Ingredients for Jewish (Ashkenazi) Cuisine

[Speveo]

I'm going to be cooking up a bunch of Jewish recipes. Specifically I'm looking for a place to get good quality shmaltz (chicken of course) and matzo meal for Kneidlach (Matzo balls). I'm also looking for a place with a good kosher wine selection.

I'm sure you chowhounds can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it! If you know of any other places you could recommend for sourcing traditional jewish foodstuffs, let me know. I saw the Challah thread so I have a good idea about that. :)

Thanks!

[bakersdelight]

if you're making matzo balls then you must be making chicken soup, and if you're making chicken soup, you'll get your schmaltz if you refrigerate the broth overnight, having made it by simmering a whole chicken with vegetables. the schmaltz rises to the top, to paraphrase an old aphorism. good luck.

[Shattered]

So you and blondie are saying schmaltz is just the nasty stuff that gathers at the bottom of the pan when I roast chicken, if I let it cool down and congeal? Not the clear fat, but the white fat?

[kpzoo]

It's rendered fat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmaltz

[C70]

nothing nasty about that!

[gumoblat]

The only thing nasty about schmaltz is that it is not heart healthy.
Modern Jewish cooks have long eschewed schmaltz even when cooking traditional recipes because of this.

[blondee_47]

If u have time you cn buy a chicken and take off all its skin and fat and then simply ccok it until it has become really crispy (slow heat) Then pour off what remains not solid: that is shmaltz.

However shmaltz can be found in jar pre-made; but I don't know how the taste is. To make it one must do the same as if rendering duck or pork fat (OY!)

[lagatta]

If you want a nice strictly-kosher Sephardic touch with your Ashkenazi feast, Birkat-Hamazon is a small local company http://birkat-hamazon.com/ making very yummy dips such as hummus, babaghanoush and some Moroccan dips/cooked salads. They also make gluten-free baked goods - I don't have that problem but have noted it for friends and relatives who do.

They do make a "Swedish Red Cabbage" dish that sounds more akin to the Ashkenazi tradition.

Anything I've had from them has been very good. You can contact them for points of sale - no doubt the grocery stores mentioned in this thread, but I've also found their dips and salads at PA on Parc and at several (Muslim) Maghrebi stores in my area.

email: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone]
Mail: P.O. 66529 Côte St-Luc QC H4W 3J6

Well, kosher schmaltz could also be goose or duck, but I don't know any kosher suppliers of those hereabouts. Vy a duck? Vy not a duck?

[blondee_47]

If you can find yourself at the shopping center near Wilderton (actually called the Wilderton shopping center) you will find Montreal Kosher Grocery store and they will have everything your heart desires. Plus the ladies are only too delighted to give out secret recipes so bring pen and paper

[kpzoo]

The Loblaws on St-Jacques and Cavendish has a massive kosher section and an in-house butcher counter. I haven't specifically looked for schmaltz, but they might have it. I'm sure they'd have several types of matzo meal, as well. (Keep in mind that the butcher counter itself is closed during Shabbat, though the help-yourself sections of the meat area & all other kosher areas of the store, remain open.)

J&R Kosher Meat & Deli in the Cavendish Mall is a kosher butcher that's come highly recommended - you may want to call to ask if they have schmaltz.
http://www.jrkosher.com/

If you do go out to the Cavendish Mall (or Shmall as it's affectionately known) you could try the SAQ there - it may have a wider kosher selection than usual, but it's best to check ahead on the SAQ site as Maximilien suggests.

Good luck!

[mikjomom1]

J&R should have schmaltz and they are also a good source for kosher meats and prepared foods. The IGA in Cavendish Mall has a huge kosher section and you can probably find everything you need there. During Passover they stock a good selection of kosher for passover foods.

[Maximilien]

Matzo meal should be available in prettu much every supermarket in Cote St-Luc, Westmount and maybe Ville Mont-Royal.

Kosher wine ; if it has alcohol, you will find that at the SAQ (go to the web site, advanced search and select "kosher" in the particularity section).

M.