Charoset (pronounced by most Americans as “har-oh-set”) is one of the items on a Seder Plate during a traditional Passover Seder. It is supposed to remind the Seder participants of the mortar between the bricks of the buildings the Israelite slaves built for their Egyptian captors. It’s in stark contrast to horseradish, which is eaten at the same time as charoset during a Seder. While horseradish is bold and shocking, charoset is sweet, mild, and pleasant.
This can be made a day or two ahead of time, which can give a Seder host a welcome break on the day of the Seder itself.
Any type of apple you like will work for this recipe. Gala are the most highly recommended and sweeter apples are preferred by most, but we usually use Granny Smith apples or a combination and it always turns out delicious!
Traditionally, a food processor is used, and the entire mixture ends up resembling the brick mortar from the Passover story. It can then even be molded into a pyramid shape to serve it! Many people simply chop the apples coarsely, giving the charoset a fruit salad type appearance. How you make yours is up to you!
Here’s how to hold a Basic Christian Passover Seder in case you need to brush up on that.
Ingredients:
- 6 apples – peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 3 ½ teaspoon honey
- 1/3 cup sweet red wine (I used grape juice when my children were small, and it was delicious also!)
Directions:
Place the apples and walnuts into a large bowl.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle the mixture over the apples.
Stir in the honey and sweet wine.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.
(recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Here are some plates for serving your charoset for your Seder.
This one has beautiful Hebrew words for each item on the plate and would be a nice addition to any Seder table.
Here are some that are good for children or if you’d like to have a Seder plate for each guest.
How many people would this recipe serve?
If you’re only using it during your Passover Seder, it will serve many – 12 or more people.
You sound like a really fun and well grounded person to hang out with.
Are the apples just chopped into little cubes or ground in a food processor??
You can do either, Nicole. I’ve had it both ways. Some people prefer using a food processor because it makes it a paste consistency, more mortar-like.