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The Turkish pantry

Pomegranate molasses

Pomegranate molasses gives salads and ezme a concentrated tart, fruity finish. Add it gradually, mix well and taste before adding more acid or sweetness.

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Nar ekşisi: concentrated pomegranate preparation. It is not grape pekmez, ordinary pomegranate juice or a sweet pomegranate-flavored sauce.

Glossy dark red-brown pomegranate molasses in a cream bowl with a spoon resting across it.

Types & forms

Pomegranate molasses

A concentrated ingredient whose sharpness and thickness vary with the fruit and production.

Pomegranate-flavored sauce

May have different ingredients and sweetness; read the label rather than treating the name as equivalent.

What to look for when buying

  • Read the ingredient list and choose the pomegranate product the recipe asks for. Color alone cannot tell you whether a sauce is pure pomegranate concentrate.
  • Check the seal, package condition and opening instructions. Avoid assuming a thicker product is automatically better or more sour.

Prepare & cook

  • Mix a small measured amount into the dressing or vegetables, then taste. Its fruit sweetness and acidity affect both sides of the seasoning balance.
  • For a thick product, mix it with the recipe’s liquid ingredients before folding through bulgur or chopped vegetables so it does not remain in sticky patches.

Store it well

  • Close the bottle cleanly after use and follow its specific refrigeration and use-after-opening instructions. Keep a dry, clean spoon out of contact with other foods.
  • Do not judge spoilage only by the dark color. Discard a product with visible mold or other signs inconsistent with its normal condition.

Substitutions depend on the dish

Lemon juice

Can supply acidity in an adapted recipe, but not the same fruit flavor, sweetness or thickness.

Grape molasses

Much more oriented toward sweetness; it is not a direct replacement for nar ekşisi.

Nutrition

No verified nutrition data is available for this ingredient.

At the Turkish table

Acılı Ezme, Kısır and the linked shepherd’s salad use nar ekşisi as part of their seasoning. Follow each recipe’s optional or required use rather than adding it to every salad automatically.

Cook with Pomegranate molasses

Finely chopped red tomato and pepper meze with green herbs and red pepper flakes on a shallow blue plate

Spicy Tomato Meze

Finely chopped tomatoes, peppers, onion and parsley with a spicy, tangy dressing.

Fine reddish bulgur salad with chopped parsley, mint and spring onions in a shallow ceramic bowl

Bulgur Salad

Fine bulgur coated with tomato and pepper pastes, lemon, pomegranate molasses and fresh herbs.

Chopped tomato, cucumber, green pepper, red onion and parsley salad sprinkled with sumac

Shepherd’s Salad

Juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, green pepper and red onion with a lemon and olive-oil dressing.

Green olives, tomato, parsley and spring onion in a shallow cream bowl.

Green Olive Salad

Green olives, tomato, parsley and spring onion in a tangy pomegranate and lemon dressing.