Segal family Charoset Recipe

(Provided by Zina Segal
Director, Global Peoplehood Education at the Macks Center for Jewish Education)

Ingredients

• 3 apples (grated on the largest holes side of the grater)
• 3 pears (grated on the largest holes side of the grater)
• ½ Cup (or a bit more) of Manischewitz sweet wine (any other sweet wine or just grape juice)
• ½ Cup of finely chopped walnuts
• ½ Cup of raisins chopped
• ½ Cup of honey
• Juice of half a lemon
• ½ Cup of pitted chopped dates
• 1 Tsp of ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Chop raisins and add wine, set aside in the fridge overnight.
2. Next day peel and pit apples and pears, grate them on the largest holes side of the grater.
3. Mix in all other ingredients (including raisins and wine).
4. Keep aside for a few hours before serving.

“Growing up, I was told that Charoset symbolizes the sweet land of Israel where Jews were heading to when they left Egypt. I was so shocked, when at the age of 20, I attended a Seder outside of my family for the first time and found out that the rest of the Jews in the world consider Charoset to symbolize the mortar used by the Israelite slaves when laying bricks!”

(The quantity of pretty much all ingredients is very approximate, as I never had the actual written recipe, I was just doing what my grandmother was doing and she never ever in her life had any recipe written unfortunately).

Italian Charoset

(Provided by the Macks Center for Jewish Education)

Ingredients

• 2 cups sweet wine
• ⅓ cup pine nuts
• ⅔ cup ground almonds
• ½ lb. dates, pitted and chopped
• ¾ cup yellow raisins
• 4 oz. prunes, pitted and chopped
• ½ cup sugar or honey, or to taste
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 apples
• 2 pears

Directions: 

1. Peel and core the apples and pears and cut in small pieces.
2. Put all the ingredients into a pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about one hour, until the fruits are very soft, adding a little water if it becomes too dry.
3. Cool.

Sefardi Charoset

(Provided by the Macks Center for Jewish Education)

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried figs
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
• 1 cup almonds
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. cardamom
• ½ tsp. ginger
• ½ tsp. allspice
• 2-3 Tbsp. pomegranate juice

Directions: 

1. Put the figs, raisins, dates and almonds into a food processor.
2. Pulse until paste is thick and sticky.
3. Transfer contents to a large bowl.In a small bowl, mix the pomegranate juice and spices together and pour over fruit-nut mixture.
4. Mix together. If the mixture is too dry, add more pomegranate juice.
5. Pinch off a piece of mixture and roll into a ball.
6. Keep a bowl of tepid water on hand, as your hands will get covered.