I wrote up essentially everything I know about haroset! History, symbolism, and recipes from the 5th century CE all the way to today, from Jewish communities around the world. Followers, if your family makes a haroset not listed here, add it it in the notes!Ā
āThe haroset is a symbol with many meanings, a silent seder guest, a paradox. The haroset is a mix of sweet and sour, crunchy and soft, plain and spiced. Everything is mixed together, and itās hard to separate the individual elements. It is an ambiguous symbol of slavery and freedom, of boundaries all mixed up and transgressed. It is at once the bitterness of the bricks of slavery and the bravery of the Israelite women, the exuberant sexuality of the Song of Songs and the terror of that long, dark, night hoping for the moment of liberation. It is the blood of life and the blood of death, the blood of a slaughtered goat that begins a story that reverberates through generations, all the way to my seder table and another little goat, one that my father bought for two zuzim.ā
Oxyporium Dressing (Greco-Roman ancestor of haroset?), from Apiciusā De Re Coquinaria (ca. 5th century CE), 3:18.2-3:
Lettuces: [serve] with oxyporium dressing and vinegar with a littleĀ liquamenĀ [fish sauce]. To [aid] digestion and [ease] wind and prevent the lettuces from doing harm: [mix] two ounces of cumin, one ounce of ginger, one ounce of green rue, twelve scruples [approx. Ā¼ cup] juicy dates, one ounce of pepper, nine ounces of honey, and Ethiopian, Syrian or Libyan cumin. Pound the cumin after it has been steeped in vinegar. When it has dried, mix everything with the honey. When needed, mix half a spoon with vinegar and a littleĀ liquamen
Babylonian Haroset, from Saāadia Gaon (882-942), Commentary on the Haggadah:
Prepare a sauce of dates, walnuts, and sesame, and knead them together with vinegar; this is called haliq.
Andalusi Haroset, from Maimonides (1136-1204), Perush Mishnayot, Pesahim 10:3:
Haroset is a mixture which has sharpness and something like straw, in memory of the clay, and we make it in this manner: soak figs or dates and cook them. Pound them until they become soft, and knead them with vinegar. Then put in spikenard or hyssop or something like this in it, without grinding.
ProvenƧal Haroset, from Manoah of Narbonne (13th-14th century), Sefer haMenuha, Hamets uMatza 7:11:
Our custom is to make [haroset] like this: take chestnuts, peel them, cook them, and then clean them and pound them well in a mortar. Afterwards take almonds, remove their thin skin and pound them, and a few walnuts. Then take dried figs, raisins without pips, and dates, and tread them, each one separately. Then take sour apples, peel them, and crush them well. Afterwards mix everything in the mortar with a pestle and pound with strong wine vinegar, little by little, so it is well mixed. Season with spices such as ginger, sweet calamus, and grass of Mecca, calledĀ esquinantĀ [lemongrass] and nails of cloves and a little spikenard, which is calledĀ espica nardi, after they have been ground.
Ashkenazi Haroset, from Joseph ben Moses of Bavaria (1423-1490), Leket Yosher, Orah Hayyim 84:
It was taught that the haroset should be made from pomegranates and all the fruit mentioned in Song of Songs, but [regarding the custom of adding] pears that are called [in German]Ā birnĀ I do not know [a reason] to add them in haroset. In any case the custom should not be changed, and I remember that I heard from my father R. Moses of blessed memory that putting pears in haroset along with apples and walnuts gives it a colour like clay, meaning mortar, and I have seen this; though presumably the intention of the gaon was to make it thick in memory of the clay, but to make its colour like clay we have not found in the books [a reason to do so].
More Recipes! Haroset from Around the World
ā¢ Ashkenazi: 3 apples, Ā½ cup walnuts, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp lemon rind, Ā¼ cup sweet red wine
ā¢ Turkish: Ā½ cup raisins, Ā½ cup dates, 1 orange, 2 apples, Ā¼ cup sweet wine
ā¢ Yemenite (dukkeh): 1 cup dates, Ā½ cup walnuts, 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp hot chili pepper, Ā½ cup grape juice or wine
ā¢ Greek: Ā½ cup golden raisins, Ā½ cup dried apricots, Ā½ cup pine nuts, Ā½ cup chopped figs, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp honey
ā¢ Georgian: 2 apples, 1 pear, Ā¼ cup hazelnuts, 1 tsp ground cloves, 2 tbsp honey
ā¢ Persian: Ā½ cup pistachios, Ā½ cup almonds, 1 apple, 2 pears, Ā½ cup white wine
ā¢ Iraqi (haliqĀ orĀ silan): 1 cup dates, pitted and boiled with Ā¼ cup water and blended
ā¢ Moroccan: Ā½ cup dates, Ā½ cup dried plums, Ā¼ cup dried figs, Ā¼ cup dried apricots, Ā½ cup walnuts, 2 tbsp honey, Ā¼ cup red wine or grape juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, Ā½ tsp cumin, Ā½ tsp black pepper. This and the Libyan recipe which follow are traditionally formed into balls, rolled in cinnamon or chopped nuts, and served as haroset ātrufflesā.
ā¢ Libyan (lahliq): Ā½ cup dates, Ā¼ cup walnuts, Ā¼ cup almonds, Ā½ cup pomegranate seeds, Ā¼ cup raisins, 1apple, Ā½ tsp cinnamon, Ā½ tsp cumin, Ā½ tsp black pepper
ā¢ Surinamese: Ā¼ cup dried apricots, Ā¼ cup dried plums, Ā¼ cup cherries, Ā½ cup cashews, Ā¼ cup raisins, Ā½ cup shredded coconut, Ā¼ cup sweet wine. Dried ingredients should be simmered in the liquid until soft and then blended.
ā¢ Jamaican: Ā½ cup dates, Ā½ cup raisins. Soak in orange juice, add 1 tsp grated lemon rind, Ā¼ cup port wine, and Ā¼ cup shredded coconut. Blend into paste, shape into little bricks, and dust with cinnamon.
ā¢ Venetian: Ā½ cup chestnuts (ground to paste), Ā½ cup dates, Ā¼ cup walnuts, 1 orange, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 2 tbsp brandy, 2 tbsp honey
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