Turkish Tahini & Molasses Spread (Tahin Pekmez)

The absolute EASIEST spread to put together. This Turkish tahini & molasses recipe is basically our peanut butter & jelly. Find out which tahini and molasses varieties to use for the best results! Video with step-by-step instructions included.

Tahini & molasses, i.e. tahin pekmez, is a simple, traditional Turkish/Middle Eastern delicacy. It is what parents feed their kids at breakfast to grow big and strong, not to mention to do well on their exams later in the day.

I’m not sure if this spread improves your health to the suggested degree or if it enhances your cognitive function, but the taste and convenience make me look past those claims. I can’t imagine a simpler spread to put together that is as tasty. I hope you’ll love it as much we do!

What is the Best Tahini?

Chefs interviewed by the New Yorker say that “white humera sesame seeds from the Tigray region of northwestern Ethiopia are the best for tahini”. Serious Eats agrees. I trust them. If you can get your hands on the following brands, you might end up skipping the molasses and just eat tahini straight out of the jar à la Nutella. But don’t. Delayed gratification will pay off dividends.

• Soom: Pricy? Yes… but oh so creamy. ZERO bitterness, which is hard to come by in the world of tahini. This is what we started using at home recently.
• Tarazi: Great flavor and very creamy.
• Seed + Mill: This New York City-based brand is Saveur-approved.
• Trader Joe’s brand tahini: Honorable mention goes to good old TJ’s because theirs is also sourced from Ethiopia! I can’t say it tastes as good as Tarazi or Soom though.

Which Molasses Should You Use in Turkish Tahini & Molasses?

Traditionally, this spread is made using grape molasses. It tastes quite different than regular or blackstrap molasses, or pretty much any other syrup you may have tried. It is subtly sweet with a distinct grape flavor.

My grandmother, who grew up in a village near the Aegean, tells me that back when she was little her family rarely had sugar in the house. It was way too expensive. Instead, they used molasses that my great-grandmother reduced from the local grapes as their main sweetener. Sadly, that tradition is slowly disappearing and processed cane sugar is abundantly available to all in the village today.

You can find out more in this wonderful article on grape molasses. Feel free to substitute it with regular or blackstrap, but I’d highly recommend giving grape molasses a try. If you discover that you’re not a big fan of tahini & molasses together, you’ll still find a myriad uses for the molasses on its own.

Do not substitute grape with pomegranate molasses as it is quite different, tart, and acidic.

How to Make Tahin Pekmez

• 1/2 cup tahini (look for tahini made with Humera sesame seeds from Ethiopia, they’re the best!)
• 1/2 cup molasses (grape is best, but regular or blackstrap also works)

Mix the tahini and molasses and enjoy on toast, in your cookies or donuts, on pancakes and waffles, or mix them into your breakfast bowl of oats! So easy.

Watch how to make it step-by-step in this video, Turkish tahini & molasses (tahin pekmez) starts at 3:08:

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Looking for another Turkish recipe with tahini? Try hibeş: a savory tahini dip with lemon, garlic, and paprika.

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Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you give Turkish tahini & molasses a try! Afiyet olsun (bon appetite)!

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