Best Charoset Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do Jews eat charoset? ›

According to the Talmud, its color and texture are meant to recall mortar (or mud used to make adobe bricks), which the Israelites used when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt, as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim 116a of the Talmud.

Charoset, also known as haroset, is a mixture of fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. Traditional Charoset is easy to make, and it's one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants recipes, as you adjust as you go!

According to The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies, the sticky, granular mixture of fruit and nuts is meant to recall the mortar that the Jews used to build the Egyptian pharaohs' buildings (not the pyramids). Cinnamon and other spices represent straw used in brick making.

Passover begins on Wednesday evening. One of the favourite flavours of seder night, the home ritual that begins the holiday, is charoset, the brown mixture that sits on the seder plate and which symbolises the mortar the Israelites used to build storehouses for Pharaoh.

Prohibition in Jewish law

The Torah (Pentateuch) contains passages in Leviticus that list the animals people are permitted to eat. According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they do not chew their cud.

First and foremost, it's important to note that any nut in its natural state is kosher for Passover. This means that plain, unprocessed nuts such as almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, raw cashews, pecans, and pistachios are all acceptable to eat during Passover without any special Passover certification or concerns.

Everyone takes some maror and dips it in the charoset. All then recite the following blessing, after which everyone should immediately eat their maror without leaning to the left. Ba'ruch Ah'tah Ah'doh'nai Eh'lo'hay'nu Melech ha'o'lam ah'sher kidishanu b'mitz'vo'tav v'tzee'vanu al ah'chee'laht ma'ror.

Refrigerate leftover charoset in an airtight container and consume within 5 days. Apples become somewhat mushy when frozen, but freezing is an acceptable option if you plan to add leftover charoset in cakes, breads, or other baked goods.

Charoset is not mentioned in the Biblical descriptions of Passover, which stipulate only the eating of a sacrificial lamb (qorban pesah) with unleavened bread (matzo) and bitter herbs (maror).

What to eat with charoset? ›

It is often enjoyed with bitter herbs, matzo — or for many charoset-lovers — enjoyed directly out of the bowl. It is sweet but not saccharine, crunchy and crisp from the apple and nuts, and the cinnamon and wine round out the flavors.

The word Charoset comes from the Hebrew word cheres, which translates to "clay", fitting for the dish, which is a thick, dark-colored paste that resembles mortar.

Instead, she suggested an orange as a symbol of this inclusion, saying that it represents the fruitfulness of Judaism when gay and lesbian people are actively engaged and included. The orange also represents the oppression that LGBTQ+ people still face within the world and the Jewish community.

The Ben Ish Chai (2) explains that we dip twice because the exile into Egypt took seed with a dipping – Joseph's coat into goat's blood to make it appear as though he had been killed (3) – and the freedom from Egypt began with a dipping – a bundle of hyssop branches into the blood of the Pesach offering, to apply it to ...

When eaten with the horseradish, the charoset balances the bitterness of the maror (horseradish), symbolizing the optimism of the Passover seder. The cinnamon in charoset is symbolic of the straw Hebrews had to gather in Egypt to build Pharaoh's palaces (when considering the cinnamon in its stick form).

Charoset tells the tale of the Jewish Diaspora. Wherever Jews landed they made the traditional Seder dish with whatever foodstuffs were local. The recipe changed but the tradition of representing the bricks and mortar of the Israelite enslavement in Egypt did not. This is the most traditional Charoset.

Strawberries are kosher. However, oftentimes strawberries are infested with bugs that are not kosher. If one can clean the strawberry sufficiently that there is not one single bug left on it, one can eat the strawberry. The amount of work to ensure that result is often not worth the effort.

Hence, the custom of eating both apples and honey as food on Rosh Hashanah, not only for their nutritive value but especially because of their value as symbols. Honey, into which we dip apples is an expression of hope that sweetness will mark the lives of Jews in the coming year.