Is Matzoh a Bread or a Cracker?

That question from some half a dozen readers over the weekend, and it’s a good one, since matzoh and crackers can be very similar in their taste, texture and appearance. The Joe Pastry call on this is that while they may appear the same to the casual observer, they are quite different things. Matzoh is not a true cracker, it is rather a flatbread. So where do I get off drawing a distinction like that between two things that may look almost the same, taste almost the same and be made of almost the same components? Good question. However I think geography and origin come into play on this issue. Wheat flatbreads come from the Middle East and have deep roots in culture and tradition. Crackers are — or at least were originally — a utilitarian food made primarily for the military in industrial America. Sure, matzoh and crackers ended up in pretty much the same place, but the intentions behind them were totally different. That’s my story at any rate, and I’m stickin’ to it.