Pomegranates are such a delicious and healthy fruit. I love to have them in the winter when they are sweet and juicy. They are also great to add to other recipes: salads, juices, cocktails, in both sweet and savory dishes – you name it! In Middle Eastern cuisine, pomegranate molasses is a very popular ingredient. But what exactly is pomegranate molasses good for? It is a viscous sauce-like substance that is created by refining high sugar content fruits and extracting their sugar. Molasses differs by the process of extraction, the quantity of sugar and fruit used. It is primarily used to sweeten foods while also adding a delicious sweet and tangy flavor. It is fairly healthy, but also a great addition to many dishes. Pomegranate molasses makes for amazing drinks, dressings, and is great in baked goods. What’s more, it is easy to make and a fantastic addition to vegan dishes!
What can you do with fresh pomegranates?
There are many ways to use fresh pomegranates. They make a great addition to salads, cocktails, juices and baked goods. They are particularly amazing with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine and dishes. As they are currently in season, this is the perfect time to consume them, so you can only imagine how thrilled I was when I got my delivery from gebana! Fresh, organic and straight from Greece, I was so excited to use all of my pomegranates. After using them in quite a few recipes, I still had so many leftovers and no idea what to do with them… And then it hit me – I should make pomegranate molasses! It’s an easy and delicious way to use them up and make them last longer.
What are the benefits of pomegranates?
Pomegranates and their juice have many health benefits. Pomegranates contain punicalagins, which are an extremely strong antioxidant, said to be even stronger than what you get from green tea! Thanks to these antioxidants, pomegranates also have incredible anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, a single pomegranate contains more than 40% of your daily vitamin C requirement! They are also said to help with issues such as heart disease, blood pressure, digestion and cancer prevention. As you can see, they are truly an incredible fruit.
How to make Pomegranate Molasses?
Making pomegranate molasses is easy, it just takes a bit of time. We made this recipe as simple as possible, thus it only has a few steps!
The first step is to carefully cut open your pomegranates and extract the pearls (also called seeds) of the fruit. Do you not have fresh pomegranates on hand? That is fine, pomegranate juice works too! If you are using pre-made pomegranate juice, you can skip the first two steps of the recipe.
After having extracted the pearls, you can move on to the second step: juicing them. There are two ways to do this: either with a juicer, or by using a blender and a sieve.
If you are using a juicer, it will be very straight-forward. Simply put them in your machine, juice them, and you’re done! You can discard the seeds, as they are not necessary for this recipe.
If you are using a blender and sieve, the operation will take you 5 extra minutes. Put the pearls in your blender and blend them on medium-high for a very short time, about 10 to 20 seconds. Be careful to not overblend them, as you do not want the seeds to break up and incorporate into the juice. This would give your pomegranate juice a bitter flavor, which we are not looking for! After blending, separate the juice from the seeds by sieving your mixture into a pot. You can then throw away the seeds, as they will not be necessary.
Once you have juiced the fruit, add the juice to a heavy bottom pot, along with the sugar and lemon juice. After this, you can move on to the fourth step, which is the longest of this recipe: boiling the mixture.
Boiling the juice will take a bit of time, we estimated about 50 minutes. Be careful with this step, as you do not want to burn the mixture! Set your pot on the stove and put the heat on medium, so the juice remains on a steady simmer. If the mixture bubbles too much, it is at risk of burning and you will have to reduce the heat. Keep an eye on it, and occasionally stir it with a wooden spatula. Carefully scrape the bottom and the sides of the pot – you do not want the sugar to burn. If the sugar happens to burn, or you over-boil the mixture, you will unfortunately have to start over.
After the 50 minutes have passed, you are in the last stage of making the pomegranate molasses. As your mixture will only need 10 or 20 more minutes, watch it carefully and actively stir and scrape your pot. This is the most ‘dangerous’ step, as you can easily overboil the mixture at this point. When the bubbles start to thicken, your mixture is ready! It should look thick, glossy and syrupy. Keep in mind that the molasses will also thicken once it cools down, so you really should take it off of the heat as soon as it starts to look like the picture below.
Remove your pot from the heat and transfer the molasses to a clean container, preferably an air-tight jar. Be sure to let the molasses fully cool down at room temperature before sealing your jar. And that’s it, you’re all ready to go and use your delicious pomegranate molasses!
Should Pomegranate Molasses be refrigerated?
Yes, we recommend that you refrigerate your pomegranate molasses. This is to ensure that there won’t be any micro-bacterial growth, such as mold. While you can also keep them unrefrigerated, they will last longer if kept in the fridge, especially in the warmer months. Your pomegranate molasses should stay good for a while – 6 months, if not more!
How to make Pomegranate Molasses
Equipment
- Juicer (or Blender & Sieve)
- Heavy Bottom Pot
Materials
- 1 Kg Fresh Pomegranates (about 300ml of Pomegranate Juice)
- 150 g Cane Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Wash, cut, and peel the pomegranates. Extract all the pearls from the skin carefully.1 Kg Fresh Pomegranates
- Juice the pomegranate pearls using a juicer. Throw away the seeds because you only need the juice for this recipe. Alternatively, you can also use a blender along with a sieve (check notes).
- Pour the juice into a heavy bottom pot and mix in the sugar as well as lemon juice.150 g Cane Sugar, 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Place the pot on the stove and cook on medium heat (so the juice starts to just simmer). If it starts to bubble too much, turn down the heat so you don't overcook the molasses. Let it simmer for about 50 minutes and stir occasionally using a wooden spatula. Make sure to carefully scrape the sides and bottom so the sugar doesn't stick and burn.
- At this stage, it is very crucial to pay attention to the molasses for the next 10-20 minutes because you could overcook or burn it. So make sure to actively stir it and scrape it off the pan. Once the bubbles start to thicken, remove the pot from the heat. At this point your molasses is ready.
- Carefully pour the molasses into a clean (air-tight) jar and allow it to cool at room temperature before sealing. Store chilled in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Notes
- Put all the pomegranate pearls into a blender and blend on medium-high speed for about 10-20 seconds.
- Don’t over blend or the white seeds break apart and make the juice bitter in taste.
- Filter this through a sieve to separate the juice from the seeds.
- Throw away the seeds because you don’t need them for this recipe.
Nutrition
