mix, mix…stir, stir

This intriguing spice seems to go by many aliases, which only adds to the exoticism and thrill of discovering a new spice from a far away land. I came across this spice a few weeks ago at my local spice shop, World Spice. They had just received a shipment which apparently took months to get and despite having no idea what it was, I knew I needed to get some and start playing in the kitchen. 

Mahleb is the dried pit of a small sour cherry that grows wild in the Middle East and Southern Europe. It is commonly used in baking celebration breads and pastries such as the braided Greek Easter bread known as Tsoureki, Turkish kandil rings,  Arab Ma’amool, and Chorek, which are Armenian sweet rolls.

Mahleb has a slightly floral scent that dances between almonds and cherries. It is a nutty warm flavor with a slight bitter note.  Not having any link to the cultures and traditional applications of mahleb, I decided to play around with it in some of the things I like to bake.  It seems to play the role of an amalgamater quite well by adding a warm flavor that is difficult to pin down. Now granted, someone who grew up eating baked goods flavored with Mahleb might be able to identify it easily, but to me it is a little nutty, almondy, sweet, and a hint of floral, but not one distinct flavor.

I added 1/2 teaspoon to madeleine batter, 1 teaspoon to a shortbread recipe using 2 1/4 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons to a loaf of brioche/challah style bread, and 1/2 teaspoon to a tart crust. The mahleb never overwhelmed, it just added a nice background flavor much like vanilla but not as familiar. It will be my secret ingredient anytime I want to add a little flavor intrigue to a batter or dough. Pancakes, layer cakes, scones…nothing will be safe! In addition to sweet applications, I have seen reference to using mahleb in savory applications, so I still have much experimenting to do.

The pits are rather soft and easy to chew, which makes them very easy to grind in a coffee grinder/spice grinder. When ground it is a beautiful pale yellow color and a very light fluffy texture. Like all spices, it is best to buy them whole and grind as needed.

All photos by David Peterman unless otherwise noted

Tags: Mahleb

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 8th, 2008 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Spice Spotlight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.