Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden
Talia of Manischewitz and Rembrandt Gouda on Kosher Comfort Food and Champion Dutch Cheese
Who’s on this episode
Hosted by Jeanniey Walden, founder and host of Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden.
What you’ll learn
- What’s in Manischewitz’s new line of seven ready-to-serve soups.
- Why the soups skip preservatives and stick to recognizable pantry ingredients.
- How Manischewitz’s frozen chocolate rugelach go from freezer to gooey in eight minutes.
- Why Rembrandt’s Gouda is a world champion, and where its salty flavor comes from.
- How EU protection works for cheese, the same way it does for champagne.
- The Rembrandt range, from 6-month and 12-month aged Gouda to goat and truffle.
Episode highlights
- 00:01Welcome to Liftoff
- 00:11Meet Talia from Manischewitz and the line of seven soups
- 00:50Wholesome ingredients, no preservatives, no mystery chemicals
- 01:20Something for everyone: vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
- 01:40The flavors, and why soup isn’t just for winter
- 02:00Where to buy: Amazon and Amazon Prime
- 02:32Inside the bowl: “no filler, no nonsense”
- 02:50Manischewitz chocolate rugelach: eight minutes to gooey
- 03:30Serving ideas: ice cream, cold milk, even a cake
- 04:12Welcome back: the “World Cup of Cheese” with Rembrandt
- 04:40The terroir: reclaimed land below the sea and a salty milk
- 05:06Protected by the EU, like champagne
- 05:18A favorite: the 12-month aged Gouda
- 05:35Goat gouda: light, sweet, and not “farmy”
- 06:06Truffle Gouda for the charcuterie board
Episode summary
Jeanniey opens this episode of Liftoff at a packed event, where Talia from Manischewitz is drawing a crowd for good reason. Talia walks through the brand’s new line of seven ready-to-serve soups, and her pitch is refreshingly simple: the only real difference between a Manischewitz bowl and the one you would stand over a hot stove for three hours to make is that you didn’t have to stand over the stove. There are no preservatives and no mystery chemicals, just pantry staples you can recognize, carrots, zucchini, barley, garlic, things that belong in a soup. There is something for every table too, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options next to classics like tomato rice, split pea, vegetable, and chicken noodle, and Talia is quick to point out that a good bowl of soup is a year-round pleasure, not just a cold-weather one. For anyone who can’t wait, the soups ship through Amazon and Amazon Prime.
Then comes dessert. Talia introduces Manischewitz’s chocolate rugelach, which arrive frozen, twelve to a box, and go into a toaster or regular oven for about eight minutes until they are crisp on the outside and gooey and chocolatey in the middle. She and Jeanniey trade serving ideas, with ice cream, with a cold glass of milk, even baked into a cake, before Jeanniey threatens to eat the whole plate herself.
After the break, the tasting shifts from comfort food to a “World Cup of Cheese.” A representative from Rembrandt explains that the name belongs to a genuine champion, a matured Gouda that was awarded best in its class and has won in earlier years too. What makes it special is the land: the cheese comes from a small part of the Netherlands that used to sit under water, until the water was drawn back and the ground became a salty terroir, so the cows graze on something unique and the milk carries it into a cheese made in a factory that has stood for more than a century. That combination is distinctive enough that the European Union protects it, the same way it protects champagne. Tasting through the range, the representative points to a 12-month aged Gouda for its crystal and crunch balanced against a younger sweetness, a goat gouda that melts and stays sweet rather than farmy, and a creamy black-truffle Gouda that earns a spot in any charcuterie rotation. Jeanniey sees the obvious throughline: this is a spread built for friends coming over, for a dinner meant to impress, or simply for a good snack in the middle of the day.
Key takeaways
- 00:11 Manischewitz’s new line has seven ready-to-serve soups made with recognizable pantry ingredients like carrots, zucchini, barley, and garlic, and no preservatives.
- 01:20 There’s a soup for every diet, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options alongside the classics.
- 01:40 Flavors include tomato rice, split pea, vegetable, and chicken noodle, and they’re built for any season, not just winter.
- 02:00 The soups are available on Amazon and Amazon Prime, delivered to your door.
- 02:50 Manischewitz’s frozen chocolate rugelach come 12 to a box; bake about eight minutes for a crisp outside and a gooey chocolate center.
- 04:17 Rembrandt is an award-winning matured Dutch Gouda, named a world champion for best matured Gouda.
- 04:40 Its flavor comes from a reclaimed stretch of Northern Holland that used to be under the sea, giving a salty terroir and distinctive milk.
- 05:06 Like champagne, Rembrandt is protected by the European Union for its origin and traditional method.
- 05:35 The range spans a 6-month and a 12-month aged Gouda, plus a sweet, not-“farmy” goat gouda.
- 06:06 A black-truffle Gouda rounds out the line as a creamy, rotation-worthy addition to a charcuterie board.
Questions people ask
Who is on this episode?
Jeanniey Walden tastes kosher-friendly favorites with Talia from Manischewitz, who shows the brand’s new soups and chocolate rugelach, and a representative from Rembrandt, who pours out the story of its award-winning Dutch Gouda.
What is in the new Manischewitz soup line?
It’s a line of seven ready-to-serve soups made with wholesome, recognizable ingredients like carrots, zucchini, barley, and garlic, with no preservatives. Flavors include chicken noodle, split pea, tomato and rice, and vegetable, and there are vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
Are Manischewitz soups available online?
Yes. The soups are available on Amazon and Amazon Prime, delivered to your door.
What are Manischewitz chocolate rugelach?
They are frozen chocolate rugelach that come 12 to a box. You bake them for about eight minutes for a crisp outside and a gooey chocolate center, and they pair well with ice cream or a cold glass of milk.
What makes Rembrandt Gouda special?
Rembrandt is an award-winning matured Dutch Gouda, named a world champion for best matured Gouda. Its milk comes from a reclaimed part of Northern Holland that used to be under the sea, giving a salty terroir, and it is protected by the European Union like champagne.
What Rembrandt varieties are there?
The range includes a 6-month and a 12-month aged Gouda, a light and sweet goat gouda that is not farmy, and a creamy black-truffle Gouda for a charcuterie board.
Full transcript
Part one: Talia, Manischewitz
Jeanniey Walden: I’m Jeanniey Walden, and this is another episode of Liftoff. We’re here with Talia from Manischewitz, and she’s going to walk us through some tasty treats that are great for every season. Talia, thanks for being on the show.
Talia: Thank you so much for having me.
Jeanniey Walden: You’ve got this incredible line of seven soups. I’d love to see them, but you are jam-packed at this event. Everyone wants Manischewitz. Who can say no to a beautiful hot bowl of soup and a delicious chocolate cookie? But let’s talk about the soups first. You’ve got the line of seven soups.
Talia: Yes, and they are delicious premium soups. They’re made with wholesome ingredients that you know, love, and trust. The only difference between our bowl of soup and the one you slaved over a hot stove for three hours to make is that you didn’t slave over the hot stove for three hours. We did that work for you. There are no preservatives, no strange chemicals added that you look at and go, I don’t know what this is. All the ingredients are pantry staples you can recognize, everything from carrots to zucchini, barley, garlic, things that really belong in a soup.
Jeanniey Walden: And you’ve said before there’s something for everybody. There’s the chicken soup, but there are vegetarian and vegan soups too, right?
Talia: Absolutely. There are vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free soups. There’s something for everybody in our delicious line. Tomato rice, delicious. Split pea is a really popular classic. Vegetable soup. And chicken noodle, which is my favorite. And they’re good any time of the year. You don’t need to wait until it’s cold.
Jeanniey Walden: I was just eating chicken soup last week. And I can get these everywhere?
Talia: Absolutely. And for those who can’t wait, it’s available on Amazon and Amazon Prime, delivered to your door.
Jeanniey Walden: The soup has opened up for us to take a look. Cram-tam full. This is no filler, no nonsense. It’s green, it’s got dill, peas, zucchini. You’re making me hungry.
Talia: I’d like to feed you.
Jeanniey Walden: Of course you would, you’re Manischewitz. But if I’m going to get fed, I want chocolate. Take me over to the chocolate.
Talia: Let’s go try some chocolate. This is Manischewitz rugelach. If you have not had this yet, you have got to have some immediately. These are the most amazing snacks on the planet.
Jeanniey Walden: Are they snacks, or is this a meal? I don’t know.
Talia: It’s exactly what you want it to be. It comes in a box of 12, frozen. You pop them in your toaster oven or regular oven for eight minutes, and they’re crispy on the outside and gooey, gooey, and chocolatey on the inside.
Jeanniey Walden: Do you eat this with ice cream?
Talia: You could eat it with ice cream. We’ve made a cake out of them, and my daughter really enjoys it with a cold cup of milk.
Jeanniey Walden: That would be so good. We’re going to end this interview now because I’m going to eat this whole plate. Talia, thank you so much for being on the show. I’m so excited about all the great stuff Manischewitz has brought to our market, to our homes, and to our bellies.
Talia: Thank you so much. Let’s get noshing.
Part two: Rembrandt Gouda
Jeanniey Walden: Everybody’s going crazy over the World Cup, but we’re here with the World Cup of Cheese, right?
Rembrandt representative: We have World Cup winners here in terms of cheese. This is our brand, Rembrandt. There’s a very interesting story connected to this cheese. It’s a World Cup winner. We were awarded best matured Gouda this year, and a couple of other years before that as well. What makes it so unique is that it comes from a very small part of the Netherlands that always used to be under the water. So we took away the water, made it into land, and now we have a very salty terroir. The cows graze, you get a very unique milk, and we make from that milk a very special cheese in a factory that has been there for more than a century. That combination is so special that the European Union actually protects it.
Jeanniey Walden: Like champagne, from the champagne region. Wine tasting at its highest level is called sommelier. Cheese tasting at its highest level is called?
Rembrandt representative: I would say a cheese monger. You’d be a cheese monger today.
Jeanniey Walden: And out of all these flavors, which one’s your favorite?
Rembrandt representative: Of course I’m going to go with our brand, Rembrandt. We have a six-month-old and a 12-month-old, and I really like the 12-month-old, because it gives that crisp, that crystal, but still the sweetness of a slightly younger cheese. It’s a very good combination.
Jeanniey Walden: I see you have goat gouda here. Is it as amazing as it smells?
Rembrandt representative: It’s a different type of cheese. It melts in your mouth, it’s very light and very sweet. Normally people don’t like goat’s cheese because they think it has a farmy smell, but this really isn’t farmy at all. It’s super sweet, super nice, and a very good addition.
Jeanniey Walden: I see everything here, all the way down to truffles. Black truffles, right?
Rembrandt representative: You need to like truffle, but if you like truffle, this is going to be the best cheese for you ever. It’s very creamy, with that truffle flavor. Super nice on a charcuterie board, like a new flavor to rotate in.
Jeanniey Walden: I’m seeing so many opportunities here, for friends coming over for a fun afternoon, for a dinner where you want to impress somebody, or a little snack during the day. This is a great selection of cheeses. Thank you so much for sharing.
This conversation was recorded for Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden and lightly edited for readability.
Watch the full conversation
More candid conversations with the people shaping business, food, and the brands we love.