32 | APRIL 7 • 2022 

GRAPE CHAROSET FOR 
PASSOVER 
When the grape juice has 
been reduced to a syrup, 
it is then known as honey. 
Mixed with nuts, it is an 
extraordinary concoction 
that can be served at 
any time of the year over 
ice cream or even as a 
breakfast jam. A similar 
halek made from dates is 
prepared by the Jews of 
Calcutta, India. 

Ingredients
4 pounds juice white grapes
⅓ cup toasted sesame seeds
⅓ cup toasted walnuts

Directions
Juice the grapes ... Discard 
the dry pulp. 
Cook the juice down to 
a maple syrup consistency, 
ending with about ⅓ of the 
total amount of the juice. 
Thick, but still liquid. Cool.
Grind the sesame seeds 
and walnuts separately in a 
processor. Add this to the 
grape syrup and mix well. 

This is the charoset of the 
Kurds.
Northern Jews, called 
Ashkenazim, follow a tra-
dition, perhaps inspired by 
Rabbi Levi’s opinion in the 
Talmud, using raw grated 
apples (Song of Songs 8:5), 
walnuts (see Song of Songs 
6:11, “I went down to the 
walnut grove …”) along with 
red wine and cinnamon 
to make charoset (Which 
Ashkenazic Jews call “char-
oses”). 
Another reason for Jews 
from Northern Europe to use 
these ingredients: That is 
what they had. They could 
not easily acquire dates, 
figs, grapes or pomegran-
ates, the fruits of Israel. 
That is why Ashkenazic 
Jews have a ritual food 
called charoses, which 
we eat as part of the 
seder, while Mizrachi and 
Sephardic Jews enjoy halek 
for charoset at the seder, 
and at other meals during 
the year. 

Sephardic Recipe

Copeland Marks, in Sephardic Cooking: 600 Recipes Created in 
Exotic Kitchens from Morocco to India, provides this recipe for 
a sweet Charoset without the vinegar: 

to assess clarity and freshness. 
They use whitefish and some-
times trout, even though it can 
be made with carp or pike. 
 Under Evelyn’s strict guid-
ance, the butcher would 
debone, skin, filet and grind 
their fish while they shopped. 
When they returned, they were 
handed one bag of fillets, and 
another filled with heads, bones 
and skins for stock making. I 
wondered about using chicken 
stock or bones, also gelatinous, 
to render a milder, less fishy 
stock. My attempts to make a 
culinary contribution with them 
are still under consideration.
Tony’s explanation for how 
the stock is made began with 
peeling and scoring a big X 
into the cut ends of three large 
onions, then putting them in a 

large pot. Next, sprinkle them 
with kosher salt and “quite a bit 
of black pepper.
” 
According to the brothers, 
Evelyn used a ruler to measure 
the water at exactly 2½ inches 
deep. Once the onion and water 
came to a boil, the fish bones, 
skins and heads were added. 
The stock simmers while you 
make the fish. 
The fish instructions were 
written in the same rustic fash-
ion. It calls for “three level soup 
spoons” of the salt and matzah 
meal, which is to be followed by 
“40 shakes of black pepper, plus 
another 24.
” 
After they’re combined, the 
directions read, “taste for taste.
” 
Realizing the parasitic risks of 
eating raw lake fish, the cause 
of “Jewish Grandmother’s 

Disease,
” the brothers reas-
sured me they don’t do that. 
Like most chefs, they cook off 
a small amount to assess the 
seasoning so they can make 
adjustments before they mold 
it. The patties get lowered care-
fully into the broth pot, partial-
ly covered, and simmered for a 
long 2½ to 3 hours. 
This amount of cooking 
time has been an ongoing 
debate until they started using 
an instant read food ther-
mometer to check for done-
ness. They now measure when 
the fish has reached a safe 
temperature, which they’ve 
discovered happens sooner. 
Temperature is always a more 
reliable test for doneness to 
ensure food safety. Once they 
see 180 degrees, they can safe-
ly turn it off. They cool the 
patties in stock and carefully 
remove them with a slotted 

spoon, and store in the refrig-
erator. Their family adds a 
sprinkle of paprika for garnish 
instead of the traditional slice 
of carrot. 
I learned a lot about gefilte 
fish that night, between the 
kinds of fish you can use, to 
the proprietary ingredients of 
the broth. What I love about 
his story is how these brothers 
are preserving the family’s tra-
dition and keeping it alive for 
their mother and children. 
 They look forward to get-
ting together for this every 
year. Even after a whole day of 
grinding, mixing, molding and 
poaching, they are smiling and 
having fun. Satisfied with their 
efforts, they clean up, filled 
with hope that the fish turns 
out good this year. If not, 
that’s okay, too. For families 
like theirs, there is always next 
year. 

FOOD

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