Mahleb or mahlepi is an aromatic

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

made from the seeds of a species of cherry, ''

Prunus mahaleb ''Prunus mahaleb'', the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter alm ...

'' (the Mahaleb or St Lucie cherry). The cherry

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter, soft and chewy on extraction. The seed kernel is ground to a powder before use. Its flavour is similar to a combination of bitter almond and

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

, and also similar to

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

. Mahleb is used in small quantities to sharpen sweet foods and cakes, and is used in production of

tresse cheese Tresse cheese, also known as ''jibneh mshallaleh'' (Arabic: جبنة مشللة), is a form of string cheese originating in Syria. It can be eaten plain, or mixed with pastries.Roufs, Timothy. Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food ...

. It has been used for centuries in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and the surrounding areas as a flavoring for baked goods. Recipes calling for the fruit or seed of the "ḫalub" date back to ancient Sumer. In recent decades, it has been slowly entering mainstream cookbooks in English. In

Greek cuisine Greek cuisine is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora. In common with many other Mediterranean cuisine, cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine. It uses vegetables, olive oil, grains ...

, ''mahlep'' is sometimes added to different types of holiday breads and cakes, such as '' christopsomo'' ('' gr: χριστόψωμο'') in Christmas, ''

vasilopita Vasilopita (, ''Vasilópita'', lit. '(St.) Basil-pie' or 'Vassilis pie', see below) is a New Year's Day bread, cake or pie in Greece and many other areas in eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East which contains a hidden coin or trinket ...

'' in New Year's day, and the braided ''

tsoureki Tsoureki () also known as ''šurēk'' (), ''cöreg'', ''čʿorek'', ''katʿnahuncʿ'' (), ''çyrek'' ( Albanian), ''kozunak'' (), ''cozonac'' ( Romanian) or ''paskalya çöreği'' ( Turkish) is a sweet holiday bread made with flour, milk, butter, ...

'' in Easter (called ''cheoreg'' in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and ''paskalya çöreği '' in Turkish). In

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, it is used in '' poğaça'' scones and other pastries. In the Arabic Middle East, it is used in ''

ma'amoul Ma'amoul ( ) is a filled butter cookie made with semolina flour. It is popular throughout the Arab world. The filling can be made with dried fruits like figs, Phoenix dactylifera, dates, or Nut (fruit), nuts such as pistachios or walnuts, and o ...

'' scones. In

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, powdered mahlab is made into a paste with honey, sesame seeds and nuts, eaten as a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

or a snack with bread. In English, mahleb is sometimes alternately spelled as mahalab, mahlep, mahaleb, etc.

References

{{Herbs & spices Spices Cherry dishes Cypriot cuisine Greek cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine Iranian cuisine Arabic words and phrases Turkish cuisine

See also

References