Dictionary

knaidel en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kəˈneɪdl̩/
• /ˈkneɪdl̩/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish קניידל (kneydl), cognate to German Knödel (“dumpling”). Doublet of quenelle.

Meanings

1. A type of dumpling made of matzo eaten by Ashkenazi Jews during Passover.
   • If knaidl is dark in the center, ascertain whether this is the horseradish filling or an uncooked part. Don't overcook the knaidlach or they will fall apart. 2012, Jayne Cohen, Jewish Holiday Cooking, unnumbered page:
   • What is real chicken soup without Jewish matzoh balls, also known as knaidlach, made from matzoh meal? 2000, Beth Hensperger, Fluffy Knaidlach: The Best Quick Breads, unnumbered page:
   • Auntie Gussie would bring her tsimmes, sugared diced carrots baked with meat, and knaidel, a kind of matzo ball. 2012, Sue Boggio, Mare Pearl, A Growing Season, unnumbered page:
   • I checked the date on the receipt and it was only a few days beforehand – that is to say, Davidov had been in London immediately before coming to France. And paying cash for smoked salmon followed by mehren tzimmes with knaidel. 2009, L. C. Tyler, Ten Little Herrings, unnumbered page:
   • There she tests the offending knaydl. Once again the golf ball scoots around the bowl. 1982, Bernard Harper Friedman, “Choosing a Name”, in Coming Close: A Novella and Three Stories as Alternative Autobiographies, page 168:
   • Once asked on a radio show about the derivation of knaidlach, I explained that the original knaidlach were actually rock hard, and created by Azhkenazic housewives as a weapon of self-defence.[…]The real origin of the knaidel, according to author John Cooper, is the south German Knödel, or dumpling—popular in German cuisine since the Middle Ages. 2011, Phyllis Glazer, Miriyam Glazer, The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking, page 21:

Forms

Synonyms

matzo ball