Farfel facts for kids
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| Type | Pasta |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Egg noodle dough |
Farfel is a type of small pasta that looks like tiny pellets or flakes. It's a popular food in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. This means it's eaten by Jewish people whose families originally came from Central and Eastern Europe.
Farfel is made from a special dough, similar to egg noodles. Often, it's toasted (lightly browned) before it's cooked. You can enjoy farfel in soups or as a side dish with your meal. In some places, like the United States, you might find it pre-packaged and called "egg barley."
Farfel and Passover
During the Jewish holiday of Passover, there are special rules about what foods can be eaten. Grains like wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt are usually avoided. Because of these rules, the regular egg noodle farfel isn't eaten during Passover.
Instead, people eat "matzah farfel." This is simply matzah (a type of unleavened flatbread) that has been broken into small pieces. It's a way to still enjoy a similar dish while following the holiday's traditions.
A Special Meaning
There's an interesting story about farfel and a very important Jewish leader named the Baal Shem Tov. He was the founder of the Hasidic movement, which is a branch of Judaism.
It's said that the Baal Shem Tov ate farfel every Friday night. He did this because the word "farfel" sounded a bit like the Yiddish word farfaln. This word means "wiped out" or "finished." For him, eating farfel was a way to symbolize that the old week was completely over and a new week was beginning.
