WPesach Staples – Fish and Seltzer 
 

When I was growing up kosher fish meant carp, white, flounder or gefilte.  Carp and white were for Shabbos, gefilte was mostly for Shabbos, but sometimes during the week,  and flounder was fried and served with mashed potatoes. 

Now-a-days the range of fish available to the kosher consumer is remarkable.  From salmon and trout to mahi-mahi and sea bass, the list of available delights from the sea keeps “We’re having fish for dinner” from being boring.  

One of the most popular new varieties of fishes is tilapia.  Actually, calling it a new variety is misleading.  Tilapia is a fish that has been raised for centuries and has its origins in the Nile River.   There are those that confuse tilapia with Nile Perch or Saint Peter’s fish, but they are not the same.  Tilapia produces mild, soft, white fish fillets, with a slightly sweet taste.  This is part of the reason that tilapia has become popular with both professional chefs and home cooks.    

Dagim Tahorim Co. Inc, “the people who know fish best,” have made this delicious fish easily available for the kosher consumer.  Their tilapia fillets are 3-5 ounces and are sold in one-pound packages.  They can be found in the freezer sections of your local kosher groceries or supermarkets.  For food service there is a 5-7 oz fillet as well.   

Now in case you are thinking frozen is not as good as fresh, just one bite will convince you differently.  Dagim made arrangements for our office to sample this delicious delicacy.  A tray of tilapia prepared in two different ways was delivered last week.   The fillets, covered with seasoned breadcrumbs were both tender and crisp with a delicious flavor.  The fillets that were baked with herbs and spices were amazingly tender and full of flavor.  This is definitely a fish you want to make for Pesach – an ancient delicacy fit for our modern world. 

This wonderful company also produces a skinless and boneless canned salmon that was a hit with our staff.  The lack of bones and skin makes it as easy to use as a can of tuna – beautiful color and texture, perfect for croquettes, salad or a sandwich lunch.  Easy and simple to use, pop up top and all.  This is another wonderful fish you’ll want to consider when doing your Pesach shopping. 

The canned salmon and tilapia are both under the hashgacha of the OU and Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Spiegel of Brooklyn. 

When I was a child we spent many wonderful Pesachs with my two sets of grandparents.  In those days there was no “colored” soda permitted at the table; we drank only Saratoga Vichy Water.  As the years past, seltzer was permitted always with a little bit of Kedem raspberry syrup added.  Now there are bottles of Beer Mayim or Mayim Chaim orange or cola on the table.  But there is nothing quite like the taste of seltzer with raspberry syrup. 

However, with everything you have to shlep before Pesach (and all year round), adding bottles of seltzer and soda to the list just makes it all heavier then it should be. 

Over the past few days, my family has had the opportunity to try a seltzer machine.  Not those old glass bottles with the spritz top, but a sleek, modern day machine that carbonates cold water.  

Produced by Soda-Club, a company based in Israel, the Fountain Jet home carbonation system is a great way to prepare soda or seltzer without the hassle of shlepping bottles.   

Simple and easy to use (my 10-year-old can now make soda) Soda-Club gives you the control over what your family drinks.  The syrups have 1/3 the amount of sugar of regular soda and because you are adding the syrup, you can make it as sweet as you want. 

There are four simple steps to making a1 liter bottle of seltzer:  Fill the Soda-Club bottle with cold water.  Screw the bottle in to the Soda Maker.  Press the carbonating button two to four times (as you can imagine this is my son’s favorite part). Add your favorite syrup and gently shake, or don’t add syrup if you want seltzer, and drink.  Once made, the soda will last up to a week in the refrigerator. 

The other night we tried root beer – great taste, cream – wonderful flavor, diet cola – its not Coke, but definitely a real cola flavor, and apple peach which tasted like Snapple with bubbles. 

The other wonderful thing about this product is the price.  The initial cost is $89 – for that price you get the machine, a CO2 canister that will last for 110 1-liter bottles, and 2 42-ml bottles of syrup.  Those bottles will make 12 1-liter bottles.  There is also a 12-pack of individual size syrup bottles that you can buy if you want to sample different flavors.  Of course to make seltzer all you need is cold water the colder the better, because cold water carbonates best. 

So let’s review – great price, easy on your wallet, no shlepping, great taste, supporting Israel, wonderful hashgacha – the whole system, including syrups are under the OU , can be used on Shabbos and Yom Tov (always double check with your Rav) and its even environmentally friendly.  How can you resist?  For more information, visit www.sodaclub.com or call their local rep at 718-444-7932. 

From our family to yours – a chag, kasher v’samaych