Thursday, April 3, 2008

I Saw It and I Still Don't Believe It

I have complained that there is just too much available for Pesach. Some people have agreed and some have disagreed. Fine by me. But yesterday in Brooklyn I saw the ultimate item available for Pesach, with multiple hechsherim of course.

Go ahead, think of the strangest thing you can that could be made kosher for Pesach. Way stranger then toilet paper with a hechsher. Give up?

Ready prepared, available now, in a jar--------salt water. Yup, salt water!

I do not care how busy you are in the days leading up to Pesach, how exhausted, how stressed for time. I do not care what chumras you hold and how careful you are in what you make and buy for Pesach. There is no one whose life is so complicated that they cannot make saltwater for Pesach. The cost of this "convenience" item? More than double the cost of a large container of salt.

Yup, "az muh lebt, derlebtmin."

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you really mean 'salt water' as in 'salt water' for the seder? Why would anybody want to BUY this?

Anonymous said...

I saw this item also and couldn't imagine why anyone would buy it. I'd bet though that they sell it. Why not. Profit on this item must be incredible. A few years ago one of the take out food stores was selling pre-shelled hard cooked eggs, and a different store was selling bagged already peeled potatoes.

Anonymous said...

Maybe you need to put a disclaimer on this posting that your mentioning this product in no way should be considered a recommendation that anyone, anywhere actually needs to buy this product. Because otherwise some chumradike person who has never heard of it before, skimming blogs for information on Pesach, is liable to see it and run right out and buy it. Forget it, no disclaimer. Anyone who actually buys salt water ready made deserves to pay whatever it costs.

Maybe you were wrong in your Brave New World posting. Maybe the way the great New York Center is going to end is in a tidal wave of ready made salt water.

Anonymous said...

Hey, salt can be complicated. There is salt evaporated from salt water, of which there are different types, gourmets have their picks, and mined salt.

Anyway, now that we have a post on salt water, I am still waiting for a post on borscht consumption patterns and related subtopics. You might want to throw in some words on pitcha and some other stuff too.

What has borscht done to be so neglected until now (just a brief mention earlier in passing) ? What do you think it is ? Chopped liver ???!!!

Scraps said...

[blank stare]

Please, please tell me you're joking.

Orthonomics said...

LOL. Today I was snooping around the dollar store with one of my kids to see what might be available and useful for Pesach. As we walked by the food and spice isle I commented, upon seeing a cinnamon sugar mixture. . . it is unbelievable that a company can sell this? Have we forgotten how to mix cinnamon with sugar?

What can I say, kol v'chomer a bit of water with some salk where the proportions are far less important anyways. Oy vey.

Commenter Abbi said...

SL- cinnamon sugar has been around for years. We had it when I was a kid, about 25 years ago.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't I think of it. I could have made some money.

Anonymous said...

I am a few decades older than Abbi, and we had cinnamon, sugar too.

Anonymous said...

I can see the money rolling in next Pesach. I'm going to produce 17 varieties of salt water, including low-sodium for those who are having health problems, and Dead Sea Salt and Caspian Sea Salt specialty gourmet waters. And some special flavors for those who want more zip then just plain salt water. My economics professor liked to tell us that a fool and his money are soon parted. Might as well have the money come my way.

Bas~Melech said...

This is your April Fools post, a little belated, right?

Such a blatant example of exploitation of the naive Jewish consumer is rarely seen.

Anonymous said...

So I thought this was just another piece of internet legend and couldn't possibly be true. I was shopping yesterday and asked our local kosher grocery if they were carrying salt water for Pesach. The manager explained that it was available readymade but that he wasn't carrying it. And then he patiently told me how to make salt water on my own. I didn't want him to think I was totally a fool so I explained that I had seen it on the internet and just wanted to know if it was true. I like convenience as much as anybody else but this product is just nuts.

Anonymous said...

I waspositive you were making this up because when I went shopping today in Bklyn with my mom I didn't see the salt water anywhere in the store we went to. Don't know why I even bothered but I asked the checkout person about the saltwater and she told me they had run out but more would be in on Monday or Tuesday. Was the topic of conversation on most of our drive home.

Bas~Melech said...

Ilanit -- Whoa. To make it is one thing, and if they make it you may as well sell it, but sold out?! Oy vey...

Anonymous said...

I may have an idea why ready salt water is avalaible this year in kosher shops. Since we are not allowed to prepare it during Shabbes, I suppose some people will buy it, just to make sure their salt water is ready for the seder. On the other hand, it is not exactly as if it took ages to make!