Mahlab Seeds

Mahlab Seeds are the kernels found inside the stone of the St. Lucie cherry, Prunus mahaleb. Ground, they smell of almond-like sweetness with a light cherry note and a mild, warm spice behind it, a little like marzipan with a bitter almond edge.

They have been used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking for generations, sold whole so the aroma stays in the kernel until you need it.

How to use it

Mahlab is above all a baking spice. It flavours sweet breads and pastries such as Greek tsoureki and Middle Eastern ma'amoul, and lends a soft, nutty depth to doughs, cookies and festive holiday recipes. It also goes into spice blends and meat rubs, where it adds a subtle sweetness to savoury dishes. Use about half a teaspoon of freshly ground mahlab per 500g of flour. The technique tip: grind it only as you need it, in a spice mill or a mortar, and add it to the fat or the warm milk in a dough rather than to the dry flour, so the aroma spreads through the whole batch instead of sitting in pockets.

Details

Also known as

Mahleb, Mahaleb, Mahlepi, Cherry Kernel Spice, حب المحلب