Pekmez ( tr, pekmez, az, bəkməz/doşab) is a

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

-like syrup obtained after condensing juices of fruit

must Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of th ...

, especially

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

by boiling it with a coagulant agent like wood ashes or ground carob seeds. It is used as a syrup or mixed with

tahini Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant an ...

for breakfast. In Azerbaijan, pekmez is also mixed with natural yogurt and consumed as a refreshment during summer time.

Etymology

Pekmez is etymologically Oghuz Turkic in origin and it was called ''bekmes'' in the past. The oldest written account of the word is recorded in 1073 dictionary '' Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk'' by

Mahmud al-Kashgari Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...

.TDK Online - Pekmez entry

History

Fruit molasses,

defrutum Grape syrup is a condiment made with concentrated grape juice. It is thick and sweet because of its high ratio of sugar to water. Grape syrup is made by boiling grapes, removing their skins, squeezing them through a sieve to extract the juice, ...

, goes back to the classical period. During the Byzantine era, the region of Trapezus (modern Trebizond) grew

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 ident ...

trees for

silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically ...

s. Local Armenians used mulberries to make a sweet syrup called ''petmez'' or ''pekmez'', a term of Persian origin; the Greeks made grape syrup, ''siraios'' (σιραίος). After the Byzantine Empire fell, the term ''petmez'' replaced the Greek names for grape syrup in Greek, in the form ''petimezi''.

Regional variants

In Turkey,

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet ('' Beta vulgaris''). Together ...

(''şeker pancarı''), figs (''incir'') or

(''dut'') are often used, as well as juniper berries (''andiz''). ''Pekmez'' made from

carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and lands ...

(''keçiboynuz'' or ''harnup'') is popularly recommended as a treatment for

iron deficiency anemia Iron-deficiency anemia is anemia caused by a lack of iron. Anemia is defined as a decrease in the number of red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin in the blood. When onset is slow, symptoms are often vague such as feeling tired, weak, sho ...

. In Azerbaijan, pekmez is made mostly from mulberry, grape, rosehip or pomegranates. In the Balkans, it is more jam-like in texture and usually made of plums. In Greece, it is called petimezi (πετιμέζι). In

Arab cuisine Arab cuisine ( ar, المطبخ العربي) is the cuisine of the Arabs, defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula. These cuisines are centuries old an ...

, ''dibs'' or ''dibis'' (in some regions called "robb" or "rubb") is made from

pomegranates The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduc ...

, grapes,

,Maan Z. Madina, ''Arabic-English Dictionary'', ''s.v.'' or dates. Alan Davidson, ''ed.'', '' The Oxford Companion to Food''

References

External links

* Ottoman cuisine Sugar substitutes Syrup Grape dishes {{Breakfast-stub

Etymology

History

Regional variants

See also

References

Further reading

External links