Hawthorn Molasses (Alıç Pekmezi)

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Hawthorn molasses, or alıç pekmezi, is an autumn staple of Çorum’s villages: the small fruits of the hawthorn tree are simmered, strained and reduced into a dense, dark-amber molasses. The alıç (locally also aluç), a thorned tree of the rose family known folklorically as the “wild apple”, grows freely along Çorum’s roadsides, streams and mountain foothills.

An Autumn Tradition

The red fruits are gathered in September and October, before the first frost. In the villages they are boiled in large pots, strained, and slowly reduced into molasses. The work demands patience: the tiny fruit yields little juice but intense aroma, and thickening takes hours. The reward is a winter-long supply of molasses — lightly sour, deeply sweet, and the colour of dark amber.

In the villages, molasses days are a kind of communal production ritual: neighbours gather around the cauldron, and the smell of reducing alıç juice spreads through the village. The molasses is thus not only a food but a piece of the region’s culture of shared work.

How It Is Used

Alıç pekmezi appears on the Çorum table in several ways:

• At breakfast: Mixed with tahini or spread on buttered bread; together with rosehip pervede and homemade jams it completes the sweet side of the morning table.
• In sweets: As the base of sherbets for cakes, tahini pastries and traditional desserts.
• As a drink: Thinned with hot water and sipped warm through the winter.

Folk tradition values alıç as a fruit that keeps the body resilient through the cold months, and its molasses accordingly never leaves the winter table.

🍳 How to make it

Servings: ~3-4 jarsTime: 2-3 hours + straining

Ingredients

• 5 kg alıç (ripe, red hawthorn fruit)
• Water (just to cover the fruit)
• Optional: a little sugar, or longer reduction for natural thickening

Method

1. Wash the fruit and trim the stems; place in a large pot with just enough water to cover.
2. Simmer for 45-60 minutes, until the fruit softens and breaks down.
3. Pass through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove the pulp and obtain a clear liquid.
4. Reduce the liquid in a wide pan over medium heat, skimming, until thickened (1-1.5 hours).
5. Test the set by dropping a spoonful onto a cold plate — if it does not spread, it is ready.
6. Fill hot jars, close, and invert to cool.

💡 Tips

• Try to avoid added sugar to keep the fruit's natural sweetness; a long reduction gives enough body.
• On winter mornings it can be mixed with tahini or thinned with hot water as a warm drink.

A traditional recipe; quantities and times are approximate and vary by household.

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