New York, NY – The big Passover questions are the same every year, and easy enough to answer, starting with “Why is this night different from all others?”
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At the Pomegranate market, in a heavily Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn, shoppers ask about quinoa.
Little questions, though, sometimes arise that can stump even the experts. Like, what to do about the quinoa situation?
Quinoa (pronounced ki-NO-uh or KEEN-wah) is a grainlike South American crop newly popular among health-conscious North Americans. In the last decade, observant Jews have welcomed it with something like the thrill of seeing a new face at the Passover table after several thousand years of conversation with matzo and potatoes.
Tasty, gluten-free, protein-rich — and, by many accounts, kosher for Seders lacking in carbohydrate variety — it has become a staple of Passover cookbooks. Gourmet magazine hailed it in 2008 as the new “belle of the Passover ball.”
If only life were so simple.
As with most matters under the purview of Jewish law — from how to turn on the lights during the Sabbath, to what kind of cough syrup is certified kosher — a debate has emerged among rabbinical experts about quinoa’s bona fides as a kosher alternative to leavened-grain products like bread. And this has led to confusion and concern in many Passover kitchens around the country on the eve of the holiday, which begins on Monday evening.
“I went to hear two rabbis discussing the quinoa situation at my synagogue last week,” said Arlene J. Mathes-Scharf, a food scientist in Sharon, Mass., who specializes in kosher food and operates a popular consumer Web site, Kashrut.com. (Kashrut is the Hebrew word for kosher dietary law.)
“They had basically the same information, but they came to opposite conclusions,” Ms. Mathes-Scharf said. “Typical.”
Her hot line has received hundreds of “anxious inquiries” on the topic, Ms. Mathes-Scharf said.
At Pomegranate, a large kosher grocery in the heavily Orthodox Midwood section of Brooklyn, customers had more questions than guidance.
“They’re asking me 20 times a day, ‘What is the ruling?’ ” Gabe Boxer, the store’s general manager, said last week.
I heard that you can only use the quinoa that is grown in Bolivia because it is not grown anywhere near wheat.
The issue this year in particular is that Quinoa has become a very popular product and instead of the poor means food (like rice in Asia) it’s demand has made it expensive. As such farmers in South America (it’s place of growth) are growing this crop wherever they can – including around wheat fields! Most Quinoa product today has been contaminated with wheat mixed in! Check out the Star-K web site (they were the original advocates of Quinoa and this year they recommend NOT using Quinoa.
I know Mrs Scharf for many years and there is NO WAY her comment came out the way it was written by the. fish wrap.
Last year it was ok in Rabbi Blumenkrantz’s book, This year seems not.
Someone would hit a goldmine if next year they come out with Quinoa that is 100% kosher L’Pesach. I eat this stuff all year round. It is so healthy. I will miss it this year.k
Everyone should ask their Rav what to do. Period.
I switched to rice.
One mistake the article made, Jews havent had potatoes for thousands of years – only a little over 500 years
As #9 says, potatoes are a recent arrival. They are from Peru and were only eaten by Jews post-Columbus.
Amaranth is another plant whose seeds are useful during Pesach. It’s related to pigweed, not even close to the grains. It’s also gluten-free and high in protein. The leaves are tasty. And I’ve tried – without success – to make it rise in breads.
Do they even grow wheat in Bolivia?