Mulberry Molasses substitute

Best substitute

Mild honey (acacia, clover or orange blossom)

Use the same amount as the mulberry molasses you are replacing

Best for drizzling on yogurt, bread or ice cream

Close match

A mild honey such as acacia or clover is the closest flavour match at 1:1, because mulberry molasses is doing the job of a floral, low-acid sweetener rather than a dark bitter one. Grape pekmez matches the texture and traditional use exactly at 1:1, though it tastes of raisins and is slightly tart. Date syrup also works 1:1 and is heavier and more caramel. What you must not reach for is ordinary dark molasses or pomegranate molasses: one is bitter and sulphurous, the other is sour, and mulberry pekmez is neither.

Other mulberry molasses substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Grape molasses (uzum pekmezi) or saba
Different taste
Use the same amount
The same traditional product made from grape juice instead of mulberries, and used in identical ways across Turkey.
What changes
Best for
tahini and pekmez, breakfast tables, baking, winter drinks, glazes
Behaves exactly the same in the pan and on the spoon, which makes it the most authentic swap in practice. It is darker, tastes of raisin and dried fig rather than mulberry's honeyed floral note, and carries a faint tartness that mulberry lacks, so a delicate milk pudding will taste more rustic and less perfumed. Nobody at a Turkish breakfast table would object.
3Date syrup (silan)
Different taste
Use the same amount
Thick, dark, fruit-derived syrup with the same clinging body and a deep caramel sweetness.
What changes
Best for
baking, tahini pairings, drizzling, smoothies, marinades
The texture is right and the sweetness level is close, but the colour goes from amber to near-black and the flavour shifts from floral to toffee and dried fruit, so a pale dessert will look and taste markedly darker. Excellent in anything nutty or spiced, less convincing when mulberry molasses is meant to be the light, fragrant element.
4Golden syrup or light corn syrup, plus a little honey
Different taste
Use the same amount with ½ tsp honey stirred into every 2 tbsp
A texture-first answer: neutral, very thick, glossy syrups that pour and cling like pekmez.
What changes
Best for
baking, where structure and moisture matter, syrups and sauces, sticky glazes, holding a drizzle on top of a dessert
On its own this is pure sweetness with no fruit character at all, so the dish tastes correct in texture and empty in flavour. The spoonful of honey restores the floral top note. Golden syrup brings a slight butterscotch warmth that suits cakes; light corn syrup is completely neutral and better when you want the other flavours in the recipe to lead.
5Reduced white grape or apple juice (homemade)
Close match
Simmer 4 cups juice down to about 1 cup, then use 1:1
Making your own fruit syrup, which is all a pekmez really is.
What changes
Best for
when you want a genuinely fruity syrup, drizzling, desserts, avoiding a trip to a specialist shop
Simmer unsweetened juice in a wide pan over medium heat for roughly 40 to 55 minutes until it coats a spoon, then add a pinch of salt; it thickens further as it cools, so stop while it still pours easily. White grape juice gives the palest, most mulberry-like result. It will be a little more acidic than real dut pekmezi and keeps two to three weeks in the fridge.
6Honey plus grape pekmez, half and half
Close match
Use the same amount for the total quantity
The honest best reconstruction: honey supplies the floral sweetness, grape pekmez supplies the pekmez body and mineral depth.
What changes
Best for
dut pekmezi with tahini, recipes where mulberry molasses is named specifically, drizzling over yogurt or ice cream
There is no substitute that captures white mulberry's particular soft, hay-and-honey aroma, and it is worth saying so plainly. This blend gets closer than either component alone, and in a mixed dish it is convincing. Eaten straight off a spoon, an experienced palate will still know the difference.

What is Mulberry Molasses?

Mulberry Molasses is Mulberry molasses, known in Turkey as dut pekmezi and sold in English as mulberry syrup or mulberry pekmez, is a thick amber-brown syrup made by boiling down the juice of white mulberries until it is very sweet, floral and barely tart.

Cooking tips

Mulberry pekmez is a sweetener, not a souring agent. This is the single most common mistake: it sits on the shelf next to pomegranate molasses and looks similar, but pomegranate molasses is sharply acidic. Swapping them ruins the dish in both directions.
It is much sweeter and far less bitter than American-style molasses, and there is no sulphur note at all, so a recipe developed for dut pekmezi will taste harsh if you pour in blackstrap.
Sugar crystals or a grainy layer at the bottom of a traditional jar are normal, not spoilage. Stand the jar in warm water and stir, and it will come back to a smooth pour.
For the classic eastern Anatolian breakfast, mix roughly two parts tahini to one part mulberry molasses and beat until glossy. It stiffens before it loosens, so keep stirring rather than adding water, and eat it with plain bread.
In baking, treat it as a liquid sweetener: it adds moisture and browns quickly, so if you swap it in for granulated sugar reduce the other liquid slightly and check the cake five minutes early.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave mulberry molasses out?

If it is a drizzle over yogurt, ice cream or a slice of bread, yes. In a cake, halva or a syrup it is providing both sweetness and liquid, so you need to put something in its place by volume, and honey is the easiest choice. In tahini and dut pekmezi the syrup is one of only two ingredients, so it cannot be omitted.

Is mulberry molasses the same as regular molasses?

No. Regular molasses is a by-product of refining sugar cane or beets and tastes dark, bitter and slightly sulphurous. Mulberry molasses is simply mulberry juice boiled down, so it is fruit sweetness concentrated: lighter in colour, much sweeter, floral and with no bitterness. Using cane molasses in its place will dominate anything delicate.

What is the difference between mulberry pekmez and grape pekmez?

The fruit, and therefore the flavour. Grape pekmez (uzum pekmezi) is darker, tastes of raisins and has a faint tartness. Mulberry pekmez (dut pekmezi) is lighter amber, sweeter and more floral, closer to a mild honey. They are used interchangeably in Turkish kitchens, and grape pekmez is the substitution most Turkish cooks would make without thinking about it.

What is the best substitute for drizzling over yogurt or ice cream?

Mild honey, straight, at the same quantity. It has the right sweetness, the right floral lift and the right pouring behaviour on something cold. Date syrup also works and looks dramatic against white yogurt, but it tastes distinctly of toffee rather than mulberry.

Where can I buy mulberry molasses?

Turkish and Middle Eastern grocers, usually shelved with grape and carob pekmez and labelled dut pekmezi or mulberry molasses; some health food shops stock it as mulberry syrup. It is less common than grape pekmez even in Turkish shops, since it is a speciality of eastern Anatolia, so if the shop only has one pekmez it will usually be the grape one, which is a fine stand-in.

Related substitutes

More sweeteners substitutes

Mulberry Molasses substitute

Other mulberry molasses substitutes

2Grape molasses (uzum pekmezi) or saba

3Date syrup (silan)

4Golden syrup or light corn syrup, plus a little honey

5Reduced white grape or apple juice (homemade)

6Honey plus grape pekmez, half and half