There are plenty of exotic ingredients out there, but only a few that are truly going to change your cooking life. Pomegranate molasses is one of them. Made by boiling down pomegranate juice (often with a bit of sugar and lemon juice) into a thick syrup, it has all the subtle sweetness and bracingly tart undertones of the fruit that it's made from. Take a little taste, and for the next 30 seconds you'll experience a succession of different flavor nuances in your mouth—it's like a carnival ride for your taste buds. And once you've got a bottle in your pantry, you'll start finding all kinds of uses for it. Last week, I made a white bean dip that turned out to be boringly pedestrian; a couple of tablespoons of pomegranate molasses transformed it into the favorite hors d'oeuvre of the evening. Put a teaspoon or so into a standard vinaigrette, and it adds an elusive, beguiling flavor undercurrent. Pour a generous glug into the liquid when you're making a braised lamb dish, and it geometrically multiplies the flavor complexity. Diluted with a little lemon juice, it's a great glaze to brush on chicken thighs during the last minute of grilling. It will—and I hesitate to use the phrase, but this time it's the right one—rock your world. Pomegranate molasses is available at Middle Eastern stores, at an increasing number of gourmet markets, and from formaggio-kitchen.com.
Pinterest
