Pomegranate molasses is a basic ingredient in the Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine as it adds a lot of flavors to an array of traditional dishes such as “sfeeha” and “lahm b ajeen”, “fattoush” salad, braised “makanek” and meat etc.
Sour pomegranate fruits are collected during fall season – October – to prepare this thick concentrate. The preparation steps are easy, but the procedure is a long one and needs patience.
Preparation steps:
- First of all, the pomegranate fruits are seeded
- Juice is then extracted from the seeds using a tomato squeezer. If you wish to prepare pomegranate molasses at home, on a small scale, you can use a food processor/blender to squeeze the seeds.
- Once the juice is extracted, it is brought to boil on a medium fire.
- When the juice starts boiling, the fire is lowered and the juice is left to simmer with occasional stirring (every 10 minutes).
- The molasses is ready when the total volume of juice is reduced by around 80%.
- The final product is a thick and brown sweet and tangy syrup. It is packed with nutrients.
