pomegranate molasses

[Bill Poster]

Came across this stuff by mistake. I think its a syrup made by boiling down the fruit.

Crazy (inevitable)question- what would you get if you distilled this???

Is it a type of grenadine??

Edited November 14, 2005 by Ed Hamilton (log)

[Ed Hamilton]

Before you could distill it you'd have to ferment it. Grenadine is a sweet syrup that has little resemblance to pomegranate. The pomegranite molasses you've discovered is probably more like a heavy syrup. In cane molasses, most of the sugar has been removed.

[gethin]

Before you could distill it you'd have to ferment it. Grenadine is a sweet syrup that has little resemblance to pomegranite. The pomegranite molasses you've discovered is probably more like a heavy syrup. In cane molasses, most of the sugar has been removed.

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I suspect that you would have a job fermenting it. The sugat content is certainly high enough to inhibit mould growth (it keeps virtually forever) so I guess that yeasts would not be too keen on it either.

Best stick to using it in cooking, I think. (roast duck with pomegranite molasses and walnuts for instance or added to pureed roast aubergine mixed with yoghurt).

It can be drunk with ice and carbonated water though it needs pretty thorough stirring with a good dollop of water first , then topping up with water so it retains some fizz).

It has a very distinctive taste that i really like, not at all like grenadine or fresh pomegranate juice.I can imagine that it would mix quite well with rum, i must try it out.

gethin

[Ed Hamilton]

I suspect that you would have a job fermenting it. The sugar content is certainly high enough to inhibit mould growth (it keeps virtually forever) so I guess that  yeasts would not be too keen on it either.

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Actually, it is the sugar that the yeast consumes to make alcohol and carbon dioxide.

[gethin]

I suspect that you would have a job fermenting it. The sugar content is certainly high enough to inhibit mould growth (it keeps virtually forever) so I guess that  yeasts would not be too keen on it either.

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Actually, it is the sugar that the yeast consumes to make alcohol and carbon dioxide.

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I may be wrong but my understanding is that if the sugar concentration is above a certain level, you can't get fermentation going If you added yeast to a bag of sugar, i dont think you'd get alcohol. I suspect that even adding yeast to simple syrup would probably not cause fermentation unless you diluted it a bit. I must give it a go sometime to see what happens.

Gethin

[zaskar]

I live in baltimore and was able to find it at Seoul Plaza.

On the packaging they have a phone number (Alexandria, VA) and also a web address which also has an online store, the store doesn't have much, but they have the molasses. I think I paid about $3.00 for it.

phone: 703.750.2960

http://www.asmars.com

and the store: http://asmars.com/store/zen/index.php

[Worldly]

I've had a version of this produced in Lebanon. Never heard of it being distilled however.

I have never heard that you couldn't ferment something with too much sugar in it. Boytrisized (sp) grapes are very sweet indeed. Despite this, if sugar concentration was too high, one could always dilute it before fermentation. You'll lose that water in distillation regardless. Might be worth a try but would probably come out closer to grappa.

Did try a liquor called Old Arrack a few weeks ago. From Sri Lanka and made from coconuts. Very pleasant, and dare I say, rum like. Dry though - not like the dreaded "Malibu".

[LunaSea]

The way I understand it: During the fermentation process the yeast consumes the sugar to make alcohol, and when the alcohol content reaches a certain level, the yeast dies and that sets the alcohol level. Some yeasts can survive in higher alcohol levels than others, hence the different levels of alcohol in wines made by using different yeasts.

[KatieLoeb]

I suspect that you would have a job fermenting it. The sugar content is certainly high enough to inhibit mould growth (it keeps virtually forever) so I guess that  yeasts would not be too keen on it either.

←

Actually, it is the sugar that the yeast consumes to make alcohol and carbon dioxide.

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As a correlary to this lesson remember that the carbon dioxide will "blow off" from an open tank but if you perform fermentation in a closed container it will carbonate the beverage (i.e. beer, Champagne).

Most yeast cells die at around 16-18% ABV. Stuff with higher alcohol levels than that is either fortified (i.e. Port) or is a distilled product.

[Adam Balic]

Yeast has a fair tolerance of high concentrations of sugar and grows in solutions containing 40% sugar, beyond this point osmotic pressure is an issue and there is a synergistic relationship with alcohol concentration.

So honey doesn't spontaneously turn into alcohol, but dilute it a bit and you can produce mead etc.

Pomergranate Mol, may contain other factors that inhibit yeast growth.

[Worldly]

Apparently pomegranate does have antifungal and antiseptic properties. As Adam suggested, this may be a better explanation than the sugar concentration.

[Pontormo]

FYI

Paula Wolfert teaches you how to make Pom Molasses in her Eastern Med cookbook. That's why I have a jar in the refrigerator door. A little goes a long way and it does make a difference. Great with ground lamb, etc.

Christopher Kimball, on the other hand, in extolling the virtues of learning how to develop a repertoire of simple dishes one can easily master and make oneself, used P.M. as an example of a frou, frou ingredient that is utterly beyond his New England sensibilities of basic, nourishing, good food.