Manischewitz Debuts Newly Shaped Matzo for the First Time In Its 129-Year History

On Apr 5, 2017

Manischewitz, the largest producer of kosher food in North America, is breaking the mold—literally. For the first time in its 129-year history, the Newark-based company is breaking with the tradition of creating rectangular matzo for Passover as it unveils it’s first-ever triangular matzo. The new shape debuts as part of the company’s new Matzo Pizza Kit, created for Passover (April 10-18).

Matzo Pizza carries on the tradition of the company’s founder, Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz, who is credited with modernizing matzo manufacturing in America. Prior to the opening of his bakery in 1888, matzo was traditionally round and often made at home or in small, local bakeries. Rabbi Manischewitz leveraged the advent of the industrial revolution, incorporating advances in technology to create a uniform product that eliminated the waste that resulted from cutting round circles out of a piece of square dough. The new shape also fits much better into the boxes used for mass production and distribution.

According to Rabbi Hayum, Plant Manager and the rabbi in charge of kosher certification for The Manischewitz Company, creating the new triangular-shaped matzo was  quite a challenge:

• There was a special die needed to cut the long sheets of dough into triangles vs. rectangles. Manischewitz sourced the die from a U.S. manufacturer, but it had to be custom made. In fact, the company had to do it twice to get it just right.
• The position of the die affected the amount of shrinkage that occurred during baking. It was trial and error that enabled the company to find the best way to cut a perfectly shaped triangle that wouldn’t lose its precision edges during baking.
• Converting from rectangles to triangles meant a reduction in surface area, especially at the tip of the triangle which was subject to burning. After yielding several batches with blackened tips, the proper oven temperature was determined.
• Rectangular matzo travels the production line from the oven to a cooling conveyor, but the distinct shape of the new matzo meant more breakage, so the process had to be revamped. The cooling conveyor was replaced with a new process: a team of employees who now grab the matzo by hand and place it into cartons to cool. With 1500 triangles existing the oven every 15 minutes, this is quite an undertaking!

“Matzo Pizza is a Passover staple for Jewish families during the Passover holiday,” explained David Sugarman, CEO of Manischewitz. “During the festival of Passover, members of the Jewish faith are not permitted to eat foods made with yeast or leavening, so matzo pizza has become a popular way to break the monotony for kids who have to forego sandwiches or other standard menu items. We are allowing them to continue the tradition, just making it a lot more fun along the way,” he adds.

Manischewitz Matzo Pizza includes eight triangle-shaped matzos, along with packets of pizza sauce, neatly packaged in an eye-catching triangle-shaped box. Kids and kids-at-heart can personalize their pizza with assorted toppings and cheese of their choice. Manischewitz Matzo Pizza joins two other highly innovative products that are part of the company’s new “Kids Edition” collection: S’more Matzo Kit and My Mini Matzos.

“Our new Passover collection is intended to inspire the younger generation to continue holiday traditions and while matzo is a ceremonial food that we eat to remind us of our ancestral struggles, we also want kids to have fun and associate positive memories with the holiday,” says Sugarman. “It’s all about engaging them—making s’mores and personalized pizza are activities kids can participate in with adult family members and the mini matzos have an on-pack coloring activity to keep them busy and happy.”

My Mini Matzos are also part of a nationwide program Manischewitz has created in support of Jewish Community Centers and other Jewish organizations nationwide. Dubbed “Afikomen LIVE,” the product will be at the center of community-based Passover programming in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, DC, Baltimore and Phoenix.

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