1. food and drink
2. kosher food

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
XXMONTH 2012
thejc.com l 8 MARCH 2013
PROMOTIONAL SUPPLEMENT
SUPPLEMENT 1
Passover
P4 Passover
PROMOTION
THe JeWIsH CHroNICLe
8 March 2013
Simon Round says we have all gone stir-crazy
Bright festival books
Prepare for bake-off
Learn as you munch
eople get so excited
about pesach. Some
of this excitement
is understandable.
After all, this is a festival which heralds
the spring, brings
families together and
affords the possibility of witnessing
your nearest and dearest chewing on
raw horseradish.
However, there are things that do
not at first glance seem logical. Why
look forward to an eight-day period
when you are not able to eat many
of the goodies you take for granted
the rest of the year? Shabbat challah,
croissants for breakfasts, pasta, cereals and cakes are banned. And in their
place, you get to eat products which
are, quite frankly not that tasty and
hard to digest.
Who in their right mind would
choose to eat a hard-boiled egg
immersed in brine at any other time
of the year? And talking of eggs, do you
ever normally get the urge to crumble
crackers into scrambled egg and tip
the whole soggy mess on to a plate for
breakfast. of course you don’t — yet at
passover we all make it and everyone
seems to enjoy it. Weird.
there is another phenomenon. the
week before passover, when Jews have
every kind of flour at their disposal,
He iluStrAtionS in this
supplement appear with the
permission of Kar-Ben publishing, a division of lerner
publishing group.
Many of them are taken from Lotsa
Matzah by tilda Basley (Kar-Ben, £4.99),
a toddler-friendly board book, explaining in rhyme why “matzah is flat and
why it’s always been like that”. Akemi
gutierrez illustrates, depicting a smiley, oval-faced family and their dog, all
of whom clearly adore matzah.
the book features the afikomen
hunt and ends with jolly illustrations
of family members consuming deli- Crunch along to Lotsa Matzah
cacies such as syrup on matzah
brei (unusual!) and matzah pizza. the rich colours and stylised
text make the book particularly
appealing.
Grover and Big Bird’s Passover
Celebration (Kar Ben, £4.99) is a
more detailed picture book, for
ages up to seven. tilda Basley and
ellen Fischer follow the familiar
Sesame Street characters as they
carry out good deeds on their
way to a friend’s Seder. Some of
the passover story and rituals
are explained by your furry pal
grover and ivrit vocabulary such
as boker tov is also introduced.
tom leigh’s super-bright illusSesame Street goes to Seder
trations add to the fun.
P
Whisk-y galore: feel the cheffy zeal with kitchenware by Conran at John Lewis
they may bake a cake or do something
with pastry — and then again they
might not. Yet as soon as the festival
arrives, everyone is baking, using
ground almonds, potato flour, dessicated coconut — just about everything
that more or less guarantees (with a
couple of honourable exceptions) an
inferior result to the one you didn’t
make the previous week.
So why do people so eagerly anticipate a time when their favourite foods
are replaced by less desirable ones,
some of which can play havoc with
V Continued on page p8
T
PROMOTION
THe JeWIsH CHroNICLe
8 March 2013
Passover P9
From date syrup to tea and crackers to candy, Elisa Cowen previews the new products for Passover 2013
You say Seder
and I say cider
S
maller portions
please! that is one
of the (surprising)
priorities of the modern consumer — for
healthy-eating and
budget-conscious
reasons, so the focus
for passover 2013 will be on offering a
greater choice of package sizas. there
will also be more variety for vegetarians, vegans and those on a glutenfree diet.
osem expects the kosher grocery
sector to grow enormously during 2013
and will be running promotions across
its full range of passover products,
from Bissli and Bamba snacks to the Seder table by Constanza Basaluzzo, from Sarah’s Passover by Lisa Bullard (Kar-Ben, £4.99)
classic osem soup range. its crackers
are also a favourite, with a new premium range being introduced.
Drumstick’s range numbers 1,500
items, sold in many non-kosher stores,
independent kosher stores and major
chains such as tesco, asda, morrison’s,
sainsbury’s and Waitrose as well as
selling to austria, Gibraltar, argentina,
Belgium, south africa and italy.
products include confectionery,
savoury snacks, gourmet deli and speciality foods, kosher foods and fine
wines and healthy and special diet
foods.
new this passover from Drumstick
are apple cider and pomegranate cider.
there are also three new flavours of
syrup — date, pomegranate and plum
— in easy-to-serve squeezy bottles.
also new are hazelnut, espresso and
date syrup from the luxurious range of
roy Chocolates and three new flavours
from swiss Branches in milky, dark and
white.
roasted chestnuts, ready to eat from
the bag, are also coming for passover.
other new confectionery this year
include must sugar-free candy in
dulche de leche and mint flavours, as
well as must chewing-gum cubes in
strawberry and spearmint, while for
tea drinkers, more variety has been
250g
300g
added to the menu with the Galil range,
in anise, camomile, fennel, green, peppermint and rosehip flavours.
LOW
PRICES
FOR PASSOVER
AT YOUR LOCAL ASDA.
50p
Dates: ideal Israeli seasonal snack
£3
Supermarkets are super-helpful, says Elisa Cowen
No longer in a pickle
over the trolley dash
I
f you live in the main Jewish area
of a major uK city, then kosher
shopping, especially at passover,
will never have proved too challenging. in other parts of the country, though, passover shopping used to
involve a tedious trek to another town,
or disappointing visits to local supermarkets, returning with matzah and a
few sad jars of pickled cucumber.
today, however, it is much easier
to find not only passover ranges, but
healthy options and items for vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free diets.
each of the main supermarket
chains has its own kosher buyer whose
role is to choose products for their
kosher section and these are priced
more innovatively.
passover is a key time for the major
grocery retailers, as they focus on
boosting their kosher products both in
store and online. last passover was the
most successful ever for kosher sales
and 2013 is expected to be a bumper
year too.
Joseph prosho of morrisons says that
its “range across chilled and frozen has
expanded with an ambient range available for passover which is 25 per cent
bigger than last year”.
products to be found at morrisons
include rakusens matzot, matzah ball
mix and matzah meal; Kedem wine and
other kosher wines; mrs elswood pickled cucumbers; chametz-free breakfast
“cereals”; baking ingredients such as
vanilla extract and ground almonds;
elite chocolate bars and confectionery; fruit juices; sprite; Coca-Cola; tea
bags; coconut macaroons; cakes; jams;
crisps; noodles; chopped liver; yarden
chicken, viennas and fish products.
shoppers will find the passover
products in branches including newlands, Beacontree Heath, sutton,
palmers Green, Westside, loughton,
Queensbury, merrion Centre, Chingford, Hatch end, Belle Vale, Giffnock,
southport, stamford Hill, Gamston,
Whitefield, Borehamwood, Camden
and Buxton.
£1.95 each
£1.70 each
storelocator.ASDA.com
Available at your local Asda while stocks last. Online prices may vary from those in-store. Offer available from 8am on Friday 8th March 2013. Rakusen’s Matzos
300g (16.7p per 100g), Yarden: Houmous 250g (78p per 100g), Red Cabbage in Mayonnaise 250g (68p per 100g).
thejc.com
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
8 MARCH 2013
PASSOVER P11
Chag Sameach
Happy Passover
2 for
£10
£5.99
each
75cl
£2
650ml
£9
75cl
2 for
2 for
£5
£3.39
each
400g
2 for
£1
69p
each
300g
2 for
£5
£3.75
each
250g
£3
3 for
£1
£1.99
each
1.5L
39p
each
80g
Products available in selected stores.
To find your nearest store scan or visit
www.morrisons.co.uk/kosher
FOR YOUR NEAREST MORRISONS STORE PLEASE VISIT WWW.MORRISONS.CO.UK OR TELEPHONE 0845 611 6111
w/c 04/03/13
Available in selected stores. Subject to availability. While stocks last. Prices/offers may vary in Gibraltar. *One free kids meal with any hot adult meal from 4pm Monday-Friday. See Tea Time menu in store for details. Child must be under 16 years
of age and present at the time of purchase. Further terms & conditions apply. Coca Cola and Sprite 13.3p/100ml • Rakusens Superfine Matzos 23p/100g • Concord Grape Juice £3.06/litre • Gilberts Chopped Liver £1.50/100g • Yarden Chicken Sausages £8.48/kg. Kiddush Wine offer excludes Scottish stores.
P14 Passover
PROMOTION
THe JeWIsH CHroNICLe
8 March 2013
Billie Josephs suggests some original presents for family and friends
Plate expectations
A riveting evening out
Smashing
tableware
F
ew people would turn
up for a Seder night
without a gift for their
hosts, who have after
all worked for hours to
prepare the Seder table
and are, even as you
arrive, still toiling over
a hot oven. Traditional presentations
of dried fruits, kosher-for-passover
food hampers, flowers and bottles of
Israeli wine will all be appreciated. But
if you want your thank-you offering to
last longer, why not give some artistic
Judaica, such as an engraved elijah’s
cup? You can find cups in materials
from sterling silver to wood. or perhaps a solid silver pesach plate could
be on your shopping list.
If your choice is an elijah’s cup, the
most popular designs are engraved
scenes of Jerusalem or clusters of
grapes. other classic patterns include
the Seven Species (fruits and grains
named in the Torah as the produce of
the land of Israel), as well as florals.
Crystal goblets and porcelain cups
are also popular, says world of Judaica,
an Israel-based company which also
sells in the UK and America. A Seder
innovation from America is the cup
of Miriam. This is filled with water
and stands next to the cup of elijah, to
honour the prophet Miriam, who was
Moses’ and Aaron’s sister. According to
tradition, virtuous Miriam’s well was a
source of water for the wandering Israelites in the desert. Such cups are often
decorated with verses referring to Miriam’s participation in the exodus. A gallery of elijah and Miriam cups made of
lacquered wood and silver can be seen
at www.worldofjudaica.co.uk
The company also features kippot,
Seder plates and matzah covers and
decorated Seder pillows, for those who
follow the tradition of leaning during
the service to show that they are now
free men rather than slaves.
Judaica are also one of the specialities at Torah Treasures, in Golders
Green (www.torahtreasures.co.uk),
which features ornate and modern
Shabbat candlesticks, mezuzot and
a magnificent three-tier silver Seder
plate. Torah Treasures is also a rich
source of books for all ages, including
some that shine a light on the traditions of pesach and others that bring
the festival alive for youngsters.
The Living Exodus not only looks good
on your pesach table, it can also stimulate your imagination for the rest
of the year. Its authors, Rabbi Moshe
lieber and Rabbi Nosson Scherman,
have produced an unusual blend of
commentary, encompassing law, anecdotes and information from a wide
spectrum of sources. The hagadah text
is given in both hebrew and english.
Also on the bookshelf at Torah
Treasures is the fifth edition of
the Kosher by Design series, in which
passover food preparation is made
elegantly simple by the American food
writer Susie Fishbein. This edition
includes more than 30 new recipes and
also 130 gluten-free choices. There are
also more than 140 full-colour images,
with a myriad of table décor and entertaining ideas.
As well as hagadot, the store has
entertaining leisure-time reading
for the festival. For stress relief, try dipping into Don’t Yell Chollah in a Crowded
Matzah Bakery by the Israeli humorist Mordechai Schmutter. Keep the
young set entertained with children’s
writer Shmuel Blitz’s Children’s Hagadah. For Seder-goers aged four to eight,
the hagadah has the full hebrew text
accompanied by a child-oriented, yet
accurate english translation. Glorious full-colour illustrations make the
story come alive. For the very young,
there are glove puppets illustrating
the plagues (vibrantly green frogs
are among the favourites) and more
puppets for the questions of Mah Nishtanah. For kids who are enjoying the
prospect of spilling charoset down
themselves for the first time, there is
also a “happy pesach” bib.
If your year-round benchers have
been put away for passover and you
O
Plague time can be play time with
themed puppets
don’t want to get out your ornate
hagadah every time you say grace,
you can now buy passover benchers
by Judaic Art. The A5 benchers are
wipe-clean and cost 99p from Jewish bookstores, Kosher Kingdom, B
Kosher and at www.judaicart.net
Your passover gift can make a
huge difference to vulnerable people in eastern europe and the Former
Soviet Union, when you buy from
wJRapped Up (www.wjrappedup.
org.uk). world Jewish Relief’s ethical
giving website allows you to choose
gifts such as a humanitarian aid box
for £5; childcare for parents seeking
jobs in Moldova and Ukraine for £20
or a passover package for a family in
Molodva.
h The rigours your dinnerware goes through
during passover, from
being dropped during
the changeover, to being
manhandled by kids during Seder — it
is no surprise when chips and breaks
appear. So if you are shopping for a
new set of crockery, Corelle makes a
good choice. Thin and lightweight,
yet durable, Corelle is chip- and breakresistant. Due to its non-porous surface, Corelle does not absorb any stains
or odours (so no lingering flavour of
your gefilte-fish-and-chrane supper
will infiltrate your matzah brei the
next morning). Corelle is easy to wash,
hygenic, kashrut-friendly and scratchresistant.
For cooking, choose non-porous and
non-reactive Visions glass cookware.
Unlike some metals, this glass does not
absorb odours or stains from food and
the pots can be used for preparation,
cooking, serving and storing.
Both pot and lid are see-through,
making cooking easier to monitor,
so you won’t have messy boil-overs or
overcooked kneidlach.
Products can be viewed online at www.
worldkitchen.co.uk where JC readers can
receive a Passover discount of 20 per cent
(enter code JC20) until March 20