Two Spices.

Would anybody know where in Auckland I can buy the following spices. Mastic and Mahleb. They are used in Mediterranean cooking. Thankyou.

I have been looking for both of these in Auckland for years without success.I did buy mastic from a mail-order spice supplier in Dunedin (Leith's I think) but as far as I know they are no longer in business.

Good luck - I will be very interested if someone has found a source of both of these things, as they are delicious.

I also found them some three/four years ago from a small place on the North Shore unfortunately they are no longer in business which is a pain if i do find them i will put from where on here However i am hopeful I will find them again.

Well Ladies have a look at www.edibleplanet.co.nz. as they definately have mastic.
I buy alot from them like sumac which is hard to get here and Ibarra Mexican chocolate which makes devine hot chocolate. They are nice people to deal with. I miss browsing around their shop as it is eq damaged but their online facility is still operating. Hope this makes you smile!

Made me smile, suzanna.And I like the look of that fig-filled biscuit recipe too.

Edited to change my typo 's' for your 'z' in suzanna ;)

Ok, I'm just curious, could you please tell me how you use the two spices in question.I love trying new things and feel like I'm missing out on something here...!!Thanks so much.

petal-pickle, until someone who uses them comes along, here's some basic info:
MASTIC - Also called gum mastic or mastika, this is the resinous sap collected from trees on the Greek island of Chios. The translucent droplets are referred to as "tears" wept from the tree. Mastic was the original chewing gum.
Category:Spice
To Buy:Buy mastic tears in a specialty spice store or a Greek delicatessen. They are usually sold in packs of just a couple of grams, which is a single serving for making, say, a batch of ice cream.
To Store:Stored in an airtight container away from heat and light mastic should last for 2 years.
Tips and Tricks:Mastic added to icecream, custard or sweets gives a velvet texture while not adding much flavour. It can be chewed like gum, and the name mastic was the origin of the verb masticate, to chew.

MAHLEB is the seed/kernel of the St. Lucie cherry tree, a tree that has become relatively rare in the last thirty or so years. Collecting mahleb is labor-intensive, can be quite detrimental to the tree, and most mahleb trees are now used as grafting stock for other types of cherry trees.

The St. Lucie cherry stones are cracked open to reveal a small, soft kernel that is left to dry out in the sun. The kernel is beige, oval and wrinkled and smells like a mixture of almonds and cherries.

Culinary/Suggested Use
Mahleb is frequently used in sweet pastries, cookies and breads in the Middle East and Mediterranean. The intense almond and cherry like flavor of mahleb can add a unique taste to many baked goods. Buy whole kernels and grind them into a powder. Add a small amount to anything from cookies and bread to cheese and cheesecakes. Ground mahleb will lose its flavor quickly and spoil sooner than whole kernels.

Amazing how you know all that elliehen.

I have eaten ice cream flavoured with mahleb (in Turkey) and have also used it to flavour custards.Mastic is good as an addition to Turkish or Greek rice pudding, also in savoury dishes.Here is a recipe (from George Calombaris) that I have made many times with great success.I leave out the honey.

Lamb Shanks with Honey and Mastic
Serves 4
750g Greek natural yoghurt, strained overnight
4 lamb shanks, trimmed
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
¼ cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 French shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
2 whole garlic cloves
6 sprigs thyme
1 lemon, rind peeled into strips, halved
5 beads mastic
2 tab honey
Extra virgin olive oil
Young sprigs flat leaf parsley, to serve


1. Spoon the yoghurt into a fine meshed sieve and place over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow excess liquid to drain from the yoghurt.
 2. Preheat oven 160 degrees C . Heat a large deep ovenproof frying pan over high heat until hot. Season shanks well with salt and pepper. Cover the base of the pan with oil and cook shanks, in two batches, for 5 minutes, turning until golden all over. Return all shanks to pan and deglaze the pan with the wine. Pour in the chicken stock. Remove pan from the heat.
3. Spoon the yoghurt over the lamb to cover. Scatter over the shallots, garlic, thyme, lemon rind, mastic and drizzle with honey. Place a cartouche on the surface of the lamb and cover with a light fitting lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 4 hours.
Remove the lid, cartouche and sprigs of thyme. Carefully transfer the lamb to a warm 
serving platter and spoon over some of the thick yoghurt top. Strain the juices into a saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice from half lemon.
Remove from heat, insert a stick blender into the sauce and while blending add 2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the lamb, scatter with parsley and serve.

I am so glad I dropped by and clicked onto this thread. I will move heaven and Earth to find some mastic

I'm sure you didn't intend that to smack of sarcasm, Helen.

Google is Our Mutual Friend, and in my excited haste to present something new I had just learned, I omitted the quotation marks.

Just for davidt4, here it is again ;)
QUOTE FROM GOOGLE: MASTIC - Also called gum mastic or mastika, this is the resinous sap collected from trees on the Greek island of Chios. The translucent droplets are referred to as "tears" wept from the tree. Mastic was the original chewing gum.
Category:Spice
To Buy:Buy mastic tears in a specialty spice store or a Greek delicatessen. They are usually sold in packs of just a couple of grams, which is a single serving for making, say, a batch of ice cream.
To Store:Stored in an airtight container away from heat and light mastic should last for 2 years.
Tips and Tricks:Mastic added to icecream, custard or sweets gives a velvet texture while not adding much flavour. It can be chewed like gum, and the name mastic was the origin of the verb masticate, to chew.

MAHLEB is the seed/kernel of the St. Lucie cherry tree, a tree that has become relatively rare in the last thirty or so years. Collecting mahleb is labor-intensive, can be quite detrimental to the tree, and most mahleb trees are now used as grafting stock for other types of cherry trees.

The St. Lucie cherry stones are cracked open to reveal a small, soft kernel that is left to dry out in the sun. The kernel is beige, oval and wrinkled and smells like a mixture of almonds and cherries.

Culinary/Suggested Use
Mahleb is frequently used in sweet pastries, cookies and breads in the Middle East and Mediterranean. The intense almond and cherry like flavor of mahleb can add a unique taste to many baked goods. Buy whole kernels and grind them into a powder. Add a small amount to anything from cookies and bread to cheese and cheesecakes. Ground mahleb will lose its flavor quickly and spoil sooner than whole kernels. END QUOTE FROM GOOGLE

Don't think 'regulars' would question your source of info elliehen. Keep it up.I have never heard of these spices. We have 2 Mediterranean outlet shops here so will suss out.

Me too Buzzy110:)

Thanks for the link suzanna :)

Here is a link...you may be able to purchase from them, but the best thing would be to ask if they can/will supply you.
http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/mahleb-whole-and-ground

Thanks heaps elliehen for that, I could of course have googled it myself but thought that perhaps someone with previous experience of having used these ingredients could enlighten me further!!Good on you for googling, we would all be lost without this great wealth of information. Does anyone use an encyclopedia anymore?!??!

Thankyou so much for the info I will try"the spice house" and "edible planet" and hope I will be able to find some. I use both of these spices in custards(mastic) and breads and cakes (mahleb). I have an old mediterranean cookbook and I tend to experiment. I have been known to have both magnificent successes and equally magnificent failures.!!! Sometimes both on the same day.