the.com/mahlab
the ground heart of cherry pits, hoarding almond and rose inside a fruit you'd spit out
means A fragrant baking spice made from the ground kernels inside the pits of a particular wild cherry, lending an almond-and-rose note to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean breads and pastries.
from From the Arabic maḥlab, the name for both the tree (Prunus mahaleb, the St. Lucie cherry) and its prized pit. The botanical name 'mahaleb' carries the Arabic word straight into Latin, so the spice and the species share a single tongue. The tree has long grown around the eastern Mediterranean, and the word traveled with the spice into Greek, Turkish, and Armenian kitchens.
- source
- kernels of the St. Lucie cherry, Prunus mahaleb
- flavor
- bitter almond crossed with sour cherry and rose
- easter staple
- defines Greek tsoureki and Middle Eastern breads
- goes stale fast
- ground mahlab turns rancid within weeks
- medieval medicine
- once prescribed for kidneys and as a perfume
mahlab cherry — stone fruit used in middle eastern and north african baking, particularly in egyptian kahk cookies
mahlab spice — ground kernel sold in levantine markets, distinctive almond-cherry flavor used in lebanese and palestinian pastries