Mahlab

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mahlab, Mahleb, or Mahlepi, is an aromatic spice from the pulverized pit of the black cherry, "Cerasus mahaleb" or (Prunus mahaleb). It has been used for centuries in the Middle East and the surrounding areas (especially in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria,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 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 the flavoring of 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). The cherry is also known as the mahaleb or St. Lucy's cherry.

There are many alternative spellings of this spice: محلب, مَحْلَب, mahlab, mahalab, mahleb, מהלב, mahaleb, mahlep, mahalep, μαχλέπι, mahlepi, machlepi or makhlepi.

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