Pomegranate molasses is pomegranate juice boiled down until it turns into a thick, dark, sour syrup. In Turkish it is called nar ekşisi, literally "pomegranate sour", and the name tells you what it is for: a squeeze of sharpness over salads, bulgur, grilled meat and lentil soup. Real nar ekşisi contains one ingredient. If the label lists glucose syrup or citric acid, you are looking at a pomegranate-flavoured sauce, which is a different product with a different taste.
Below: how the syrup is made, what it tastes like, the dishes it belongs in with quantities, how it differs from grenadine and pomegranate syrup, what to use when the bottle is empty, whether it needs the fridge, and how to read a label before you buy.
What is pomegranate molasses made of?
Pomegranate juice, and nothing else. Sour pomegranates are pressed in October and November, and the juice goes into wide pans over a low fire. It simmers for hours while the water leaves as steam, and somewhere between five and eight litres of juice end up as one litre of syrup. No sugar is added, because the fruit's own sugar concentrates as the water goes. What comes out is nearly black in the bottle, garnet on a spoon, and thick enough to coat the back of it.
In Türkiye the tradition runs along the south and the Aegean: Gaziantep and Hatay in the south-east, where nar ekşisi goes into almost every salad and kebab marinade, and the Aegean coast, including the Datça peninsula, where small producers still cook it in open pans each autumn. The same syrup exists across the region under other names: dibs rumman in Arabic, rob-e anar in Persian.
What does pomegranate molasses taste like?
Sour first, sweet behind it, and a little drying on the tongue, the way strong black tea or a young red wine is. The sweetness is fruit sugar, so it never tastes like syrup from a bottle of cordial. If you have tasted a good balsamic glaze, imagine it sharper, fruitier and without the wood.
The texture is pourable at room temperature and stiff from the fridge. A teaspoon is a lot. Most Turkish cooks use it the way others use lemon juice: a small amount at the very end, tasted, then a drop more. Cheap sauces are thinner, sweeter and flat, because glucose syrup does not carry the fruit's acidity.
What is pomegranate molasses used for?
The classic uses, with the amounts a Turkish home cook would reach for. Quantities are for four people.
| Dish | How much | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Shepherd salad (çoban salatası): tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley | 1 tbsp with 3 tbsp olive oil | Sourness lifts the tomato; the syrup clings where lemon runs off |
| Kısır, the bulgur salad | 2 tbsp, stirred in at the end | The bulgur soaks up the syrup and the whole bowl turns sweet-sour |
| Ezme, the Antep chopped-pepper meze | 1 tbsp | Balances the chilli and the raw onion |
| Grilled aubergine, peppers or roasted roots | A thin drizzle after cooking | Caramelised vegetables want acidity; the syrup adds it and a glaze |
| Lamb or chicken marinade | 2 tbsp with oil, garlic and salt, 2 hours | Fruit acid tenderises, the sugars brown on the grill |
| Red lentil soup | A few drops in the bowl | The way Antep serves it: a sour finish instead of lemon |
| Muhammara, the walnut and pepper dip | 1 to 2 tbsp | It is the ingredient that makes muhammara taste like muhammara |
| Pomegranate sour drink | 1 tsp in a glass of cold water, a pinch of salt | A summer drink in southern Türkiye; tart, not sweet |
It also goes into fesenjan, the Persian walnut stew, over baked feta, and, in small amounts, into a glass of sparkling water with mint.
Three rules carry you through most of these. Add it late, since long cooking dulls the sourness. Pair it with olive oil, because the oil rounds off the acidity. And start with less than you think, then taste. Turks also mix a spoon of it into cold water with a pinch of salt in summer, which is exactly as refreshing as it sounds.
Pomegranate molasses, grenadine, pomegranate syrup or balsamic: what is the difference?
These four get mixed up on supermarket shelves and in recipes, and they are not interchangeable.
- Pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi): reduced juice, sour, thick, dark. A savoury ingredient.
- Grenadine: a bar syrup. Traditionally pomegranate, today usually sugar, water, colour and flavouring. Sweet, red, no sourness. It belongs in a Tequila Sunrise, not in a salad.
- Pomegranate syrup: on most labels this means juice cooked with added sugar. Sweeter and lighter than molasses. Some brands use the words syrup and molasses for the same thing, so the ingredient list matters more than the name.
- Balsamic glaze: reduced grape must and vinegar. The closest in texture and in the sweet-sour balance, but the flavour is grape and wood, not fruit.
In German shops the Turkish product is sold as Granatapfelsirup, in the Netherlands as granaatappelmelasse, in France as mélasse de grenade. Whatever the word on the front, turn the bottle around and count the ingredients.
What can you substitute for pomegranate molasses?
Nothing matches it exactly, but these get close enough for a salad or a marinade, in this order.
Reduced pomegranate juice. Simmer a cup of unsweetened juice with a teaspoon of lemon juice until it is a quarter of its volume. This is the real substitute, because it is the real thing made quickly.
Balsamic glaze plus lemon. A tablespoon of glaze with a squeeze of lemon gives the sweet-sour balance and the cling. The flavour is different, and it works.
Tamarind paste. Diluted with a little water and honey. Sour and dark, more earthy than fruity. Good in marinades, less good over fresh salad.
Sumac and lemon. For a salad that only needs the sourness, a teaspoon of sumac and a squeeze of lemon do the job, without the syrup's sweetness or body.
Cranberry juice reduced the same way as pomegranate juice is the last resort. Plain vinegar is not a substitute; it brings acidity without any of the fruit.
How do you make pomegranate molasses at home?
You need juice, time and a heavy pan. One litre of unsweetened pomegranate juice, ideally from sour fruit, goes into the pan with the juice of half a lemon. Bring it to a gentle boil, then keep it at a slow simmer, uncovered. Skim the foam in the first ten minutes. After sixty to ninety minutes the volume has dropped to about a fifth, and the syrup coats a spoon. Take it off the heat while it still looks slightly too thin; it thickens as it cools.
That litre gives you roughly 200 millilitres. It tastes lighter than a Turkish bottle, because supermarket juice comes from sweeter fruit and the producers cook a larger batch for longer. It is still far better than any pomegranate-flavoured sauce, and it keeps for months in the fridge.
Do you need to refrigerate pomegranate molasses?
Unopened, no. A sealed bottle lives in a cool cupboard for two years or more; sugar and acid are both preservatives. Once opened, the fridge is the safer place. It will not spoil quickly on the shelf, but the colour darkens and the fresh sourness fades over months, and in the fridge it stays close to the day you opened it. Cold syrup pours slowly, so take the bottle out a few minutes before you need it, or warm the spoon.
Crystals near the cap are sugar, not a fault. Mould is the only sign to throw a bottle away, and with a one-ingredient product it is rare.
How to read the label: nar ekşisi or pomegranate-flavoured sauce?
Yes, Trader Joe's, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Albert Heijn, Rewe and ICA all sell something with pomegranate on the label, which is why so many people search for it by shop name. The question is what is in the bottle. Turkish food law draws a line: a product may only be called nar ekşisi if it is pomegranate juice reduced by cooking. Anything with glucose syrup, sugar, acidity regulators or colouring has to be sold as nar ekşili sos, pomegranate-flavoured sauce. The sauces are cheaper, thinner and sweeter, and they are what fills most supermarket shelves abroad.
A three-second check: the ingredient list should say pomegranate juice, or pomegranate juice concentrate, and stop there. Real molasses is thick and very dark, it clings to the glass when you tilt the bottle, and the first taste is sour, not sweet. The price per 250 ml is usually double that of a sauce, because five to eight litres of juice went into it.
Where to buy pomegranate molasses
The nar ekşisi we ship is made in Datça, on the Aegean coast, from pomegranate juice and nothing else. The ingredient list has one line. Bottles below are the sizes people usually start with.
The bottles ship from Türkiye in the producer's own packaging. Pair one with an olive oil from the olive oil collection and you have the two halves of a Turkish salad dressing; orders over $100 ship free worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
Is pomegranate molasses the same as grenadine?
No. Grenadine is a sweet bar syrup, usually made from sugar, water, colouring and flavouring, with little or no pomegranate. Pomegranate molasses is reduced pomegranate juice, sour rather than sweet, and used in cooking. One cannot replace the other.
Can I use balsamic vinegar instead of pomegranate molasses?
Balsamic glaze, the thick reduced kind, works as a stand-in with a squeeze of lemon. Thin balsamic vinegar does not; it has the acidity but none of the body or fruit. If you have pomegranate juice, reducing it in a pan is a better substitute than either.
How much pomegranate molasses do I put in a salad?
About one tablespoon for a salad that serves four, whisked with three tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Taste, then add a few drops more if the tomatoes are sweet. It is easy to add and impossible to take out.
Does pomegranate molasses go bad?
Very slowly. Sealed, it keeps for years in a cupboard. Opened, it lasts a year or more in the fridge; the flavour softens and the colour darkens over time rather than the syrup spoiling. Sugar crystals near the cap are normal. Mould is the only reason to discard it.
Is pomegranate molasses vegan and gluten-free?
Real nar ekşisi is pomegranate juice reduced by cooking, so it contains no animal ingredients and no wheat, barley or rye. Flavoured sauces can contain other ingredients, so check the label of the bottle in your hand for the full ingredient and allergen list.
Is pomegranate molasses healthy?
We are a food shop, so we will talk about flavour and tradition and leave health questions to your doctor. What we can say is what is in the bottle: pomegranate juice, cooked down, and nothing added. How it fits into your diet is a question for someone who knows your diet.
One spoon of nar ekşisi and a good olive oil turn a plate of chopped tomato into a Turkish salad. Once the bottle is open, you will find it makes its way into more dishes than the table above.
