Hama-Sana
The preparation, production and manufacture of pomegranate molasses in the village of Deir Mama in the western countryside of Hama is a tradition and a craft inherited since ancient times.
The production of pomegranate molasses goes through stages that the people of the village adhere to through studied steps to obtain production with good specifications, according to Umm Madyan, who explained to SANA that molasses production is seasonal and is usually during the months of September and October of each year, pointing out that the process of the era at the present time differs from the past. Where grandmothers and mothers used to press the pomegranate using traditional stone mills, today the pressing is done using an electric mixer or a manual pressing machine.
Regarding the manufacturing stages, Umm Madyan pointed out that after the pomegranate era, it is boiled to become sticky and then placed in dishes to dry under the sun for two weeks and then placed in glass jars to be used in foods that give it a pleasant flavor and delicious taste in addition to the nutritional and health value.
The craft of making pomegranate molasses takes up a large part of the lives and heritage of the people of Deir Mama town, which is one of the oldest towns in Syria in this field, and its molasses is famous in the world. What distinguishes Deir Mama’s pomegranate molasses is that it exposes it to fire for several hours and to the sun for several days, and the skilled hands that prepare it, what gives it an advantage and uniqueness in flavour, taste, color and texture, citing a proverb that grandmothers repeated about pomegranate molasses, saying: “The sun’s stew is not shaped.”
Abdullah Al-Sheikh and Ivana Diop
