Grape molasses, dibs al-inab

The dark, heavy sweet of the store cupboard. Grape juice is boiled down until it has the consistency of honey, sealed in bottles, and keeps through the winter without a fridge. In Syria the product belongs to Suwayda and the vineyards around it; it is one of the two syrups that furnish a pantry, the other being pomegranate molasses.

How it is made

The traditional method is told through three vessels. The grapes are pressed in stone troughs called madais. The juice then stands for a day in cloth bags holding a white earth called hiwar — that is how the sediment separates and the syrup clears. After that it goes into a large cauldron, the dast, over a wood fire, and boils until the water has gone and it runs like honey.

How it is eaten

Not on its own. On the plate it is mixed with tahini, or with olive oil, and taken up with bread; the mixture sits like a thick sauce and does not read as too sweet. This is the sweet of breakfast and of a winter evening, and it is not expensive — in the cold months, with bread, it stands in for a meal.

Why Suwayda

Suwayda’s culinary identity does not rest on a dish. It rests on vines. The basalt soils of Jabal al-Arab suit grapes, and the vineyards of Dahr al-Jabal are the ones the province is known for, with apple orchards beside them. Every year the province holds a Vine and Apple Fair — the dates shift, so ask before you travel for it.

An old pantry item

Concentrated grape syrup goes a long way back. Hippocrates wrote it into his prescriptions in the 5th century BC, and Galen went on using it in Rome. The Romans kept it in army rations as a preservative and used it in the kitchen both to sweeten and to sour; they mixed it with garlic, honey and quince for winter dishes.