"Ashure means "10" in Arabic and refers to the 10th day in the month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. The dessert is cooked in homes during that week and distributed to friends, symbolising the spread of love and abundance," wrote Vogue and GQ Turkey food editor Cemre Torun in an article for Fool Magazine, noting that ashure is "perhaps the most symbolic dish in this part of the world".