https://www.deliciousisrael.com/blog/charoset-around-the-world

Anything here that sparks inspiration?

Thanks. Interesting article, but they're all nut charosets, and one can't just substitute seeds or leave them out and have the recipe turn out, and I guess in my uninspired mood nothing is stepping up saying I should start with it. It doesn't have to be traditional at all. I've learned not to do avocado because the family want it to be guacamole. Technically, guacamole would work, but the way I make it, what the family loves, would clash with the horseradish.

I had to look up charoset!!! however, I don't like the notion of apricots and pepitas. From your list, I'd choose dates with pepitas, and the option for apples in the mix too. I think I'd try pear with the sunflower seed, and the option for cranberries in the mix too. If a wine is req'd, then I'd choose some lightly sweet white wine for both (if that's how I'm allowed to describe it :)

I also had to look up Charoset. Then I googled nut free Charoset and found a couple of recipes. Here's one Nut Free Charoset - Chelsey Amer Recipe - Chelsey Amer (chelseyamernutrition.com) She also has some other Passover recipes with no nuts.

FWIW, walnuts were always used for charoset at our family seders. As a kid I didn't like them very much (too bitter), but now I love them.

I'm thinking that roasted sunflower seeds might have the best flavor for something like that - or what about sesame?

PM, thank-you. I really appreciate the feedback on the pairings. I think one of the reasons I've been struggling is all the pollen and fungus from the rains have been interfering with my smeller/taster, even in my imagination.

Floral, thanks for helping. That recipe is for keeping close to the Northern European tradition, though to my mind it needs a lot more chopping. I think the dried fruit instead of nuts is an interesting twist. I'm trying to make something really different from the normal one, however.

One of the most humiliating things that happened to me as a teen was being at a formal dinner at the home of a friend since elementary school. All the guests were our age. Dinner parties were a thing, then, but this was the most formal one. We adjourned to the living room for dessert and coffee/tea/whatever. I politely declined the dessert because I was full of the good dinner. I didn't think it was a big deal because it was being dished up casually, per person, not plated and served at table. My friend's mom came in, took me aside and sotto voce asked if I wanted an orange. It would have been a nothing if she'd announced to the room that there was fruit for whomever wanted it, but this oh, so delicate subterfuge, visible and audible to all, and obviously singling me out, made me think she was saying I was fat and must be on a diet and undeserving of chocolate. Being sixteen is hard enough without moms calling you fat in front of everybody. I wanted to sink through the floor.

This was formative. I will not put a special dish of not quite it food in front of a guest saying, ”this is for you, dear.” I have to make my father's pecan charoset for the others, who look forward to it, or I'd just do one. Since I'm making a bucket of that, I want the second one to be something everyone can try and enjoy, so it has to be really different. That way the nut-frees (obviously not dire enough to worry about microscopic contamination) can just take theirs without making a deal over it. For years, they didn't even tell me they had allergies. The humiliation factor is real.

Anyway, that's what got me started on the sulphured appricots. I have some. Pretty color, big contrast, tasty. Pears and cranberries sounds interesting! I wouldn't have thought of that. Maybe with five spice. Or maybe just the anise, cloves and peppercorns. I'm not so sure about the fennel seeds and cinnamon. I'm inspired!

ETA—Walnuts are the European tradition. My father preferred the favor and texture of pecans as an American improvement. He used a giant knife and poured lots of wine and wafts of Saigon cinnamon, in waves while he chopped, cutting the flavor right into the bits, then soaking for a couple of days. I can come close with my spring chopper. SO good! But any other pasty, chutneylike, concoction can be used.

Carol, I didn't even think about sesame! That could be great with the apricots. Or hemp hearts! I forgot them, too. I'd bet they'd go well with the pear, but probably overshadowed by the cranberries. I only have raw sunflower seeds. I wonder if the air frier would be a good way to roast some? Toasty sounds good with pear and cranberry.

I'm further inspired!

If you don't mind interrogating your nutless cousins, you might get lucky and find that almonds or cashews are acceptable, since they aren't really nuts at all and don't tend to trigger the same allergies.

Just reading the title I immediately thought Biscoff cookie butter. 😀 After reading ,this meets zero of your requirements except sticky, sweet and nut free. It is delicious though, IMHO.

@plllog " I will not put a special dish of not quite it food in front of a guest saying, ”this is for you, dear.” Me neither :-) If catering for a group of people I don't know well enough to know about any food allergies, I always include a range of foods that are nut free, gluten free, lactose free, vegetarian and/or vegan so that no one misses out or feels put on the spot because they can't eat something.

I bake weekly for the small school department I work in and always ask new staff if there are any food allergies or dislikes I should know about. One is lactose intolerant so even though it changes the texture somewhat I always use lactose free margarine so she can share the treats. Last winter the well-being staff held a weekly "come and share some soup for lunch" session to promote collegiality and each department was invited to supply a batch of soup. I volunteered for our department and made a "minestrone" that was vegan, lactose free, gluten free and fodmap friendly. It turned out quite well and was popular. But my main purpose was to make something everyone could share and not make anyone feel left out or "the weird one".

Lisa, that sounds awesome! I'm not sure it would be great with bitter, but I have saved it and will make it.

Fori, great suggestion, already done. Both avoid all tree nuts. I'm not sure about peanuts, cashews (pseudonuts) and piñones (technically seeds, but similar allergy to tree nuts), but it's easy just to cut a wide circle. The cousins are fine eating with people who are eating nuts, and food from my kitchen, where I follow good practices to avoid contamination in general, though nut dust might exist, but if I miss seeing a wrong nut while scooping, I don't want it to be an issue.

Amylou, thank-you for the giggle. :)

Colleen, love the soup! I made low FODMAP chicken stock once. That wasn't so hard. Making soup with it was, though. I would be lost making a minestrone low FODMAP, let alone the rest. Kudos!!

And thank-you for reinforcing the make something everybody can enjoy, ethos.

Sunflower, apples and dates. Don't overthink it.

And honey 😋

Well, Carol, biblically, that would be date syrup. :)

I did a tester, today, and am letting it soak. It's dried apricots, cranberries, sugar (to sweeten the cranberries), fennel seeds, ground cloves, and just a whiff of Saigon cinnamon. Oh, and Vermouth, since I didn't want to open the wine. After the picture, I remembered to add hemp hearts. They're usually so delightful, but did not play well. I also think the spices and cran would have gone well in a chutney, but the whole thing was too much for charoset. I think it needs the concord grape wine to taste ”right” but I'll wait for it to soak in the Vermouth to be sure.

Update: Yesterday's questionable is today's pretty yummy, That's normal. I've been debating the fennel seed, but the Vermouth was really good. No one at this Seder cares about kashrut, but I don't think I can do it. For Passover one keeps more kosher than usual... But just got a call from one who usually pigs out on the pecan apple charoset saying she's off nuts, seeds and something else. So I'm thinking of currants with the dried apricots, and fresh pear, cloves and maybe nutmeg. Sounds kind of Christmassy, but I don't care.

For next year, I have to find out if they can eat rambutan. I think guava, rambutan and maybe piqillos would be awesome. Probably best to stick to common fruit,

Sounds like I’m late to the dance, as usual. Would this recipe work if you left out the nuts, added in chopped figs or maybe dates (I like figs better - maybe even Trader Joe’s fig butter) and used a relatively sweet Reisling for the wine?

This is the recipe for the topping from Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard that I moaned, groaned, and bitched about. Despite my grumblings, it was very tasty.

Oops, just noticed no seeds. There goes the pumpkin seeds and the figs! 🤷‍♀️

The no seeds was yesterday's addition. Family Sedar isn't until Saturday night so all can attend, so not too late. Actually, it's the oats that's at issue. Although some rabbis okay quinoa because it doesn't have a history of being forbidden and ”it's seeds”, in general, grains and pseudo-grains are forbidden, even without gluten. Our family allow things like basic rice, where it's clearly boiled rice, served as a vegetable starch, rather than used as some kind of flour, so in theory, oats might play, but in practice there are none, even as plain oatmeal for breakfast. Though that could just be because breakfast adapts to matzah so well. Mine today was matzah with melted pepper jack and sriracha. :)

I've saved the photo. It sounds tasty, too.

Oops, didn’t know oats were out. Sorry.

No problem! I was looking for diversity of thought! My reaction to the oats was trying to talk myself into them. :D

Thank-you to you all for getting me through this. The inspiration worked!

I've made both and they're soaking in wine. My replacement for my beloved chopper isn't as good, but the pecans/apple/cinnamon/wine is acceptable. I did the apricot/pear/currants/cloves/freeze dried ginger bits/wine with the concord grape, and it did make the difference for ”tastes like charoset”. While some of the currants are chopped with the rest, I added a small handful just stirred in, to plump up with wine.

The tester with the apricots, cranberries/sugar, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon and vermouth is getting super delicious as it melds. Surprisingly so! I'm thinking it would be great on a charcuterie platter. It's not very sweet.

Late to the party but early for next year. Friend brought this to my Seder and it blew everyone away

INGREDIENTS

UNITS: US

• 2cups dates, pitted
• 1cup walnuts<---optional
• 3large apples, peeled and chopped
• 2large bananas, mashed
• 1orange
• 1⁄2cup grape juice
• 1⁄2tablespoon cinnamon
• 1tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄8teaspoon ground cloves
• 1teaspoon matzo meal, as needed

DIRECTIONS

• Chop dates, apples (and walnuts) and make the whole orange sections into fine pieces.

• Place these in a bowl with the mashed bananas.

• Add the grape juice or wine, cinnamon, lemon juice, cloves and mix well.

• Add matzoh meal if too liquid.

• Friend said she pureed everything. It did resemble grout.

Well, grout is apppropriate. ;) The store town of Pithom and Ramses and all. :D

Thanks, Rho! I've put in in my recipes I was sitting next to the most nut allergic one (inc. pine nuts, peanuts coconuts, though the other one was startled by a severe reaction to jackfruit, recently. apparently there are a lot of u;related allergies thar go off when exposed to jackfruit). Anyway, the first one really liked the charoset. The pecan loving one was still bummed she couldn't eat it. The jackfruit reaction one took home some of the pecan one for his mom. I double bagged it. I wasn't taking chances on incidental contact.