The best pomegranate molasses recipe

Pomegranate molasses is an inevitable part of Turkish and Iranian cuisine. Actually, most of Middle East cuisines include fresh pomegranate or pomegranate molasses in their dishes. It can be used as a salad dressing, for marinating meats, roasted or mashed vegetables, ice creams and desserts, cocktails and soft drinks, dips, stews, you name it. Pomegranate molasses can be bought online or at big stores, but if you like to use it a lot, why not make it at home? Homemade stuff is always healthier and tastier so if you have time, you should try to make your own. Here’s the best pomegranate molasses recipe I have found. I tested many of these recipes on the internet and this one stands out. It is easy to make, like making a jam in a saucepan, and the results are amazing.

The first step: seed and juice pomegranates

Before learning how to make pomegranate molasses, you need to know how to seed and juice pomegranates. The problem with pomegranates is the colour and its small seeds. If you cut a pomegranate wrong way, the seeds may splash all over the kitchen and make a mess. It is advised to use gloves and some old t-shirt, in case it gets dirty.

So, the best way to seed pomegranate is to cut its top and pull it off so you can see the seeds. Cut three slits but not to the bottom, cut them enough so you can separate the pomegranate in three parts.  Now try to remove seeds gently with your hands. Depending on the pomegranate, you may succeed to remove all the seeds without losing juice. But if the seeds start to splash, put these pomegranate pieces in a bowl full of cold water and try to separate them there, while they are soaked in water.

You can pour the seeds and that water in a colander, to drain the seeds and remove white pieces. Now, when you have collected all the seeds, you can get ready for the next step, and that is to juice pomegranate seeds. You need a blender, a food processor, or any type of juice extractor. Don’t blend the seeds too long, and you can use the “pulse” option of the blender. The next step is to put the parts that were not turned to juice into a strainer and press them with the spatula. In that way you will extract even more juice.

Note: make sure you remove all white parts of pomegranate, because if you don’t your juice may be bitter. That’s why you shouldn’t blend the seeds too long in the blender, because these white parts may give the bitter taste to the juice.

You won’t need other pomegranate molasses recipe

This recipe is very easy to make and you can adjust the amount of ingredients depending on how much juice you get. The traditional way of making pomegranate molasses is actually to use only one ingredient, pomegranate. People in Middle East only cook pomegranate juice until thickened and usually they don’t put anything else in it or just a little bit of salt. Thanks to its natural sugar, the pomegranate juice thickens by cooking, and it becomes pomegranate molasses. This traditional pomegranate molasses recipe has more tart flavor than the one I will share with you.  

If you want to store pomegranate molasses for a few weeks or months you need to add sugar and lemon. It’s what keeps the molasses fresh and good to use even after a month. That’s why I think it is better to use this “modern” pomegranate molasses recipe and have your bottle, jar of pomegranate molasses in the fridge for months.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of pomegranate juice

½ cup of white sugar*

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

*If your pomegranate juice is not so sweet, you can add more sugar. Or if it is too sweet, you can add more lemon. Have in mind that if you put less sugar, it will need more time to get thick.

PREPARATION:

1. Pour pomegranate juice in a saucepan and add sugar and lemon juice. Cook at medium high heat uncovered and stir all the time until the sugar has dissolved. If it starts to boil and the sugar is not completely melted, reduce the heat and keep stirring until all the sugar has melted.
2. Cook for at least one hour and stir every 10 minutes. The more you stir and the better is your saucepan, the less sugar will stick or burn.
3. The pomegranate molasse is cooked when the liquid is gone and when you can coat the back of the spoon with it. The molasse will get even thicker as it cools. You should get about one cup and a half of it. Don’t worry if it is not completely thick, once it cools it will be thicker for sure.

KITCHEN TOOLS:

Blender

Strainer

Knife

Bowls

Glass jar

Saucepan

Things to have in mind when preparing pomegranate molasses

Preparing sauces, syrup and molasses requires much patience and a lot of stirring. The last few minutes are very important. You need to keep an eye on your saucepan and don’t let the molasses become brownish. It will mean that the molasses is overcooked and you won’t be even able to transfer it to the jar. If you don’t have high quality saucepan that doesn’t stick at the bottom, cook pomegranate molasses at lower temperature. Don’t leave it out of sight until it is ready!

Cooking pomegranate molasses is unpredictable. One minute it may be okay, but the next one it may be burned. So, if you are not sure if your pomegranate molasses is thick enough, it is better to remove it from the stove and let it cool a bit. You can always put it back and cook it for a few more minutes. Usually, cooking time is about 30 minutes.

When it’s finally ready, you can transfer pomegranate molasses in a glass jar after it cools for 15 minutes or so. Keep it at room temperature until it cools off completely and then you can store it in the fridge and use it for a few months.

Pomegranate molasses recipe – Additional notes

Pomegranate molasses may get hardened in the fridge, don’t worry about that. Put it in a microwave for a few seconds and it will be back to its normal state. If you don’t have a microwave, just take it out from the fridge a few hours before. If you like to get really thick syrup, you can reduce pomegranate juice amount or cook stirring all the time.

If you are in a hurry and you need pomegranate molasse for something, you can try store-bought pomegranate juice instead of seeding and juicing pomegranates. Another expensive shortcut is to buy peeled pomegranate, only the seeds without skin, but it is much expensive than the fresh one.

For those who want to try this pomegranate molasses recipe for the first time, I encourage you to make smaller amount and see if you like the flavor of it. If it turns out well, you can garnish your sweet and savoury dishes and surprise your family and friends with new flavors.