use of butter, while otherwise suitable, violates the Jewish law of kashrut prohibiting consumption of milk and meat products together, if the balls are eaten with chicken soup. The balls are dropped into a pot of salted boiling water or chicken soup, then the heat turned down to a simmer and a lid placed on the pot. The balls swell during the cooking time of 20 to 30 minutes. Adding kosher baking powder for lightness is permissible, even for Passover. While the recipe is simple, there are also ready matzah ball mixes, typically to be added to beaten egg. World records In 2008 Joey Chestnut held the world record for eating matzah balls: 78 of exactly in 8 minutes, at the Inaugural World Matzoh Ball Eating Championship, a charity event. In 2010, the world's largest matzah ball was prepared by Chef Jon Wirtis of Shlomo and Vito's New York City Delicatessen, located in Tucson, Arizona. He created a matzah ball for New York's Jewish Food Festival. The ingredients were of matzah meal, of schmaltz, over 1,000 eggs and of potato starch. This broke the previous record set by Chef Anthony Sylvestri of Noah's Ark Deli to raise awareness for a charity basketball game, which weighed and was long and was made from "1,000 eggs, 80 pounds of margarine, 200 pounds of matzah meal, and 20 pounds of chicken base". See also Jewish cuisine Knödel Matzo Matzah brei References External links Manischewitz Matzo Ball Soup Recipe Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Passover foods Dumplings Israeli cuisine Matzo