What Is Shmura Matzo?
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Shmura matzo is a special kind of matzo that meets a higher standard of kosher for Passover rules. The flour used in shmura matzo is supervised from the field to the factory to ensure that it does not come in contact with water that could begin the leavening process. Grains that have come in contact with water and may have become leavened, called hametz, are not allowed to be eaten on Passover. Shmura matzo is usually handmade in a round shape, although there are also some machine-made square shmura matzos available. Shmura matzo costs more than regular machine-made matzo. Some people partake in the custom of eating only shmura matzo throughout the holiday, while some partake in the custom of using only shmura matzo for the Seders.
Contact Shira Hanau at [email protected]
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
