How The Worst Looking Stuff On The Seder Plate Is The Best Tasting Stuff

At their core, all Jewish holidays revolve around two themes: family and food. The Passover Seder is no different. A traditional seder meal has four cups of wine, three matzot (unleavened bread), a variety of bitter herbs, at least one symbolic roasted egg, and a mixture called charoset made with apples and walnuts.

Do you know what charoset is? It’s OK. Most people don’t.

Charoset is one of the elements on the Passover Seder plate. It is by far the worst looking part of the Seder plate, and simultaneously the best tasting. It takes most of us Jewish kids years to trust that it will actually taste good.

So what is it already? Charoset a sweet paste made of apples and nuts that symbolizes the mortar used by the ancient Israelites to build their homes in Egypt. It's also symbolic of the clay bricks used for building Jerusalem, which Jews believe will be rebuilt during the Messianic Age.

While not all Jews may observe this tradition, it is a significant part of the Seder (the traditional ritual dinner held on Passover). As with many parts of Judaism, there is disagreement over what exactly charoset represents and its role during the Seder.

This Passover tradition has been around for centuries and it's still going strong today!

Do you want to know to make your own charoset recipe? Here’s the one we use:

• 1 cup walnut halves

• 2 large or 3 small firm, crisp sweet apples (1 pound), such as Fuji or Gala, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

• 5 tablespoons sweet Passover wine, such as Manischewitz

• ½ tablespoon honey, plus more to taste

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more to taste

• Pinch of salt

Finely chop the nuts and place them in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Taste and add more honey and cinnamon, if you’d like.