Despite my tendency to obsess about the chag as soon as Yosef and Mitzrayim are mentioned in one breath in the weekly Parsha reading, the truth remains that I truly enjoy Pesach. What could be better than spending time with the family, kvelling over the grandchildren, eating (lots of) delicious and interesting food? It’s all great fun. Yet there is one aspect of the holiday that continuously irritates me. Each time I open a package of many of the Kosher L’Pesach food products, I grow more upset.
My yearly reminder came early when I was ready to spice my chicken. As soon as I removed the wrapping on the large container of garlic powder, I noticed that it was only ¼ full, hardly enough for eight days of cooking. Was this an anomaly? Not a chance. When I checked my other spices, their half-empty state merely confirmed that this was not a packaging error, but simply a way the food company could get away with charging a lot for a little.
Later in the day, my grandchildren were clamoring for some Pesach Pizza. Happily, I told them that this year we didn’t have to spend time smearing cheese and sauce on matzoh. No more mess. This year I had bought a treat especially for them, one that promised to be closer to the “real thing.” Proudly I displayed several big boxes each bearing a picture of generous looking pizza pies. The box was emblazoned with the promise, “Four Large Pies Inside.” Well, the boxes and the words might have been large, but four mini pizza- bagel orbs rattled around in a great deal of empty space. How many boxes does it take to feed 16 hungry grandchildren, and at what price? You can do the math. I’m too angry at myself for buying the stuff in the first place.
Did you know that six rainbow cookies look very lonely in a partially filled box and that the few fake Fruit Loops sadly nestling in the bottom corner of their box fills only one bowl and one hungry mouth? Does anyone remember when Chocolate Bark was thick and chocolaty with real nuts inside, instead of a thin wafer- like candy with two small almonds perched on top? I could go on and on ‘til Shavuoth. What ever happened to the Quality Control people? Do they go away for Pesach, too?
When I was growing up, these food products did not even exist. As the Passover food market developed, my mother would repeat her yearly mantra. “My father did not use these (pickles, ketchup, soda, ice cream) and neither will we.” Back then, I didn’t always appreciate the fact that my mom was actually one smart lady. After all, we were still quite happy and satiated on Pesach with our basic fish, meat, and chicken diet. Yes, we also ate potatoes (50 .lbs worth), eggs (20 dozen!) and Shmurah Matzoh (50¢ a .lb). And while it is exciting to note all the variety of products that we now have for the holiday, I’m thinking of starting a protest movement next year. Let’s hold off on purchasing products designed to “rip off” the kosher consumer and go back to basics. Our pocketbooks and waistlines (well, maybe not our waistlines) will thank us. Perhaps we should all write to our kashrut certifiers to help us to ensure that we get what we pay for. After all, it’s not only ingredients that need to be Kosher for Pesach or for any other time. We need to be watching out for kosher business practices, as well.
Hope you all had a ful(filling) yom tov.
Estelle Glass, a Teaneck resident, is a retired educator who is now happily writing her own essays.
By Estelle Glass
