Apples and honey

Place of origin	OriginallyEurope, alsoJewish diaspora
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Apples,honey
Media: Apples and honey

Apples and honey is a traditional dish served byAshkenazi Jews onRosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year's Day and the beginning of theHigh Holidays.^{[1][page needed]}

Ancient Israelites likely did not eat apples and honey, since apples were not cultivated in theLevant at the time.^[2] Honey from wild beesis attested in the Bible and archaeologists have discovered an apiary from the 10th century BCE in Israel. However, boiled fruit syrups, such asdate honey, were the more common form of honey at the time.^[1]

The first known connection between apples and Rosh Hashanah is in the prayer bookMachzor Vitry, written in 11th-century CE France.^[3] The first known mention of apples and honey being eaten on Rosh Hashanah comes from the 14th-century legal workArba'ah Turim, which states that German Jews ate apples and honey in order to bring sweetness into the New Year.^[4]

Apples and honey consists of rawapples sliced and served with a separate dish of honey. Ablessing is said inHebrew over the apples and honey, to ask for a "Sweet New Year", and the apple is then dipped into the honey and eaten.^[1] Dipping apples in honey is aminhag and is not dictated by theTanakh or theTalmud.^[5]

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah in English-speakingAshkenazic schools, young schoolchildren learn the "dip the apple in the honey" song (to the tune ofOh My Darling, Clementine).^[6]

• Rosh Hashanah seder
• Jewish cuisine
• Caramel apple

• Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine
• Jewish culture
• Rosh Hashanah foods
• Honey dishes
• Apple dishes

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from November 2019