Pomegranate molasses How to spot the real one, and what it costs in Syria
Episode date: Length: 1 min 23 s
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Pomegranate molasses (dibs rumman) is in every Syrian kitchen, but not everything sold as molasses is pomegranate. The Mukhtar asked Damascus sellers how it is made, where it comes from, and how to tell homemade from commercial.
The short answer
Real pomegranate molasses is thick, sour and smells of pomegranate. Much commercial molasses is sweet because it is made with burnt sugar syrup, sellers say. In October 2026 homemade molasses cost about $24 a kilo in Damascus (3,500 new Syrian pounds) and commercial about $10 (1,500 pounds).
Sellers named three signs: thickness (real molasses is heavy and sticky), taste (it is sour) and smell (clearly pomegranate). They said much commercial molasses is made with burnt sugar syrup, which is why it tastes sweet.
How much does it cost in Syria?
According to sellers in the episode, in October 2026 a kilo of homemade molasses cost about $24 (3,500 new Syrian pounds) and a kilo of commercial molasses about $10 (1,500 pounds). The cheapest commercial jar mentioned was about $1.7 (250 pounds), and another seller started at about $4.2 (600 pounds). The big gap comes down to what is in the jar: pomegranate or syrup.
How is it made?
Pomegranate juice is boiled until it thickens like syrup. Some Damascus homes still make their own, preferring the local sour pomegranate, which some sellers call "laffan".
Where does it come from?
Sellers named Daraa, Sweida and Raqqa as the best known areas.
Questions people ask
How can you tell if pomegranate molasses is real?
Real molasses is thick, sour and smells of pomegranate. Sweet molasses usually contains burnt sugar syrup, according to sellers in the Mukhtar Al Souq episode.
How much is pomegranate molasses in Syria?
In October 2026 homemade molasses cost about $24 a kilo in Damascus (3,500 new Syrian pounds) and commercial about $10 (1,500 pounds).
How is pomegranate molasses made?
Pomegranate juice is boiled until it thickens like syrup, ideally from sour local pomegranates.
We ask sellers in the market and record every price with its date, in US dollars and new Syrian pounds. How we work
The Mukhtar Al Souq team: produced by Ahmad Nahas (the show on his site) · written by Ahmad Nahas, Mazen Shbib, Ranim Shabani and Dania Halbouni · edited by Abdulrahman Al-Nassar and Abdulrahman Mulla · graphics by Wael Fayyad
The truth from the market, for the people