https://gardenology.mywikis.net/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Mahlab 2026-04-12T08:02:43Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.35.3 https://gardenology.mywikis.net/w/index.php?title=Mahlab&diff=10443&oldid=prev 2007-10-22T14:14:15Z

<p></p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''Mahlab''', '''Mahleb''', or '''Mahlepi''', is an aromatic [[spice]] made from the [[seed]]s of the St Lucie Cherry (''[[Prunus mahaleb]]''). The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter, soft and chewy on extraction, but ground to a powder before use. The flavour is similar to a combination of [[almond]] and [[cherry]] (Christian 1982).<br /> <br /> It has been used for centuries in the [[Middle East]] and the surrounding areas (especially in [[Turkey]], [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], the [[Palestinian territories]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]], [[Armenia]], [[Iran]] and [[Greece]]) as a sweet/sour, nutty addition to breads, cheese, cookies and biscuits. In the [[United States]] it has long been a staple in Greek-American holiday cake and pastry recipes. Thanks to renewed interest in [[Cuisine of the Mediterranean|Mediterranean cooking]] it has been recently mentioned in several cookbooks.<br /> <br /> Mahleb is used in [[Greece]], where it is known as &quot;Mahlepi&quot; for holiday cakes such as [[tsoureki]] and similar egg-rich yeast cakes and cookies. In [[Turkey]] it is used for &quot;Pogaca&quot;. In the Middle East and [[Anatolia]] it is also associated with Ramadan sweets, including &quot;Tsourek&quot;, &quot;Ka'kat&quot; and &quot;[[Ma'amoul]]&quot;. It is also used to flavour the traditional Armenian holiday cake, &quot;Choereg&quot;. In [[Cyprus]], it is used in a special Easter cheese pie or cheese cake on [[Cyprus]] called 'flaounes' (φλαούνες).<br /> <br /> There are many alternative spellings of this spice: محلب, مَحْلَب, mahlab, mahalab, mahleb, מהלב, mahaleb, mahlep, mahalep, μαχλέπι, mahlepi, machlepi or makhlepi.<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> *Christian, G. (1982). ''Delicatessen Food Handbook''. Macdonald ISBN 0-356-09746-3.<br /> *Davidson, A. (1999). ''The Oxford Companion to Food''. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-211579-0.<br /> *Haroutunian, A. der. (1982). ''Middle Eastern Cookery''. Century Publishing.<br /> <br /> {{Herbs &amp; spices}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Spices]]<br /> [[Category:Cherries]]<br /> [[Category:Middle Eastern cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Levantine cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Arab cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Lebanese cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Iranian cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Syrian cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Iraqi cuisine]]<br /> [[Category:Turkish cuisine]]<br /> <br /> {{ingredient-stub}}</div>

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