Pekmez

Pekmez (Turkish: pekmez, Azerbaijani: bəkməz/doşab) is a molasses-like syrup obtained after condensing juices of fruit must, especially grape by boiling it with a coagulant agent like wood ashes or ground carob seeds. It is used as a syrup or mixed with tahini for breakfast. In Azerbaijan, pekmez is also mixed with natural yogurt and consumed as a refreshment during summer time.

Pekmez (Üzüm Pekmezi), a Turkish syrup made of grapes (grape syrup) or (Keçiboynuzu Pekmezi) of carob

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.[1][2]

History

Fruit molasses, defrutum, goes back to the classical period.[3]

During the Byzantine era, the region of Trapezus (modern Trebizond) grew mulberry trees for silkworms. Local Armenians used mulberries to make a sweet syrup called petmez or pekmez; 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 (şeker pancarı), figs (incir) or mulberry (dut) are often used, as well as juniper berries (andiz). Pekmez made from carob (keçiboynuz or harnup) is popularly recommended as a treatment for iron deficiency anemia.[4][5] 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. It usually contains more fruit products and less sugar than jam.[6] In Greece, it is called petimezi (πετιμέζι).

In Arab cuisine, dibs or dibis (in some regions called "robb" or "rubb") is made from pomegranates, grapes, carob,[7] or dates.[3]

See also

References
  1. "pekmez". Nişanyan Sözlük. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  2. TDK Online - Pekmez entry
  3. Alan Davidson, ed., The Oxford Companion to Food
  4. Sabah, Daily (2017-10-19). "Pekmez: Natural cure-all wonder". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  5. Sun, Ernesto. "Pekmez". Global Ecovillage Network. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  6. Zagreb, N1 (2018-01-12). "Razlika između džema, pekmeza i marmelade" [The difference between jam, pekmez and marmalade]. N1 (in Serbian). Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  7. Maan Z. Madina, Arabic-English Dictionary, s.v.

Further reading
  • Media related to Pekmez at Wikimedia Commons


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