover comes down to whether there is a difference between the various liquids that can be used.  Water facilitates a [[Fermentation in food processing|fermentation]] of grain flour specifically into what is defined as chametz, but the question is whether fruit juice, eggs, honey, oil or milk are also deemed to do so within the strict definitions of Jewish laws regarding chametz.

[[File:Matsa yeyən uşaqlar - 1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Children eating commercially made matzah ([[Azerbaijan]], 2018)]]

The [[Pesachim (Talmud)|''Talmud'', Pesachim 35a]], states that liquid food extracts do not cause flour to leaven the way that water does.  According to this view, flour mixed with other liquids would not need to be treated with the same care as flour mixed with water. The ''[[Tosafot]]'' (commentaries) explain that such liquids only produce a leavening reaction within flour ''if'' they themselves have had water added to them and otherwise the dough they produce is completely permissible for consumption during Passover, whether or not made according to the laws applying to matzot.

As a result, [[Joseph ben Ephraim Karo]], author of the ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' or "Code of Jewish Law" ([[Orach Chayim|Orach Chayim 462:4]]) granted blanket permission for the use of any matzah made from non-water-based dough, including egg matzah, on Passover.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=168&o=2068731 |title=Is Egg Matzah okay for Passover use? |author=Rabbi Shais Taub of Chabad-Lubavitch |website=Askmoses.com |access-date=2013-02-19 |archive-date=2007-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208222011/http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=168&o=2068731 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many egg matzah boxes no longer include the message, "Ashkenazi custom is that egg matzah is only allowed for children, elderly and the infirm during Passover." Even amongst those who consider that enriched matzot may not be ''eaten'' during Passover, it is permissible to ''retain'' it in the home.

====Chocolate-covered matzah====
Chocolate-covered matzah<ref>these are chocolate covered egg matzo, not the subsequently originated "chocolate matzo"</ref> was sold in boxes as a standard product, alongside boxes of egg matzah.<ref name=YeaRound>{{cite web
   |url=https://parade.com/842225/pambeth/chocolate-and-candy-covered-matzo-enjoy-all-year-round
   |quote=... was a little girl ... on the shelves 
   |author=Pam Beth  |date=April 14, 2017
   |title=Chocolate and Candy Covered Matzo-Enjoy All Year Round!}}</ref>

The matzah itself is not ''Hamotzi'' (meaning that it is ''Mezonot'').