Citrus Molasses

Citrus Molasses

Molasses is typically made by cooking down or boiling sugar cane or sugar beets until you have a thick syrup. In the Middle East, molasses is made with pomegranates, grapes, and dates. So basically, it is a thick, sugary syrup.

I found myself a few weeks ago with more citrus than I could reasonably use. When you live in California, sometimes there is a profusion of citrus. I had made orange juice ice cubes and frozen some lemon juice chips as well; and the table was still piled high with grapefruit, tangelos and other assorted​ citrus.

I began juicing and decided to make a citrus blend and cook it down into a syrup. As it cooled down and became thicker, I added a bit of sugar and a bit of maple syrup. I added the sweeteners sparingly because I wanted the syrup to retain some tang. I started with about 3 1/2 quarts of juice and cooked it down to about a third of that amount.  I added a cup of sugar and a 1/2 cup of maple syrup.

The result is a tangy sweet and sour sauce that I have used to:

1. Drizzle over stir fry vegetables Mix with olive oil and tahini and drizzle over roasted vegetables

2. Mix a spoonful in drinks as a flavorful sweetener

3. Create a marinade for fish using equal parts of tahini, olive oil and citrus molasses.

4. As an ingredient in salad dressing

I keep it in the refrigerator and have shared some with friends. I have not yet used it in any dessert recipes, but I am quite certain that it could be drizzled over ice cream or cheese cake for a delightful burst of flavor.

Any fruit or fruit juice could be used to make a molasses. This simple flavorful syrup can retain quite a bit of pulp so you are using most of the fruit.

The drink pictured below was made with about 1 1/2 cups of fresh squeezed orange and lime juice, 1/3 cup of citrus molasses, and 3 cups water. It is light, aromatic and delicious, and it mixed well with champagne!

Where there is great love, there are always miracles. Willa Cather