A Very Pomegranate Passover

A Seasonal Visit to a Kosher Supermarket in Brooklyn
























I learned about Pomegranate, a kosher supermarket in Brooklyn, thanks to a tip on a message board at the New York City Celiac Disease Meetup Group (NYCCDMG). When I read about the many gluten-free Passover (a.k.a. Pesach) foods available in its aisles, I just had to check it out for myself.

I took the Q train to Avenue M and then proceeded northwest to Pomegranate, which is at 1507 Coney Island Avenue just north of Avenue L. Sure enough, I found many gluten-free items as I prowled the Pesach aisles established at this time of year.

If you're accustomed to shopping in the same places and seeing the same products over and over again, there's something surreal about going into a supermarket that's well stocked with gluten-free Passover products. It's almost like being in a Bizarro universe where the shelves of gluten-free cereals look strangely familiar...yet different.


















I recognized many products and brands from my visits to the Shoprite at Morton Village in Plainview on Long Island: Klein's Hoo-Lachmu Passover Flats, Kedem's Passover Style Gefilte Fish, Frankel's blintzes and knishes, Shabtai Gourmet baked goods (including Chocolaty Coated Coconut Macaroons), and Oberlander's baked goods (including cupcakes), just to reel off a bunch of examples.

I happened upon three types of faux matzoh ball mixes—not just Lieber's Knaidel Mix and Gefen's Kneidel Mix but also the boldly named Paskesz Matzo Ball Mix (above). I call it "boldly named" because it doesn't contain matzo, which traditionally contains gluten—although Pomegranate does carry at least one brand of newfangled (and expensive) gluten-free oat matzo. (See Gluten-Free Bay about shopping for oat matzo; see I Am Gluten Free for some cooking ideas.

But there were also some foods that were new to me, including chow mein noodles from Paskesz (right) and many types of break crumbs and coatings. Paskaez also makes Ultra Crispy Potato Thins (that, oddly enough, remind me of shrimp chips but with potato instead of shrimp—so they might go well with fish such as salmon) as well as junk foods called Nibblers and Diddles (shown on display below).














If that isn't enough chazarai (junk food) for you, there's also gluten-free cotton candy-in-a-bag from Smunchies Inc. of Spring Valley.

For many people a visit to Pomegranate may offer an unusual glimpse of Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish and Chasidic cultures. It is open until at least 9pm most evenings, but don't even think of going on Friday evenings and Saturdays, when it is closed for Sabbath. (Call 718-951-7112 to confirm that the supermarket will be open when you want to go there.)

Passover 2009 starts on the evening of Wednesday, April 8, so go before then to see the most goods for sale. Discounts might or might not be available after the holiday.

Shelf photos by David Marc Fischer

Passover Product Watch 2009: Return to ShopRite

Yesterday I stopped by the ShopRite at Morton Village in Plainview, Long Island, and saw that a good number of gluten-free products had arrived! Near the customer service counter are boxes of gluten-free baked goods from the likes of Shabtai, Mendy's, and Oberlander's. Many of the contents overlap—lots of rainbow cookies—but there are some unusual items such as Oberlander's sugar-free kichel, which is something like a very plain-tasting, airy breadstick (that certainly might not be to everyone's taste, especially without some sort of tasty embellishment).

In one of the central aisles you can find an assortment of gluten-free Passover groceries including Lieber's Knaidel Mix (suitable for making faux matzoh balls) as well as Geffen's Kneidel Mix (which I imagine is also suitable for making faux matzoh balls).
















Attractions in a frozen foods aisle include gluten-free blintzes from Frankel's...


















...and the Hoo-Lachmu flatbreads as well as two types of pizza. (The Hoo-Lachmu pizza seems to be a repackaging of last year's Manischewitz appetizer-sized mini-pizzas, as one might see from the reference to Manischewitz that remains on the back of the box.)


















The company Klein's Real Kosher, which has a hand in the marketing of the Hoo-Lachmu brand, also has its label on Italian ices that look very similar to the Manischewitz product from last year. You can see them in the group shot below, along with a jar of Kedem's Passover Gefilte Fish (at a very reasonable price and definitely worth a taste) and Osem's bagged cakes.
















This is just a sampling of the gluten-free Passover foods available at the Morton Village ShopRite. There were more last year—and there's still time for additional items to show up at this supermarket. Just keep in mind that not all Passover food is gluten-free: Matzoh is wheat, so anything with matzoh should be avoided in favor of food marked gluten-free or non-gebrokts. And if you're in the vicinity of Plainview, remember that you're also close to much gluten-free grocery shopping at Dr. B. Well Naturally, Eat Healthy America, Fairway, and Trader Joe's.

If the Plainview ShopRite isn't convenient to you, look for products online at places like kosher.com, and also look out for Passover Stores as well as kosher grocers in your area. (The more grocers understand that there's a demand for good gluten-free food year-round, the more likely it is that they'll build the market for those foods.) A visit to the Jewish community of Monsey, New York, might also be productive.

Photos: David Marc Fischer

Passover Product Watch 2009: Blintzes and Knishes

Last Passover I found a few brands that offered gluten-free blintzes but, if memory serves, only one that offered gluten-free knishes (the "stuffed bread" type as opposed to the "fried breadcrumby" type). Potato was a significant ingredient in those products.

One of the standout brands was Spring Valley...















...and another was Frankel's Homestyle Products...














...which also makes the knishes!