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While recipes may vary widely, the primary ingredient in today's Kollyva consists of wheat kernels which have been boiled until they are soft. These are usually mixed with a variety of ingredients which may include pomegranate seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, ground walnuts, cinnamon, sugar, raisins, anise and parsley.
The Kollyva mixture is then placed on a platter and shaped into a mound or cake, to resemble a grave. The whole is then decorated with a powdered sugar covering, often with Jordan almonds, raisins , or other sweets decoratively placed on the surface. A [[cross]] is traced or created with the sweets on the top, and on its sides are placed the initials of the departed for whom the memorial is held. A candle, usually often placed in the center of the Kollyva, is lit at the beginning of the [[Memorial Services|requiem service]] and extinguished at its end; the candle symbolizes the light wherewith the Christian is illumined in [[Baptism]], and also the light of the world to come, which knows no setting.
Some Orthodox parishes have a designated individual charged with making the Kollyva. This is in part due to the health risk of fermented wheat if the Kollyva is not prepared correctly.
