The Uncle Noric’s website writes, “This is a treasured family recipe. Our granny made choreg most of my life. She was 25 years old when she went to her friend’s house (Oski Ornadzian) to learn how to make this recipe from her friend’s mother. Oski’s mom lived in Providence, Rhode Island. Her name was ‘Vadvara’ (we think).”
The neighbor, Oski Ornadzian’s obituary reads, “Age 89, Oski passed away peacefully with her family by her side at her home on February 18, 2013 in Allen Park, MI. She was the beloved wife of the late Vahan. Loving mother of Marguerite Bagdasarian, Carol Bagdasarian and Greg Ornazian. Loving grandmother of Vartan (Alissa), Soseh, Monieg (Jason), Vahan (Natasha), Richard (Samantha), Sara, Maggie, Lauren, Kristina (Brant) and Gregory. Loving great grandmother of Aram, Sosi, Sophia, Gavin, Maximus and Aiden. Dear sister of Anne Kachigian. Oski will also be dearly missed by her brother-in-law Sahag Dardarian, sister-in-law Rose-Marie Krikorian and her many nephews and nieces.”
(This recipe is courtesy of THE ART OF ARMENIAN & MIDDLE EASTERN COOKING.)
From Serious Eats Magazine: “Choreg — sometimes spelled choroeg, cheoreg, or chorek in English — is an Armenian sweet bread that has a distinctive, intoxicating aroma thanks to inclusion of nigella and mahlab. It’s traditionally served around Easter, since it’s meant to be an indulgence after winter and Lent, but many Armenians eat it year-round as well. It can be formed into individual round or knotted rolls, and — more commonly — into long braided loaves, and the braids are often made with three strands of dough, to represent the Holy Trinity. Choreg is also made and eaten in Greece (where it’s known as tsoureki and is usually flavored with mastic), Turkey (paskalya çöreği), and elsewhere, though its flavors and shapes vary from country to country.”
“Choreg is often called ‘Armenian brioche,’ because of the large amount of butter and eggs in the dough; it also draws comparisons to challah, because of the eggs, and the fact that it’s formed into braids. But unlike brioche or challah, choreg dough also contains a high percentage of sugar, often exceeding 20%. (Armenians are not known for doing things in half-measures, particularly when it comes to celebrations and celebratory foods.) And, unlike challah and brioche, choreg contains nigella seed and mahlab.”
From Dining in Diaspora: “Perhaps the most enduring and symbolic of food traditions centers around a sweet bread called ‘choreg’ made during Easter, which emits a fragrance while baking that is so potent, so intoxicating, it is permanently embedded in the olfactory memories of the adults who once grew up with it. For many, choreg is an all-out obsession, inhaled in copious amounts at the first opportunity. No matter how much you eat, it never seems to be enough. No matter how much time has passed since you’ve eaten it, you will never forget the taste. For the descendants of survivors who settled in cities like Boston, Detroit, Racine, Chicago, Fresno and Philadelphia and so many other pockets in the U.S., choreg is the cornerstone of their identity, made generation after generation during Easter in the houses they grew up in, intertwined with the most significant childhood memories they had.”
