Charoset
Encyclopedia
Charoset, haroset, or charoses (Hebrew
: [ḥărōset]) is a sweet, dark-colored, chunky paste made of fruits and nuts served primarily during the Passover Seder
. Its color and texture are meant to recall the mortar with which the Israelite
s bonded bricks when they were enslaved
in Ancient Egypt
as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim
of the Talmud
. The word "charoset" comes from the Hebrew
word cheres — חרס — "clay."
The charoset serves an ancillary function with maror
on the Passover Seder Plate
. Before eating the maror — in the present day generally horseradish or romaine lettuce
— participants dip the maror into the charoset and then shake off the charoset before eating the maror. This action symbolises how hard the Israelites worked in Egypt, combining a food that brings tears to the eyes (the maror) with one that resembles the mortar used to build Egyptian cities and storehouses (the charoset).
Despite its symbolism, the charoset is a tasty concoction and is a favorite of children. During the Seder meal, it may be eaten liberally, often spread on matzah.
There are many recipes for charoset. A typical recipe from the Eastern Europe
an (or Ashkenazi) tradition would include nut
s, apple
s, cinnamon
, and sweet wine
— ingredients mentioned by King Solomon in Song of Songs
as recalling the attributes of the Jewish people themselves. Honey
or sugar
may be used as a sweetener and binder. The mixture is not cooked.
Recipes in the Sephardi
tradition are usually cooked and may include raisin
s and ingredients native to the Middle East
such as fig
s, date
s, and sesame seeds. For example:
Not all Jews use the term "charoset". Some of the Jews of the Middle East instead use the term "halegh". The origin of halegh is not clear. Rav Saadia Gaon
uses the word and attributes it to a kind of walnut that was a mandatory ingredient in the preparation of the halegh.
Parts of the Jewish Diaspora in Persia have a tradition of including forty different ingredients in the halegh. The number forty signifies the forty years of wandering in the desert. Included are all the fruits mentioned in the Song of Songs
: apples 2-3, figs 2-13, pomegranates 4-3, grapes 2-15, walnuts 6-11, dates 7-7 with the addition of wine 1-2, saffron 4-14 and cinnamon 4-14. To arrive at the magic number of forty, some recipes include the following ingredients:
All fruits are washed, dried, peeled and chopped and the shelled nuts are dry-roasted. All the ingredients are traditionally mixed in a mortar, but since the 1990s, the use of an electric mixer has become common.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: [ḥărōset]) is a sweet, dark-colored, chunky paste made of fruits and nuts served primarily during the Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
. Its color and texture are meant to recall the mortar with which the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s bonded bricks when they were enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim
Pesahim
Pesahim is the third tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Passover as well as the Passover lamb offering...
of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. The word "charoset" comes from the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
word cheres — חרס — "clay."
The charoset serves an ancillary function with maror
Maror
Maror also Marror, refers to the bitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder in keeping with the biblical commandment "with bitter herbs they shall eat it." .-Biblical source:...
on the Passover Seder Plate
Passover Seder Plate
The Passover Seder Plate Hebrew: ke'ara is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder.-Significance:...
. Before eating the maror — in the present day generally horseradish or romaine lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Romaine or cos lettuce is a variety of lettuce which grows in a tall head of sturdy leaves with a firm rib down the center. Unlike most lettuces, it is tolerant of heat...
— participants dip the maror into the charoset and then shake off the charoset before eating the maror. This action symbolises how hard the Israelites worked in Egypt, combining a food that brings tears to the eyes (the maror) with one that resembles the mortar used to build Egyptian cities and storehouses (the charoset).
Despite its symbolism, the charoset is a tasty concoction and is a favorite of children. During the Seder meal, it may be eaten liberally, often spread on matzah.
Recipes
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an (or Ashkenazi) tradition would include nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
s, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, and sweet wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
— ingredients mentioned by King Solomon in Song of Songs
Song of songs
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
as recalling the attributes of the Jewish people themselves. Honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
or sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
may be used as a sweetener and binder. The mixture is not cooked.
Recipes in the Sephardi
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
tradition are usually cooked and may include raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
s and ingredients native to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
such as fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s, date
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
s, and sesame seeds. For example:
- In Egypt, it is made only of dates, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, and sweet wine.
- In Greece and Turkey, it consists of apples, dates, chopped almonds, and wine.
- In Iraq and Central Asia, it sometimes consists of grape jelly
- In Italy, it can include chestnuts
- In Spanish and Portuguese communities of the New World, such as Suriname, it may include coconut.
Among Mizrahim
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
uses the word and attributes it to a kind of walnut that was a mandatory ingredient in the preparation of the halegh.
Parts of the Jewish Diaspora in Persia have a tradition of including forty different ingredients in the halegh. The number forty signifies the forty years of wandering in the desert. Included are all the fruits mentioned in the Song of Songs
Song of songs
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
: apples 2-3, figs 2-13, pomegranates 4-3, grapes 2-15, walnuts 6-11, dates 7-7 with the addition of wine 1-2, saffron 4-14 and cinnamon 4-14. To arrive at the magic number of forty, some recipes include the following ingredients:
- 1 to 5: Five different varieties of apples
- 6 to 7: Two different varieties of pears
- 8 to 10: Three different varieties of grapes
- 11 to 12: Two different varieties of dried figs
- 13: Fresh ginger, grated
- 14: Dates
- 15 to 18: Dried apricots, dried peaches, dried cherries and prunes
- 19 to 21: Red raisins, yellow raisins and currants
- 22 to 26: Walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios and filberts, all dry-roasted without any oils or salt
- 27: Pomegranate juice
- 28 to 35: Cinnamon as the dominant spice, along with cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, fenugreek seeds, saffron, cloves and black peppers, all crushed
- 36 to 39: White wine, red wine, rose wine, vinegar
- 40: Starting with the late 1950s, bananas were added as well
All fruits are washed, dried, peeled and chopped and the shelled nuts are dry-roasted. All the ingredients are traditionally mixed in a mortar, but since the 1990s, the use of an electric mixer has become common.