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'''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).
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.
Mahleb is used in [[Greece]], where it is known as "Mahlepi" for holiday cakes such as [[tsoureki]] and similar egg-rich yeast cakes and cookies. In [[Turkey]] it is used for "Pogaca". In the Middle East and [[Anatolia]] it is also associated with Ramadan sweets, including "Tsourek", "Ka'kat" and "[[Ma'amoul]]". It is also used to flavour the traditional Armenian holiday cake, "Choereg". In [[Cyprus]], it is used in a special Easter cheese pie or cheese cake on [[Cyprus]] called 'flaounes' (φλαούνες).
There are many alternative spellings of this spice: محلب, مَحْلَب, mahlab, mahalab, mahleb, מהלב, mahaleb, mahlep, mahalep, μαχλέπι, mahlepi, machlepi or makhlepi.
==References==
*Christian, G. (1982). ''Delicatessen Food Handbook''. Macdonald ISBN 0-356-09746-3.
*Davidson, A. (1999). ''The Oxford Companion to Food''. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
*Haroutunian, A. der. (1982). ''Middle Eastern Cookery''. Century Publishing.
{{Herbs & spices}}
[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Cherries]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern cuisine]]
[[Category:Levantine cuisine]]
[[Category:Arab cuisine]]
[[Category:Lebanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Iranian cuisine]]
[[Category:Syrian cuisine]]
[[Category:Iraqi cuisine]]
[[Category:Turkish cuisine]]
{{ingredient-stub}}
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.
Mahleb is used in [[Greece]], where it is known as "Mahlepi" for holiday cakes such as [[tsoureki]] and similar egg-rich yeast cakes and cookies. In [[Turkey]] it is used for "Pogaca". In the Middle East and [[Anatolia]] it is also associated with Ramadan sweets, including "Tsourek", "Ka'kat" and "[[Ma'amoul]]". It is also used to flavour the traditional Armenian holiday cake, "Choereg". In [[Cyprus]], it is used in a special Easter cheese pie or cheese cake on [[Cyprus]] called 'flaounes' (φλαούνες).
There are many alternative spellings of this spice: محلب, مَحْلَب, mahlab, mahalab, mahleb, מהלב, mahaleb, mahlep, mahalep, μαχλέπι, mahlepi, machlepi or makhlepi.
==References==
*Christian, G. (1982). ''Delicatessen Food Handbook''. Macdonald ISBN 0-356-09746-3.
*Davidson, A. (1999). ''The Oxford Companion to Food''. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
*Haroutunian, A. der. (1982). ''Middle Eastern Cookery''. Century Publishing.
{{Herbs & spices}}
[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Cherries]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern cuisine]]
[[Category:Levantine cuisine]]
[[Category:Arab cuisine]]
[[Category:Lebanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Iranian cuisine]]
[[Category:Syrian cuisine]]
[[Category:Iraqi cuisine]]
[[Category:Turkish cuisine]]
{{ingredient-stub}}
