Next year in Jerusalem… but this year, you’ll finally get it together and bring a little something for the folks nice enough to invite you to their seder.
True, it’s not specifically a Jewish custom to bring gifts for Passover, but giving a little something special to your hosts is a gesture that’s always appreciated.
Sure, you can go the home-cooked route — and, in fact, this may be a long-held tradition among your family and friends — but unless you’ve got some serious skills, what you’re really doing is bringing another dish to wash. So instead of schlepping yet another bottle of wine or grabbing a bouquet at the bodega on the corner, consider upping the ante a bit this year.
These five gift ideas are tasty and can be placed at the Passover table practically out of the box or bag.
Or, even better, they can be enjoyed by your generous hosts once you’ve been sent on your way. Liberation never tasted so good!
Passover gift box materials from Yoffi (Yoffi)
Israel may be the land of milk and honey — but it’s also a hot spot for high-quality design. Yoffi, a new Tel Aviv-based venture, merges the two with its beautiful, environmentally friendly packages filled with top-notch Israeli foodstuffs.
Choose from a wide variety of gift boxes. Delicacies include samplings of matzah crackers (classic, garlic, salt), teas (sage, lemongrass, spearmint), honey and sweet spreads (carob, halvah, date). All products are “free of additives” and are certified kosher and kosher for Passover. Ships directly from Israel in four to five days, so order soon! From $14.
Roni-Sue’s Chocolates Matzah Crunch
A pack of the charoset-inspired Matzah Crunch (Roni-Sue’s Chocolates)
Ask any Ashkenazi Jew what the ultimate Passover food is, and chances are the answer will be charoset — traditionally a mixture of apples, walnuts and wine. That’s certainly the case for Rhonda Kave, the owner and operator of Manhattan-based Roni-Sue’s Chocolates (which is probably best known for its Pig Candy, whole strips of bacon coated in chocolate). Kave drew inspiration from her favorite part of the seder meal to make her addictive Matzah Crunch.
Building on a base of Streit’s matzah, Matzah Crunch tastes like a mashup of caramels, pretzels and — you guessed it — charoset. Consisting of simple ingredients like butter, brown sugar, organic apples, walnuts and sea salt, it’s a crunchy, tart, sweet-yet-slightly-salty toffee-like snack.
Though not strictly kosher for Passover, Kave told JTA that due to the demand for the treat, she’s already planning a kosher version for next year; $10.
Blake’s Jerky Kosher for Passover Beef Jerky
Blake’s jerky (Blake’s Jerky)
Blake Meltzer is a kosher-keeping, traveling kind of guy.
“I used to take many road trips across the country, and it was especially difficult to find or prepare healthy and satisfying meals or snacks while on the road,” he tells JTA in an email.
To solve this conundrum, he started experimenting — and Blake’s Jerky was born.
As if it wasn’t already hard enough to keep kosher on the road, keeping Passover makes things even more complicated. So Meltzer went through the “arduous process” of making three kosher-for-Passover flavors this year: BBQ, salt and pepper, and a particularly appropriate, inspired flavor — horseradish. Certified under the Vaad Harabanim of Queens, the beef jerky is the perfect, paleo-friendly gift for the kashrut-keeping foodie in your life; $10.
Chocolate covered matzah (Fatty Sundays)
Yes, chocolate-covered matzah is simple, delightful — and pretty easy to make. But will yours look this pretty? Didn’t think so.
Brooklyn-based confectioner Fatty Sundays, whose year-round bread and butter is gourmet chocolate-covered pretzels, sells this super-attractive trio, a combo pack of its three tasty chocolate-covered matzah varieties: toffee (milk chocolate), sea salt (dark chocolate) and, most festive of all, sprinkle (milk chocolate). The dessert is made with kosher-for-Passover matzah but is not certified kosher for Passover; from $41.95.
Bartons Almond Kisses (Bartons)
Question: What’s the best kiss you’ve ever had? Answer: Bartons Almond Kisses, of course.
The kosher-for-Passover classic is as good as you remember, with chocolate-covered smooth caramels “kissed” with two — count ’em, two — whole almonds.
The sweet treats come individually wrapped in a 10-ounce nostalgic tin, just like bubbe used to serve. Available at Zabar’s and other online retailers; approximately $14.
