St. Thomas Charoset

Here, in honor of Passover, is my grandmother's recipe for charoset. (That's her picture from 1980, with two of her two great-grandsons. Read below to learn who the man is.) The recipe was recorded by my mother. For those of you of Eastern European descent, it is like nothing you have had. This is a Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese) recipe from Panama, passed over to the isthmus from St. Thomas and probably before that from other earlier settlements in the Caribbean. (You can save this for next year.)

Panama (St. Thomas style) Charoset

From Inez Brandon Fidanque (1892-1991)

Recorded by Emma Fidanque Levy (1920-2005)

10 oz. pitted dates
12 oz. dark dried figs (de-stemmed)
8 oz. raisins
2 apples, cored and peeled
4 oz. walnuts

Chop and blend (with no recognizable pieces, but not too mushy -- if you use a food processor, do 1/2 at a time).
Add wine or cherry cordial (preferably Cherry Heering) to moisten.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.

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Here's how the family arrived in St. Thomas, as set forth by Mordecai Arbel in Early Relations between the Jewish Communities in the Caribbean and the Guianas and Those of the Near East, 17th to 19th Centuries. As you read this, you probably begin to understand why controversy seems to follow members of our family!

In 1816, Joshua Piza . . . was invited to Curacao to serve as a cantor. . . . Born and educated in Amsterdam, he was already influenced by the customs and usages of modern European Sephardi Jews. His way of service clashed with the majority of the community members. On one side, angry voices called for his dismissal. On the other, he had a strong group of supporters. The rift degenerated into the secession from the established community of the protesters against Piza. They left the synagogue as well and prayed in private houses. Curacao Jewry broke into two communities with separate cemeteries, separate administration of Jewish laws (marriages, births, funerals, ritual slaughter, and so on).

The Jewish population of Curacao was an important part of this Dutch colony, and at times comprised over half of the white population of the island. Thus it was imperative that the rift be mended. By order of the Royal house of Holland and with the help of the head of the rabbinical court . . . reconciliation was achieved, but Cantor Piza had to go. The hunger for religious leaders was so great that Piza obtained a contract to serve the Jewish community of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas where he remained for many years. His descendants became quite prominent in the Jewish communities of Panama and Costa Rica.

By the way, my grandmother's father, David Henry Brandon (the other picture above), led the fire department (cuerpo de bomberos) in Panama City and arranged for cisterns to be built in the city. They would fill up when the tide was high and remain filled when the tide went out. This provided water for fire protection even when the ocean was far removed during low tides. He was later honored on a Panamanian postage stamp.