Mahleb

Mahleb is the seed inside a stone. The hard stone of the mahaleb cherry is cracked and a kernel about 5 mm across comes out, soft when fresh and pale beige once ground. It smells of bitter almond and cherry and tastes faintly bitter. It gives dough scent rather than sweetness, and the measure is always small. Syria is the leading exporter of the spice.

Where you meet it

On three separate lines at once. In the dough of maamoul on the Eid tray; in maarouk on the Ramadan table; and at breakfast inside braided cheese, where that familiar note in mshallaleh comes from mahleb. The same spice goes into Turkish pogaca and into the festival breads of Greek and Armenian kitchens. One jar, three different meals.

How far back it goes

The written trail is long. The halub tree named in early Sumerian writing is thought to be this species. The Arabic word mahleb appears in medieval Islamic writing: in al-Razi (d. 925 or 932), in Ibn al-Baitar (d. 1248) and in Ibn al-Awwam. The last of these also explains in his book on agriculture how to grow the tree: it grows fast and takes little effort, but it will not stand a long drought.

How to buy it and keep it

Buy the whole kernels and grind them at home; the ground spice turns bitter quickly and loses its scent. The spice merchant sells it by weight, and a handful lasts a long time. Keep the jar closed on a cool shelf. Recipes hold the measure down, because the taste is slightly bitter and too much of it turns the dough.

Why Syria

Growing and using the tree is now largely confined to the lands that once formed the Ottoman Empire, and within that area Syria leads the export trade. The jar on a spice merchant’s shelf in Aleppo is not something brought in from far away. It is a local line, and the price reflects that.