{"id":8559,"date":"2026-10-26T18:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8559"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:51:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:51:16","slug":"anoush-abour","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/anoush-abour\/","title":{"rendered":"Anoush Abour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anoush abour (Anoush Abour, Anushabur, \u0561\u0576\u0578\u0582\u0577\u0561\u057a\u0578\u0582\u0580) is an Armenian sweet dish of wheat simmered slowly in water and finished with dried fruit and nuts. Anush means \u201csweet,\u201d and apur means \u201csoup.\u201d When you dip in a spoon, you find a thickened cooking liquid filling the spaces between the soft, swollen grains. In English it is also called Christmas pudding, but in form it is closer to a sweet porridge spooned from the bowl.<\/p>\n

The flavor of the wheat is layered with the sweetness of dried apricots and raisins, the crunch of nuts and the tartness of pomegranate. Made from the New Year through Christmas and shared with family and friends, this dish carries both the wish to welcome a bountiful year and the memories of home held by people living far away.<\/p>\n

Drawing Out Thickness While Keeping the Grains Whole<\/h2>\n

In a recipe (ingredient proportions and method) handed down in an Armenian church in the United States, gorgod, the ingredient used, refers to wheat grains with the outer husk removed. Unlike wheat flour, which mixes with water all at once, the grains are given time to absorb water right to their core.<\/p>\n

In the method included in the cookbook of St. John Armenian Church in Michigan, the wheat is boiled briefly and left overnight. The next day it is simmered over low heat for about an hour and a half to two hours, by which time the grains have softened and the cooking liquid has thickened. Sugar is added only after that. Dried fruit and nuts are then added to this porridge-like base, in which the white grains remain, to finish the dish.<\/p>\n

Some New Year methods for anoush abour wrap the pot of cooked wheat in a blanket and leave it overnight so that the grains swell considerably. The next day, a small amount of wheat flour, sugar, raisins, nuts, rose water and other ingredients are added, and it is cooked again. This method, in which the dish is transferred to bowls and sprinkled with cinnamon, is also recorded in Armenian dialect research that touches on the festive foods of Istanbul and Gyumri.<\/p>\n

The combination of simmering and resting times differs from household to household. In the method that Armenian American Katherine Gagliano inherited from her grandmother, the wheat is first simmered for an hour and then rested for five or six hours, or overnight. The next morning, the dried fruit and sugar are added together and the mixture is cooked down, and finally rose water is stirred in. Crushed walnuts and cinnamon are sprinkled on to finish, adding fragrance to the pale porridge.<\/p>\n

\n\"Armenian\n
Dried apricots made in Armenia (2026, location unknown). An example of the dried fruit used in anoush abour; this is not a photo of the finished dish. Photo: \u0531\u0580\u0561\u0580\u0561\u057f \u0539\u0580\u057e\u0561\u0576\u0581 \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Image obtained from the source. No content alterations or cropping were made for this use.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Households That Keep It White, Places That Sweeten It with Honey<\/h2>\n

When the fruit is added also affects how the dish looks. In the method from the church cookbook mentioned above, the dried fruit, pistachios and pine nuts are simmered in a separate pot, drained and cooled before being mixed into the wheat. This technique keeps the color of the fruit from transferring to the wheat and preserves a pearly whiteness. Because the dish thickens as it cools, it is thinned with syrup as needed.<\/p>\n

The anoush abour handed down in the Palu region uses a different sweetener. According to a food culture record based on a 1932 account of life in the region, hulled wheat was combined with walnuts, almonds and raisins and sweetened with honey. In place of honey, concentrated grape juice or manna, a sweet substance collected from tree leaves, was sometimes used. Wheat has been paired not only with the combination of sugar and dried apricots commonly seen today, but also with sweeteners available locally.<\/p>\n

The method by Silva Keonjian, published by an Armenian cultural organization in London for its 2020 New Year cooking event, includes, in addition to wheat grains, the option of using polished barley (pearl barley). The kinds of dried fruit and nuts and the level of sweetness are also left to the cook. Here too, the grains are cooked the day before and left to rest, and the fruit is combined with them the next day.<\/p>\n

Whether the nuts are simmered in or scattered on top also changes the impression of each mouthful. Nuts that have mingled with the cooking liquid are soft, while those added just before eating keep their crunch. Garnishing with fresh pomegranate sets the red seeds off against the pale wheat and adds a juiciness different from that of dried fruit.<\/p>\n

\n\"Reference\n
Reference example of hulled wheat grains (2009, location unknown). Anoush abour also uses wheat grains, but this photo was not taken as an image of gorgod. Photo: zandland \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from the source. No content alterations or cropping were made for this use.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A Table That Runs from New Year’s Day to Christmas<\/h2>\n

The season for anoush abour spans the New Year and Armenian Christmas. The Gagliano family celebrates Armenian Christmas on January 6, separately from a family gathering on December 24. They reportedly make anoush abour during that one week starting on New Year’s Eve and eat it for breakfast as well. The sweet of the special day carries over to the next morning’s table.<\/p>\n

January 6 is a feast day of the Armenian Apostolic Church that celebrates the birth and baptism of Christ together. The Armenian communities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, on the other hand, follow the old calendar, and in today’s common calendar they keep Christmas from an eve on January 18 into January 19. The City of Bethlehem’s Christmas booklet also introduces this wheat sweet as a dish through which the Armenian community recalls the festivals of its homeland. The wheat expresses a wish for prosperity, and its sweet, fragrant flavor a wish for happiness throughout the year, and it is shared with loved ones.<\/p>\n

For Armenians from Istanbul, it is also a sweet set out after the meal on New Year’s Eve. In a story handed down in the Kunadjian family of Chicago, Noah’s party, having survived the flood, pooled their remaining grains, dried fruit and nuts into a single pot. The colors of pomegranate, apricots and almonds are likened to the rainbow after the flood. This family puts its gratitude for survival into the dish it makes on New Year’s Eve.<\/p>\n

The diaspora practice of making homeland dishes in the places where people have settled is not limited to the year-end and New Year season. Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Pennsylvania called for anoush abour to be prepared for a June 2019 gathering titled \u201cRemembering the Armenian Foods of Our Childhood.\u201d It was an event held after the Sunday liturgy to enjoy the dishes of earlier generations together with the younger generation. A dish that marks the turning of the year also becomes a shared taste connecting generations.<\/p>\n

Neighboring Grain Sweets<\/h2>\n

Turkey’s a\u015fure<\/a> is also a sweet that combines wheat, dried fruit and nuts in a single pot and is linked to the story of Noah. While a\u015fure is closely tied to observances in Muharram, a month of the Islamic calendar, the New Year and Christmas table holds a major place for anoush abour. Sweets made with similar ingredients are prepared and shared according to the calendar of each community.<\/p>\n

\n\"Turkish\n
Turkish a\u015fure made by cooking grains, beans and fruit (2017, location unknown). A different sweet that uses wheat and dried fruit; this is not anoush abour itself. Photo: Pivox \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version obtained from Commons. No additional processing was done for this use.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Gorgod<\/strong>: Processed wheat grains. In the church method discussed here, it refers to wheat with the outer husk removed.<\/p>

Anush<\/strong>: The Armenian word for \u201csweet.\u201d<\/p>

Apur<\/strong>: The Armenian word for \u201csoup,\u201d which forms the second half of the dish’s name.<\/p>

Recipe<\/strong>: A written description of ingredient proportions and method.<\/p>

Diaspora<\/strong>: People who have left their homeland and live in various places, or their communities.<\/p>

Pearl barley<\/strong>: Barley grains with the outer husk removed and polished. Used in one formula for anoush abour published in the UK in 2020.<\/p>

Noah<\/strong>: A figure of tradition appearing in this article, who is said to have gathered, together with everyone, the grains and other foods left after the flood.<\/p>

Christ<\/strong>: The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates his birth and baptism together on January 6.<\/p>

Silva Keonjian<\/strong>: The person who introduced, in materials published by an Armenian cultural organization in London, a New Year anoush abour method using polished barley or wheat grains.<\/p>

Katherine Gagliano<\/strong>: An Armenian American who published her grandmother’s anoush abour method and her family’s festive customs.<\/p>

Kunadjian family<\/strong>: A family in Chicago. Madlen Kunadjian relates the family’s New Year’s Eve anoush abour and the tradition about Noah.<\/p>

Manna<\/strong>: A general term for sweet substances that form on tree leaves and elsewhere. In the Palu record, it is listed as a sweetener used in place of honey.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    Katherine Gagliano, \u201cAn Old World Christmas: Anoush Abour\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Heating and resting the grains and the fruit combination inherited from her grandmother; the family’s New Year and January 6 celebrations. Lines 17\u201330 of the text were reread for this edition.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    Haykanush Mesropyan, \u201cOn the Dialect Names of Feast Days,\u201d 2014, printed p. 102<\/a> \u2014 A record of keeping cooked wheat warm in a blanket to rest it and adding sweeteners and fruit the next day. The relevant page of the saved original was read during earlier research. Web re-retrieval for this edition timed out.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    The Armenian Kitchen, \u201cAnoush Abour\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Heating and resting the wheat and simmering the fruit separately, based on a church cookbook. The original printed cookbook not consulted.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    Bethlehem Municipality, \u201cChristmas booklet,\u201d 2020<\/a> \u2014 The entry on this sweet; celebration and sharing with family and friends.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Houshamadyan, \u201cPalu \u2013 Cuisine\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Wheat with honey, concentrated grape juice and manna in Palu. The 1932 original not consulted; based on this site’s account.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    Fund for Armenian Relief, \u201cA Dish of Survival, Gratitude, and Renewal\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The Kunadjian family’s New Year’s Eve and family tradition about Noah.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    Armenian Diocese in Georgia, \u201cFeast of Holy Nativity and Theophany\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The calendar of the Nativity and baptism on January 6.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. \n

    Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, \u201cPilgrimage to Jerusalem\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Christmas on January 18\u201319 according to the old calendar in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  9. \n

    Holy Trinity Armenian Church, \u201cLooys,\u201d Winter 2019, p.19<\/a> \u2014 Announcement of a gathering to taste childhood dishes with the younger generation.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  10. \n

    Armenian Institute, \u201cAnoushabour,\u201d 2020<\/a> \u2014 An example using pearled barley or wheat grains.<\/p>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Anoush abour (Anoush Abour, Anushabur, \u0561\u0576\u0578\u0582\u0577\u0561\u057a\u0578\u0582\u0580) is an Armenian sweet dish of wheat simmered slowly in water and finished with dried fruit and nuts. Anush means \u201csweet,\u201d and apur means \u201csoup.\u201d When you dip in a spoon, you find a thickened cooking liquid filling the spaces between the soft, swollen grains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7700,"menu_order":330,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Anoush Abour\u30fbAnushabur","subtitle":"Celebrating the New Year and Christmas with wheat and dried fruit","topics":"Slowly simmered wheat grains\uff0fDried fruit and nuts added\uff0fThe Armenian New Year and Christmas","country":"Armenian communities and diaspora","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["fruit","grain"],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["cooked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[164],"class_list":["post-8559","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t