When it comes to matzo, Chicago chef Laura Frankel says hers is a love-hate relationship.

“Matzo and I are frenemies,” she says of the unleavened cracker-like bread traditionally eaten during Jewish Passover celebrations. “On one hand, matzo is a food you want to be proud of – it’s part of who we are as Jews. But frankly, it usually tastes like cardboard.”

During Passover, leavened breads and most grains are prohibited. The tradition is intended to recall the flight of the Jews from Egypt after being freed by the pharaoh. As the story goes, they had no time to let their bread rise before baking it. So today, matzo – the production of which is a highly regulated process – is central to Passover meals.