Manisa Mesir Macunu

Appearance & taste

Manisa Mesir Macunu is a soft, very sticky paste ranging from amber to dark brown. It tastes spicy and bittersweet; according to the specification, the hot, bitter and astringent notes come from the non-volatile components of the spices, the smell and aroma from their essential oils.

It is offered as a liquid paste in jars of 200, 400 or 1,000 g or as firm sticks wrapped in film, 3 to 4 cm or 11 to 12 cm long; the pieces weigh 8 to 10 g, the larger long sticks 21 to 23 g. The sticks are easy to take along and are especially popular at traditional festivals.

Production

The base is sugar, glucose syrup, citric acid and water. To this are added 41 spices, herbs and fruits, including opium poppy seeds, galangal, mustard seed, cinnamon flowers, orange blossom and peel, lemon, coconut, myrrh, coriander, saffron, cardamom, cloves, fennel, carob, cumin, liquorice extract, hibiscus flowers, linseed, black cumin, allspice, anise, cubeb, long, black and white pepper, rose hips, turmeric, rosemary, myrobalans, vanilla, chaste tree berries, grapes and ginger.

The ingredients are heated and mixed; according to the specification, the choice of ingredients, the preparation of the sugar paste, the cooking time and the temperature determine the taste and consistency. The method is passed down from generation to generation. For the sticks, the paste is kneaded until it is firm enough, shaped into a long, thin strand, cut into pieces and packed; the liquid paste is filled into jars. All steps from heating to shaping take place in the province of Manisa.

Origin & history

The area is the province of Manisa. According to the specification, the physician Muslihiddin Merkez Efendi, head of the hospital in Manisa founded by Süleyman I, invented the paste in 1527, when Süleyman was governor of Manisa. He is said to have used it to treat the ailing mother of the later sultan; afterwards the paste was to be distributed to the people every year at a festival. The first Mesir festival took place around 1527/1528. Since then, every year on or around 21 March, the day of the spring festival of Nowruz, thousands of people have gathered in front of the Sultan Mosque and tried to catch the paper-wrapped pieces thrown from the roof and minarets. Today the festival lasts from 21 to 27 March.

According to the book “Manisa Mesir Macunu” by Baytop, published in 1963, the 41 ingredients go back to an antidote with 60 ingredients by the physician Avicenna; their number was reduced because some were hard to obtain in Anatolia and because the number 41 has a mystical meaning. In 2012 the Mesir paste from Manisa was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Manisa today, streets, parks and shops bear its name.