Shkedei marak (), known as mandlakh () in Yiddish, or as "soup mandels" or "soup nuts" in the United States,Shkedei marak marketed as Soup Mandel in the U.S. is an Israeli food product consisting of crisp mini crouton used as a soup accompaniment.Falafel Nation: Cuisine and the Making of National Identity in Israel, Yael Raviv Shkedei marak are small yellow squares made from flour and palm oil. As a parve product, they can be used in either meat or cream soups. Despite the name, they contain no almonds.
Etymology The word mandlach is the plural diminutive of mandel, which means "almond" in German and Yiddish. The word "shkedei" is the plural form of "shaked", which means "almond" in Hebrew, and "marak" is the Hebrew word for soup.
History Although today shkedei marak are manufactured, they are based on the homemade crispy-fried squares of dough known as mandlach traditionally served with chicken soup by Ashkenazi Jews.
Marketing For many years Osem was the exclusive manufacturer of shkedei marak in Israel, but today the product is also marketed by other food companies, such as Vita and Knorr.Shkedei marak: a new Knorr product Davidovich Bakery & Sons located near Haifa also produces and packages soup almonds under a variety of brand names.Davidovich Bakery & Sons : company web site Over the years, food companies have experimented with different shapes for shkedei marak, including stars, rings, and little fish.Fish-shaped mini mandels on Osem web site (type "mandel" in search field) In addition to their use in soups, shkedei marak are eaten plain as a snack food.
See also Israeli cuisine Oyster cracker Saltine
References
External links Osem website