If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you will have noticed that this is my second batch of molasses in the past month. I had no complaints about the first batch except that it yielded a mere ¼ cup of molasses (I got up to a ½ cup thereabouts on the second run).
I wanted to try making a batch without adding extra sugar. I figured since the boxed stuff already comes with a whopping 100 grams per litre, that might be enough to reduce down to a good consistency. While this did happen eventually, the sugar content wasn’t enough; it had to be reduced a lot more to get to the molasses stage. If you’re okay with the reduced quantity, by all means use that method. This batch has a ¼ cup added sugar which, as it turns out, doubled that yield.
What do you do with a jar of molasses sitting in the fridge? Its very desirable sweet and tangy flavour works beautifully in salad dressings and marinades—slathered on lamb or chicken and seared in a hot pan until the edges catch and char. Since what this is is basically highly concentrated and sweetened pomegranate juice, a dollop mixed into soda water makes for a really good drink. The idea of the drink, that’s been the biggest revelation so far.
POMEGRANATE MOLASSES
Ingredients
- 1 litre pomegranate juice (see notes)
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
- Pour the pomegranate juice into a saucepan. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Place the saucepan on the stove over a medium-high heat.
- Cook for anywhere between 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want it to reduce until it coats the back of a ladle and forms a thick syrup (it will continue to thicken as it cools and sits in the fridge so use your best judgement here).
- Once it has reduced, set aside to cool completely. Decant into a glass/steel jar and refrigerate. Keeps well refrigerated for up to a month.
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