Matzoh ball puzzler

[Jenise]

So the other night for one of my "dinner and a movie projects" I made matzoh balls to go in a spicy beef and tomato broth. I'd originally planned noodles but when I chose Scorcese's The King of Comedy starring Jerry Lewis, the Jewish dumpling seemed a much better fit.

I went with the standard proportion of 1/4 meal to 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, etc., times 3. Mixed it all in one bowl at the same time and cooked them for an hour in the same pot.

I ended up with 7 floaters and 4 sinkers.

WTF????

A Jerry Lewis movie? French cuisine would have been appropriate.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

And Jerry's Jewish. I saw him recently on an episode of Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Their mutual Jewishness was very much the heart of their conversation--and humor.

So the other night for one of my "dinner and a movie projects" I made matzoh balls to go in a spicy beef and tomato broth. I'd originally planned noodles but when I chose Scorcese's The King of Comedy starring Jerry Lewis, the Jewish dumpling seemed a much better fit.

I went with the standard proportion of 1/4 meal to 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, etc., times 3. Mixed it all in one bowl at the same time and cooked them for an hour in the same pot.

I ended up with 7 floaters and 4 sinkers.

WTF????

I'd take a look at your baking powder. After all, you live somewhere near the annual mildew festival, and b.p. goes bad quickly in humid regions. At least, proof it with some water. But I'd probably buy new stuff or make my own with baking soda and cream of tartar. If you buy, avoid the brands with aluminum in the ingredients. And double-acting baking powder also reacts more with heat.

In your area, I'd probably store it with a dessicant package from another product.

FWIW, we used tp joke about coming out with Alzheimer's Beer packaged only in aluminum cans. Aluminum is associated with Alzheimer's d.

[Jenise]

I don't know what kind I have--popular brand in plastic jar.

But isn't it weird that some were fluffy all the way through and some were little hockey pucks? I certainly mixed the batter well, and with a fork.

I don't know what kind I have--popular brand in plastic jar.

But isn't it weird that some were fluffy all the way through and some were little hockey pucks? I certainly mixed the batter well, and with a fork.

If the mixture was homogeneous and they were all cooked in one batch, that is--indeed--weird. But if you cooked in batches and lifted the lid to peek, that might explain why some were sinkers. But it may always remain a mystery. <theremin music playing...>

[Jenise]

Homogenous, all cooked at the same time, lid on, almost no peeking! Should have been all right, or all wrong, but not a quasi half-half thing.

Perhaps some of them stuck to the bottom of the pan for a bit?

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

The only other thing I could think of would be very slight (imperceptible to the cook) differences in forming the balls? A couple got handled or squoze just a bit more than the rest?

Sounds like you've got Canadians, they're known to make matzoh meal behave strangely. Can you move the border?

[Jenise]

Perhaps some of them stuck to the bottom of the pan for a bit?

-Paul W.

Good question but no. I stirred initially to make sure that didn't happen.

[Jenise]

The only other thing I could think of would be very slight (imperceptible to the cook) differences in forming the balls? A couple got handled or squoze just a bit more than the rest?

Maybe, Anything's possible since nothing's outwardly obvious. FWIW I used a cookie dough baller, then smoothed the rough end in my hands as I dropped them into the pot. It's not an elastic or airy dough, you can't really compact it. It just IS.

[David M. Bueker]

Really depends on how you moheld them.

[Robin Garr]