Linda, mahleb is like cardamom, hard to describe. It's made from the pit of the sour cherry and is used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, especially sweet breads. This is how some sites describe its taste: "Mahleb tastes somewhat nutty and bitter." "...quite sweet with notes of cherry and almond. Some describe it as resembling marzipan." "... a combination of fragrant rosewater-like sweetness and a nutty and faintly bitter, but not unpleasant aftertaste." "Because of its fragrant character and potential for bitterness, use it sparingly, 1/2 to 1 tsp to 2 cups of flour in a recipe." "Especially in Greece, mahleb is loved for specialties like tsoureki [ÏÏοÏÏέκι], a brioche-type braided sweet bread that is traditionally baked and eaten only at Easter time." That's what I was trying to make. Penzey's doesn't carry it, but The Spice House does. Here is a link that might be useful: The Spice House

Date Nut Bread in P&B can. 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tsp butter 2 cups flour 1 cup nuts 1 cup dates chopped 1 tsp soda 1 cup boiling water Add chopped dates to soda water and mix with rest of ingredients. Spray can w/pam. I usually use a little sugar in the bottoms of my cans only because I don't like the white flour that shows on the bread. Bake at 325-350 for 1 hr or until a toothpick inserted in bread comes out clean. I usually double this. Sorry for being so late but have been busy lately. Enjoy!

It seems we all have fond memories of this bread. Here's a similar variation baked in cans but am sure 2 loaf pans 9" X 5" would work filled half full and baked till loaves starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. I want to try Gigi's idea of using coffee instead of water next time. I've made this recipe for over forty years. Very easy and delicious. Date Nut Bread Generously grease 6 cans, (14 to 15 ounce veggie size) Sprinkle 2 teaspoons baking soda over 1 pound of chopped dates. Pour 2 cups boiling water over dates and let cool. Cream 2 cups sugar with 1/2 cup butter Add 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt Mix well Stir in 4 cups flour alternately with date mixture Do not over beat. Fold in 1 cup nuts, chopped coarsely or just halved. Fill 6 well greased cans half full. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour. Cool in cans for 10 minutes then remove from cans till cool. Store in cans. I like it chilled, sliced and spread with cream cheese.

I eat a piece of this 1/2 hour before a meal, and I do eat less, and am not hungry afterwards. It works better for some people than others. sorry not to e-mail this, but my e-mail hasn't been working right. HUNZA DIET BREAD RECIPE Hunza Diet Bread is a delicious, dense, chewy bread that's very nutritious and is almost impervious to spoilage. The following recipe makes a huge batch of approximately 60 (sixty) 2 inch squares, high in protein, vitamins and minerals. Keeps weeks at room temperature, even longer in the fridge and indefinitely in the freezer. The recipe for this wonderful bread is as follows: - * 4 cups of water * 3.5 (three & one half) to 4 pounds of natural buckwheat or millet flour * 1.5 (one & one half) cups of canola oil * 1.5 (one & one half) cups of natural unrefined sugar * 16 ounces of honey * 16 ounces of molasses * 4 ounces of powdered soya milk (half cup) * 1 teaspoon sea salt * 1 teaspoon cinnamon * 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg * 2 teaspoons baking powder (non aluminium) Hunza Diet Bread has a taste that is very satisfying and chewy all on its own, but you may also add if required, apricots, raisins, chopped walnuts, almonds, sliced dates to the above ingredients. Mix ingredients. Grease and lightly flour cooking pan(s). Ideally use baking trays with about 1 inch high sides. Pour batter in pan(s) half an inch thick over the base. Bake at about 300 degrees farenheit (150 C.) for 1 hour. After cooking, dry the bread in the oven for two (2) hours at a very low heat - 90 degrees farenheit (50 C). After it is cooled tip out and cut into approx 2 inch x 2 inch squares. Store it wrapped in cloth in a container. You may need to repeat the baking depending on the size of your baking pan, and oven, until all the mixture has been used. Hunza Diet Bread is made from natural buckwheat or millet flour. It is rich in phosphorous, potassium, iron, calcium, manganese and other minerals, as nothing has been destroyed in the preparation from the wheat. Thus it contains the essential nourishment of the grain. This is why you must ONLY use natural buckwheat or millet flour to make your own Hunza Diet Bread..... Good luck and good health .. bon appetite :-) Suggestions to lose weight with HUNZA DIET BREAD There are many ways to do it. This is another benefit. It's flexible. Here are some typical plans. Each piece of bread is thinly spread with butter for a total of approximately 100 calories. Plan A: Eat 1 piece every 5 hours of the 16 hours you're awake. That's 3 pieces which total 300 calories. This is the fastest way to lose weight I know of. It works faster than any high protein diet. Why? You have more energy and burn more calories. Second, the high fiber bread keeps your digestive system regular. Third, your body stays healthy. A healthy body means a properly functioning metabolic system. Plan B: Really gorge yourself with the bread. Two pieces every four hours for a total of 8 pieces but only 800 calories. You'll feel full all day. In fact, I doubt many people could eat this much of the bread. Plan C: Eat a piece in the morning for breakfast and a piece 3 hours before your dinner and you will eat a great deal less. Plan D: Eat a piece of HUNZA DIET BREAD, 10 minutes before you eat your regular meal. When we do this we eat only a fraction, such as 1/4 of what we would normally eat. If we wait longer than 10 minutes we don't want to eat at all. Plan E: Eat the bread at the end of meals that don't fill you up enough, such as low calorie meals. This is a perfect way to use the bread. You eat a low calorie meal, enjoy it, then eat a piece or two of bread to fill you up. Perfect! No suffering and no urge to snack. Plan F: Alternate Plan A, B, C, D. We recommend an alternation of the plans, but some people who just want to get the weight off as soon as possible will use Plan A exclusively.