Pomegranate Molasses

Sour pomegranates are pressed, the juice is strained clear of the seeds, and it goes into wide pots over a low flame for a long time. The foam that rises is skimmed off as it comes. When the water has gone and the volume is down to a third, what is left is a dark, sticky, reddish-brown liquid. The real thing relies on the fruit’s own sugar; commercial versions take sugar and lemon. Nothing else goes in.

Why Aleppo leans on it

Aleppo’s cooking is built on holding sour against meat. Muhammara, kebab karaz and kibbeh safarjaliyeh come out of the same instinct, and in all three the sourness is pomegranate. It is on the Damascus table too, but in Aleppo it counts as a building block.

Where it is used

In the dressing of fattoush and rocket salad, in okra, in stews, in the stuffing of mahshi and vine leaves. It is also used to marinate meat and chicken before grilling. Trailing a few drops over mutabbal is a common Syrian habit.

How to choose it

The colour should be a dark reddish brown, not black; black means the sugar has burnt. The texture should be sticky rather than running like water. The spice merchants in the souk sell it loose and will give you a taste, and it is worth asking whether sugar has been added. The colour tells you most of it.