Charoset, haroset, or charoses is a sweet paste that is eaten during the Passover Seder. The color and texture of this delicious paste are meant to resemble mortar or mud that the Jews used when they were slaves in Egypt and built storehouses.
Every family has its own version of charoset and I am sharing my mom's recipe which is an Israeli-Ashkenazi version of charoset.
And here’s the thing, like most people I’m sure, when I asked my mom for the recipe, all she gave me was a list of ingredients without quantities and steps to follow. You just need to figure it out. When it’s a cake recipe she never bothers to write down what temperature to bake and for how long. And if you ask, all she says is "bake until its ready," okay, thanks, mom!
So I asked my mom for this chroset recipe because like many families, this year we are on our own. Most of us will be celebrating a small Passover Seder due to the COVID-19 lockdown. On top of it all, this is the first time I have ever needed to make chroset actually. I assume a lot of people are in my situation so I decided to share my family’s recipe after I figured out the quantities and method. Plus it's very easy to make and after you taste it, you might even wonder why don’t we eat it all year round?
To make the chroset, you will need an apple, banana, walnuts, a few tablespoons of sweet wine and 2 spices (cinnamon and ginger). From what I read online, I learned that some families use dates or dates spread, some use raisins and other dried fruits. You get the general idea of this paste, sweet and fruity. About the ginger, my mom said it can be either the spice or grated ginger root. I used the spice because that is what I had at home.
Because our Seder is small, I only made a small batch of this chroset, but I hope next year I can make much more and we will be able to celebrate with all the family. If you need a bigger batch, all you need to do is double the ingredients.
Other Passover recipes on my blog:
Passover Rolls
Passover Chocolate Coconut Balls (non-dairy)
Maple Passover Cake
Almond Cookies
Sweet Potato Mini Pizzas
Passover Pancakes (Parve)
Passover Apple Crumble (Parve)
Passover Granola
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegetable Kugel
GF Lemon Crinkle Cookies (Parve)
Homemade Marzipan
Vegetarian Chopped Liver
Charoset Cake
Here is the recipe for this delicious charoset:
Passover Charoset
Ingredients
- 1 apple
- 1 banana
- Handful walnuts
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon red sweet wine
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash the banana with a fork.
- Add the cinnamon and ginger and mix.
- Peel and grate the apple and add it to the bowl.
- Add the wine to the bowl and mix.
- Chop the walnuts and add to the bowl.
- Mix well.
- Have some chroset on matzo and happy Passover!
