By Beth Fitzgerald
Religion News Service
NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) When Passover begins on April 19 and Jewish families gather for the traditional seder meal, they can expect this question: “What happened to the Tam Tams?”
The bite-sized matzo crackers are a Passover perennial, perfect for dipping in egg salad or chopped liver and eating straight from the box.
But Manischewitz, the global kosher food producer, has temporarily stopped making Tam Tams because of production problems at its Newark plant.
A $15 million oven that was supposed to debut in October didn’t come on line until December, Manischewitz spokesman David Rossi said. That didn’t leave enough time to produce the company’s full line of matzo products for Passover.
“We realized there are only so many hours in the day that we can make matzos, and something had to give,” Rossi said. That something turned out to be the Tam Tams.
Matzo is a flat bread or cracker made without yeast, so the dough won’t rise before it is baked. The eating of matzo is an essential part of the Passover seder, which commemorates the Hebrew slaves’ hasty exodus from Egypt.
Manischewitz introduced Tam Tams in 1940. The origin of the name has not been definitively documented, but the word “ta’am” in Hebrew means taste, “so we think that’s the derivation,” Rossi said.
Manischewitz needs five months to make all its Passover matzo products.
“This year, we only had between three to four months,” Rossie said.
Some Jews are taking the loss hard.
“It is a big deal,” said Edie Kodosh, 14, of Springfield, N.J. “It is a big deal. I’ll miss them.”
Other fans of the crunchy snack took a stoic view. Morty Leiwant of Short Hills first read about the situation in an edition of the New Jersey Jewish News in February.
“I like Tam Tams, but I’m not going to get emotional about it,” he said.
Copyright 2008 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted March 28, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Oy vey!
posted March 28, 2008 at 4:51 pm
There is enough time for the Jewish families to find a recipe from an older member of the family and make their own Matzos.
posted March 28, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Guess that is like Easter without Easter eggs and bunnies! Henrietta, you have a wonderful suggestion…some can learn to make their own Matzos. Might taste better anyhow.
posted March 28, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Hey, it’s not like they are saying there is a Jelly bean shortage. There would be no hope for world peace if there were no black jellybeans. At least a big sheet of Matzoh can be broken into little Matzoh bits.
posted March 29, 2008 at 10:52 am
“Might taste better anyhow.”
Well, at least it’s unlikely they would taste any worse!
posted March 29, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Just to clarify.
There is matzo for Passover. What there will not be is a particular style/type of matzo cracker.
So, not to worry….passover dinners will take place all over the USA with matzo…just not that one particular style.
Peace!
posted March 29, 2008 at 2:12 pm
JohnQ:
“So not to worry…passover dinners will take place all over the USA with matzo..just not that one particular style.”
Thanks,I feel much better now, JonhQ. (:
posted March 29, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Seder will survive without the convenience of ready made Tam Tams. As long as we have plenty of the unfermented grape, Manischewitz!!!
posted March 29, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Can you imagine; Back then they didn’t have the yeast or the food.Thank God it is only one tiny factory glitch
Exodus 12:38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.
Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
posted March 29, 2008 at 10:00 pm
“Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.”
I imagine a lot of people hated for it to end. A minor miracle aa Biblical miracles go, but I notice even it isn’t repeated in historical times. Funny how miracles are generally out of reach of being checked, or when they can be checked they don’t stand up.
posted March 30, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I should be so lucky to have shoes and clothes that don’t wear out in 40 years!
posted March 30, 2008 at 5:01 pm
So what’s the big deal? My dad still has shirts and pants that he wore 40 years ago – “Why replace them, they still fit and you can’t see the patches!”
posted March 30, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Wow! I wish my clothes from 40 years ago still fit! Unfortunately I don’t wish it hard enough to slim down like that.
posted March 30, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I have one thing from 40 yrs. ago, a fuzzy little jacket. My daughter and I used to go back and forth with when she was 16; I still wear it. When it is in tatters it will still hang in the closet.
posted March 30, 2008 at 9:19 pm
A very special jacket, Henrietta.