The Orthodox Union certifies certain industrial products as “chametz-free.” This means that kitniyot (legumes) may be used as a raw material, although normally they are not used during Passover.

What is chametz? Chametz includes grains like wheat, oats, rye, barley and spelt, which are prohibited if they’ve had contact with water/moisture for longer than 18 minutes, leading to rising or “leavening.” Leavening agents, like yeast and sourdough, are also considered chametz.

In Hebrew, that rising grain is called chametz. The Bible bans it during Passover as a reminder that when the Israelites fled Egypt, they left with unrisen dough in their packs. So these grains can be used to make matzo, aka unleavened bread, as long as the baking process is under 18 minutes.

Chametz is permitted again from nightfall after the final day of Passover, which is the 21st day of the month and the last of the seven days of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:6). Traditional Jewish homes spend the days leading up to Passover cleaning and removing all traces of chametz from the house.

The Passover dietary rules restrict the use of grains that can ferment and become leavened. These grains are wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye. During Passover, people can only eat unleavened grains.

“Regular flour is made from wheat which was tempered with water before milling. They stayed moist between 3-9 hours. Therefore the flour is considered chametz.

Legumes and grains are considered kosher, and rice, bean and lentil dishes have long been served at Passover. So, if you’re hosting a Seder dinner this year, feel free to add a rice and beans dish to the table.

“Rabbinic tradition teaches that just as chametz bloats the grain, it bloats us and keeps us from our most basic selves,” he said. “When we remove leavening from our homes and diets, it’s a reminder that we’re returning to our more essential needs and selves.”

The Passover dietary rules restrict the use of grains that can ferment and become leavened. These grains are wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye. During Passover, people can only eat unleavened grains. Wheat flour is permitted only if it is baked into Matzah (unleavened bread).

No bread (except the unleavened kind). No grains (except quinoa). No legumes (except legumes are now permitted, according to some Jewish authorities).

This law appears several times in the Torah; the punishment for eating chametz on Passover is the divine punishment of kareth (cutting off). Chametz is a product that is both made from one of five types of grain and has been combined with water and left to stand raw for longer than eighteen minutes (according to most opinions) and becomes leavened.

Chametz. Chametz (also chometz, ḥametz, ḥameṣ, ḥameç and other spellings transliterated from Hebrew: חָמֵץ / חמץ ‬, IPA: [χaˈmets]) are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover.

The prohibitions take effect around late morning on the eve of Passover, or the 14th of the month of Nisan, in the Jewish calendar. Chametz is permitted again from nightfall after the final day of Passover, which is the 21st day of the month and the last of the seven days of Unleavened Bread ( Exodus 13:6 ).

Torah-related sources. The prohibitions take effect around late morning on the eve of Passover, or the 14th of the month of Nisan, in the Jewish calendar. Chametz is permitted again from nightfall after the final day of Passover, which is the 21st day of the month and the last of the seven days of Unleavened Bread ( Exodus 13:6 ).