Seder Staples: Maror and Charoset

This year was the first time we made our own horseradish and charoset for Passover. These are both essential parts of the traditional seder plate. The seder plate contains several items symbolic of elements of the Passover story. Horseradish, known as maror (bitter herb), represents the bitterness of slavery. Charoset, a fruit and nut mixture, represents the mortar used in bricklaying. As part of the seder, maror and charoset are eaten as a sandwich with matzo. 

The horseradish recipe is a simple mixture of chopped horseradish root and vinegar. Usually, distilled white vinegar is used, but I started wondering if this would really be kosher for Passover. A little internet research revealed white vinegar is usually derived from some kind of grain alcohol, so is not kosher for Passover. As such, we used apple cider vinegar instead. Fresh horseradish is pretty strong stuff, but seems to mellow a bit in the refrigerator. It's a nice condiment to have with gefilte fish and brisket. Many variants of charoset exist all over the world, with different locally available ingredients. Ours is a classic Ashkenazi style. It's also left fairly chunky compared to some pictures I've seen of a more paste-like consistency. The toasted walnuts add a nice textural contrast.

Maror (Horseradish)

• 1 horseradish root
• Apple cider vinegar
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

Peel the horseradish. A potato peeler works fine here. Chop into chunks. Use a food processor to chop finely. 

Add just enough vinegar to cover the chopped horseradish. Run the food processor until chopped to desired consistency. 

Salt to taste and transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until needed. Like anything vinegar-based, it keeps quite well.

Charoset

• 325 g Granny Smith apples
• 170 g walnuts
• 5 Tbs sweet red wine (see note)
• 5 Tbs honey
• Pinch of salt
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Wine note: The "classic" choices here are the Kosher concord grape wines (Manischewitz and Mogen David). We used Manischewitz, but I think there's a lot of latitude for personal preference. I can't help but think an inexpensive ruby port would work pretty well.

Instructions

Toast the walnuts, being careful not to burn them. A toaster oven works well here. Chop the apples and toasted walnuts into small chunks.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix everything and coat the apples. 

Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, then taste and adjust seasoning. The proportions here are approximate and can all be adjusted to your preference.