Koliva- A Memorial Tradition of the Orthodox Church

 

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls

into the ground and dies, it remains alone;

but if it dies, it produces much grain.

John 12:24

I used to watch my mom (and grandmother) make koliva for family and church members for years.  I'd watch her sort through the wheat looking for rocks and abnormalities, boil it for hours, dry it on the dining room table, toast the almonds and walnuts, sift the powered sugar, and carry it to church early in the morning.  She would patiently copy the list of names of our departed family members, names that repeated themselves generation after generation:  Vasili, Vasili, Nicholas, Nicholas, Nicholas, Maria, Maria, Kalliope, and so on. She would place the names in an envelope with a small offering for the priest who read the names.  She prepared koliva like an iconographer "writes" an icon, with prayer and awareness of her offering.

The first time I made koliva on my own, I was preparing it for my father's one year memorial.  I gathered the ingredients, wrote out my names and began the process.  Of all the things I had done up to then- traveled abroad, moved to various cities, got married, had a child... making koliva offered me the strongest sense of passage into adulthood than I've ever experienced.  This time I was the one who experienced loss that cannot be described and so I was the one making koliva for those asleep in the Lord. 

Before I begin with the step-by-step, I want to be clear, preparing the koliva, boiled wheat, for those asleep in the Lord is prayer more than following a recipe and combining ingredients.  We pray, "Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant." throughout the preparation.  We have a quiet house.  We aren't watching the news in the background.  If it helps you, play a CD where hymns or services are chanted.  You really want to keep the environment prayerful.

Some of the ingredients can be expensive, but they aren't all necessary.  You don't need walnuts, blanched/slivered almonds AND Jordan Almonds.  But I will offer you the full recipe here.  You can edit as needed.

For a small memorial service, like Saturday of the Souls or a family memorial, you will need the following ingredients: 2 c whole wheat  (uncooked), 1 c chopped walnuts, 1 c blanched / slivered almonds, 1/2 c raisins, 1/2 c golden raisins, 1/4 c Italian (flat) parsley, 1 c whole sesame seeds, 1 t cinnamon, 1 t pumpkin spice, 1 t honey, 2 c powdered sugar, Jordan Almonds.  Please note: there are two different kinds of wheat berries available for koliva.  Peeled berries only need @ 30 minutes to cook.  Unpeeled berries need to sit overnight in water and then cooked for another 2-4 hours.  Be sure which kind you are purchasing before you start. 

Also, I cooked 4 cups of wheat and used about 2 c cooked wheat in my recipe.   The remaining cooked wheat was put in a plastic bag and frozen.  I will thaw portions out for the next 2 weekends for the remaining Saturday of the Souls services that are celebrated in association with Holy and Great Lent.

For a Memorial Service your portions will look more like: 5 lbs whole wheat (cooked in 2 large pots) 4 c chopped walnuts, 4 c blanched / slivered almonds,  2 c raisins, 2 c golden raisins, 1 c Italian (flat) parsley, 4 c whole sesame seeds, 2 T cinnamon, 1 T pumpkin spice, 1 T honey, 2 lbs powdered sugar,  1 lb Jordan Almonds.

 

 

THE NIGHT BEFORE:

• Spread the whole wheat berries in a jelly roll / cookie sheet and inspect the wheat.  Look for small pebbles and dark grains.  It's best to start with all the grain on one side and slowly pull the grains across the tray, little by little, so you can see one layer of grain at a time.  Do this three times, remembering to pray for those departed while you work.

Whole wheat berries



Spread out on a cookie sheet to remove pebbles and abnormalities.

Here is a sample of good grain on top and grains I plucked out on the bottom.
It's impossible to get it all, but after three passes you should find the most obvious abnormalities. 



"Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant."

 

• Rinse wheat grains with cool water in a large pot till water is clear. 
• Fill pot with plenty of water to cover wheat and allow movement when boiling.  If you don't know if you have the peeled or the unpeeled wheat, you will know after 20-30 minutes... because if it's not tender in 20 minutes it could take 2 hours to cook. 

 



Not ready yet.



Ready.

•  When wheat is cooked, drain in large colander and rinse VERY well with cold water by placing wheat back into pot with fresh cold water and stir with your hand to release starch from wheat.   Return to colander and let sit for a few minutes.
• On a large flat surface like a dining room table I like to lay a plastic garbage bag to protect the surface, then I use a clean towel and a lint free sheet.  I try to use the same sheet every time. 

 



This will absorb the moisture while the wheat dries overnight, 6-8 hours.

 

 

After a few hours I spread my hand over the wheat to rotate the grains. 

 

"Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant."

THE MORNING OF (or maybe even the night before):


I usually do this step the morning of, but you could also prep the next set of ingredients the night before.

• Toast the almond, walnuts and sesame seeds and allow to cool in separate bowls. 

Toast the almond slivers.  I use a dry stainless steel pan because I tend to burn them when I toast them in the oven.

 

 

• Toast sesame seeds to a golden color.  

 



"Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant."

• Rinse raisins in warm water to soften and remove sticky sugars. 
• Pat dry on a paper towel and remove stems. 
• Reserve 1/4 c mixed raisins for decoration.

 

DEFINITELY THE MORNING OF:

• Gather dried wheat into a large mixing bowl. 
• Drizzle honey into wheat and mix by hand.  This keeps wheat tender.

• Add chopped parsley, cleaned raisins, spices almonds and walnuts to wheat.  Mix ingredients together and pour wheat into decorative bowl.  Firmly pack the wheat down. 



I forgot to buy parsley in this batch.

"Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant."

• Grind the toasted sesame seeds to a grit.  You will see the seeds on the edge of the food processor fold over when it is almost done. 

 
 

  

• Spread the ground sesame seeds over the nuts and pat down till a smooth surface.  The seeds and nuts serve as a barrier for the wheat and the powdered sugar. Otherwise the sugar would melt, the wheat would start to ferment and your koliva will be watery and tough.  Other recipes will use zweibach crackers, graham crackers, bread crumbs or toasted flour for this step. 

 

• Place decorative plate over a large sheet of wax paper.
• Fill a strainer with powdered sugar and tap side to sift sugar onto mixture in decorative bowl until all the toasted sesame seed is covered in sugar.  The more the better... within reason. 
•  

 

 

"Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant."

• Using a piece of wax paper, press down the sifted powdered sugar to a smooth surface.  I recently made kolyva and couldn't find my strainer to sift the sugar... turned out just fine by pouring 1/2 c powered sugar at a time and smoothing out each layer.  .

 

Before

After





 When the powdered sugar is smooth use the Jordan Almonds, raisins, nuts, even cinnamon to decorate the koliva.  A perfectionist will take way too much time trying to get this part right,  so before you panic over it too much, you should know that the priest will put a candle in it and then after the prayers are said will most likely use the end of the candle to make the sign of the cross IN your beautifully designed koliva. 

 

  

 

"Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on your servant."

You can search online for more information on memorials, when they are offered and the Miracle of the koliva. You can also search for decorative ideas. Basically all you really need is a cross in the middle.

 

 

There is plenty of room for artistic expression in decorating koliva.



Be sure to arrive to the church service early so as not to disrupt the prayers and have your list of names written legibly. 

Visit our website for note cards

 

www.vscardbox.com

www.vscardbox.com