![\"hawley-harosethweb\"](\"http:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/03\/hawley-harosethweb.jpg\" "\\"hawley-harosethweb\\"")
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We\u2019re so used to artificial light that we forget how many traditional holidays are based on the cycles of the sun. Easter and Passover (and just about every spring holiday there is) are examples. Both holidays are tied to the vernal equinox. On that welcome day we finally achieve parity between dark and light and start lurching toward the golden days and gentle evenings of summer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Like the vernal equinox itself, Passover and Easter mix dark and light. That mixture is key to the two festivals. The Jews\u2019 flight from Egypt more than 3000 years ago is meaningless unless one understands the harsh slavery under which the Jewish people served the Pharaohs. The joy of Easter is possible because of the sorrow of Good Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a food writer and food lover I appreciate the centrality of food to both of these holidays, particularly Passover. Passover illustrates the connection we all feel but too seldom articulate between food and memory. Food is used at Passover to symbolize the history the holiday commemorates and to bring people together to remember this shared history.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The centerpiece of the holiday is the meal known as the Seder, in which families gather to retell the story of the departure from Egypt. Much of the Seder\u2019s menu is prescribed by tradition, and during the meal the symbolism of each item on the table is explained. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A bitter herb (usually horseradish) symbolizes the hardship of the slaves\u2019 life, for example. My personal favorite symbol, Haroseth (also spelled \u201ccharoset\u201d and a variety of other ways), is a paste of fruits and nuts. It\u00a0represents the mortar the Jews used to construct buildings\u2014most famously the pyramids.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many years ago my honorary Aunt Carolyn Fox brought this haroseth to a Seder at our home in Hawley, Massachusetts. Growing up I ate haroseth moistened with wine. As a lover of sweets I was thrilled with her use of grape juice instead. The last time I made it I used crangrape juice, adding a little New England tang to this Passover staple. Next time I’m thinking of using straight cranberry juice…….<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Haroseth<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ingredients: <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 2 tart apples, peeled and cored<\/span><\/p>\n 1\/2 cup pecans<\/span><\/p>\n 1\/4 teaspoon cinnamon<\/span><\/p>\n 1 teaspoon honey<\/span><\/p>\n 1 tablespoon grape (or crangrape or maybe cranberry) juice<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Instructions:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n \n \u00a0<\/p>\n Finely chop the apples and pecans separately; then chop them together to make even smaller pieces. Stir in the cinnamon, honey, and juice.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n \u00a0 We\u2019re so used to artificial light that we forget how many traditional holidays are based on the cycles of the sun. Easter and Passover (and just about every spring holiday there is) are examples. Both holidays are tied to the vernal equinox. On that welcome day we finally achieve parity between dark and light […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4,12,17],"tags":[105,109,197,310],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourgrandmotherskitchens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Spoon a bit of haroseth on a piece of matzo for each guest.<\/span><\/div>\nMakes 12 small servings.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"