Mahaleb Seeds

✨ Mahaleb Seeds — The Cherry-Almond Secret of Festive Baking

Mahaleb seeds are the kernels found inside the stone of the St Lucie cherry, a small wild cherry tree of the Mediterranean. In Morocco they are known as المحلب (al-mahlab), حب المحلب and Zroda (زرودة); in French as mahaleb or cerisier de Sainte-Lucie; elsewhere as mahlab, mahlep or mahlepi. Their scientific name is Prunus mahaleb.

Each kernel is small and teardrop-shaped, with a thin pale tan skin and a creamy interior. Crushed between the fingers, it releases a warm, sweet fragrance somewhere between sour cherry, bitter almond and a hint of rose, with a gently bitter finish.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

For centuries mahaleb has been one of the defining aromas of celebration baking. In the Levant it was ground into ma’amoul and ka’ak for Eid; in Greece, Turkey and Armenia it perfumed the sweet braided breads baked for Easter and New Year. In Moroccan homes grandmothers added a pinch of ground mahlab to festive biscuits, ghriba and holiday breads, so the whole house smelled of the feast.

Its use has long reached beyond the kitchen. In Sudanese and Gulf beauty traditions, ground mahlab was one of the fragrant ingredients of bridal preparations such as khumra perfume blends and dilka body scrubs, and it was mixed into scented hair and skin preparations for weddings and family occasions.

🥣 How to Use

• 🍪 Biscuits and cookies — ghriba, ma’amoul, ka’ak and shortbreads
• 🥖 Sweet breads and brioches — festive braided loaves and holiday rolls
• 🍮 Desserts — milk puddings, custards and cake batters
• 🌸 Traditional beauty blends — ground with other fragrant ingredients for scented preparations

🧴 Preparation

1. Toast the seeds lightly in a dry pan for one to two minutes, just until fragrant, then let them cool.
2. Grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar, right before you bake.
3. Start with half a teaspoon to one teaspoon of ground mahaleb for every 500 g of flour, mixed into the dry ingredients.
4. Grind only what you need: the aroma is at its fullest in freshly ground seeds.

🔬 Product Profile

• 🌳 Plant: St Lucie cherry, Prunus mahaleb, of the rose family (Rosaceae)
• 🌍 Range: grows wild across the Mediterranean, from North Africa to the Middle East
• 🌰 Form: whole shelled kernels, a single ingredient with nothing added

📦 How We Sell It

Whole, loose mahaleb seeds, ready for you to grind at home. Available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg.

🌤️ Storage

Keep the seeds whole in an airtight jar in a cool, dry, dark place, away from heat and humidity. Stored this way they keep their aroma for about a year. Once ground, mahaleb loses its fragrance quickly, so use the powder within a few weeks or keep it in the freezer.