Is eating charoset & charoset sandwich a non-frum Jew thing?

amother

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 9:44 am

husband and I both grew up non-frum in different parts of the country and at both of our seders as kids, we made the hillel sandwich with layer of charoset, and we also ate charoset sandwiches during the week of pesach. seems like not a frum thing at all to do anything with the charoset besides dip it in the lettuce and wipe it off, nobody attempts to make "good" charoset for the taste, nobody eats charoset sandwiches during the week for pleasure, etc. thoughts?

Highstrung

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 9:45 am

My BT mother is always eating our leftover charoses. It’s her highlight . I think charoses sandwiches are a non frum thing.

It’s my understanding that during the Seder you are supposed to dip the maror in charoses but then shake it off.

amother

Molasses

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:16 am

Yes. I have a couple non frum relatives who grew up not frum. They think that it’s very Jewish to eat charoses. You are supposed to dip it then shake it off.
These same relatives think that if you don’t eat bagels and lox and “matza ball soup” and herring it makes you not Jewish, even if you are the frummest Jew
It’s pretty comical

amother

Lightcyan

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:18 am

If you like it then eat it. Who cares if it's a thing?

Dhs family esta Potato chips with tuna as a Pesach food. I've never seen it done anywhere else. I don't like it. I don't eat it. But they love it and it makes them happy.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:29 am

I'm a great grandchild of holocaust survivers who were related to most chassidish rebbes in the last century. Our korach sandwich is matza, ground white marror and charosses without the wine. It's made from apples and nuts. We do not put marror leaves inside. Nothing liquid goes inside because of gebroks.

My parents say their grandparents both did it that way because that's how their fathers did it in Europe. It's not just a bal teshuva thing.

amother

Daffodil

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:37 am

amother Molasses wrote:

It’s comical. Also tragic. Pesach, Shabbos, everything dear to our hearts and holy to us is reduced to memories of food. I always hope we manage to give our kids memories of more than just the matzo balls.

mommy3b2c

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:37 am

amother Molasses wrote:

I grew up regular frum and we never shook it off. We asked for a lot because we like the taste. Never ate charoses sandwiches during the week

amother

Maize

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:39 am

I am ffb and my whole family eats charoses the whole pesach. By korech you are supposed to shake off the excess as the marror is the main part then. Some of us leave on more than others. We put charoses on our matza throughout the entire pesach and chol hamoed. It's another dip/salad at each meal

amother

Red

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:40 am

I grew up frum, yeshivish.
By marror we dip and shake it off. By korech we add a generous dollop of charoses.
Any leftover charoses doesnt last long-it gets eaten over the next few days with matzah, or plain by the spoon

amother

Bellflower

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:45 am

amother OP wrote:

Our charoses sandwiches for Korech consists of a heap of charoses and lettuce. We don't wipe it off.

We eat it all week, our charoses is absolutely delicious and has a cement like consistency, sort of like a spread with texture, as opposed to other charoses I've seen which is either watery and mushy or large chunks.

We don't eat gebrokts, but we dont count this as gebrokts.

I grew up this way and I and my siblings definitely continue this tradition.

We're all frum.

How many frum people have you discussed this with that it doesn't seem like a frum tradition to you?!

Eta - I learned about the shaking off part after I got married but did not grow up doing it that way.

amother

Daffodil

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:52 am

amother Bellflower wrote:

You probably don’t count it as gebroktz because there are two different opinions on what liquids turn matza into forbidden gebroktz. Some say it’s any liquids, some say it’s only water and fruit juices are okay. The second opinion would make the grated apples and maybe even the wine in your charoses okay on matza.

amother

Bellflower

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:56 am

amother Daffodil wrote:

I am aware of that opinion, although we didn't hold of that for anything else.
I only found out about that after I got married as well.
I'm just saying it's not like I grew up on a home where everything goes on pesach... we actually ate very little processed foods, had a lot a lot of chumras.... charoses sandwiches were one of the highlights of our pesach.

amother

Gray

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 10:58 am

Chassidish, chosheva family. At the seder the adults take a little and the kids ask for doubles. The rest of the yomtov the kids eat it plain or in salad. It gets eaten because it's made well and healeveryone enjoys the taste. There is no thought or tradition involved any other time, only seder night. I don't feed it to my kids during the year or before the seder because 1. We really want it special for the seder to remind us of the bricks in mitzrayim. 2.we buy a lot of ($) nuts on pesach. We don't eat kitties or gebrochts. This is a simhealhealthy addition to out limited diet during pesach

Adding that we don't eat it on matzoh during pesach only during the seder. We take off any extra Grape juice and even then just a little between the marror so as not to touch the matzoh.

amother

DarkViolet

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 11:01 am

Maybe non-frum.

I grew up so secular we didn't have a Pesach at all. When I became a BT and started keeping Pesach, the charoset was my favorite food item on the seder (I have a sweet tooth), so yes I like to eat a lot of it, on matza sandwiches, even just with a spoon.

amother

DarkKhaki

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 11:11 am

amother Daffodil wrote:

I once asked for clarification and was told that anything not reconstituted is ok. Orange juice from squeezed oranges would be fine but if the juice is from concentrate, where the oranges are dehydrated and then have water added back in, that would be a problem. Of course on pesach, people can always add chumros on top of chumros.

amother

Bellflower

Mon, Apr 10 2023, 11:13 am

amother Gray wrote:

Actually I forgot.
Growing up we wrapped it in Marror - I completely forgot.
TMI