Charoset is a sweet, chunky paste of chopped fruit, nuts, and wine that sits on the Passover Seder plate as a symbol of the mortar used by Israelite slaves in Egypt. The word appears in the Mishnah (compiled around 200 CE), though the earliest surviving recipe for it is credited to Rabbi Saadia Gaon in the 10th century CE. It is eaten on matzah together with the bitter herbs, usually horseradish, so that the sweetness of charoset balances the bitterness of slavery. Ashkenazi versions typically use apples, walnuts, and cinnamon, while Sephardic versions often use dates, figs, or raisins.