Petimezi (grape molasses) substitutes
Petimezi (grape molasses) substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Date syrup (date molasses, silan)
Same amount as the petimezi (grape molasses)
Plus ½ teaspoon lemon juice per ¼ cup
Date syrup is the closest substitute for petimezi at 1:1, with half a teaspoon of lemon juice per quarter cup to put back the fruity tartness. Carob syrup is an even better match if you can find it. Pomegranate molasses works at three quarters the amount plus a teaspoon of honey, since it is far more sour. Plain molasses is the last resort, as its bitter mineral edge takes over the dish.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- baking
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of petimezi (grape molasses) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date syrup (date molasses, silan)baking | Same amountPlus ½ teaspoon lemon juice per ¼ cupWorks | Works |
| 2 | Carob syrup (carob molasses)baking | Same amountWorks | Works |
| 3 | Pomegranate molassesmarinades | ¾ the amount, plus 1 teaspoon honey or sugar per ¼ cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Maple syrupbaking | Same amountReducing other liquid by about 1 tablespoon per ¼ cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Blackstrap or dark molassesdark spice cakes | ½ to ¾ the amount, ideally blended half and half with honeyTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Honeybaking | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
Date syrup (date molasses, silan)
similar taste and texture
Dates cooked down to a dark syrup, with the same thick pouring texture and deep dried-fruit sweetness.
- Best for
- baking, drizzling over yogurt, marinades, sweetening tea, glazes, spoon sweets
The best all-round answer. Very similar colour, viscosity and raisiny depth. Date syrup is a little sweeter and rounder and lacks petimezi's faint grape tartness, so the lemon juice matters: without it, baked goods can taste cloying. It also browns slightly faster in the oven.
Carob syrup (carob molasses)
similar taste and texture
Carob pods boiled down into a dark syrup, common in Greek, Cypriot and Levantine cooking.
- Best for
- baking, drizzling, glazes, tahini and syrup, marinades
Remarkably close and often sold on the same shelf. Slightly more roasted and faintly chocolatey where petimezi is more grapey and wine-like, so a cake made with it tastes a shade darker and more caramel. Sweetness level is nearly identical, so no adjustment is needed.
Pomegranate molasses
different taste, similar texture
Reduced pomegranate juice, dark and syrupy but much more sour and tannic than petimezi.
- Best for
- marinades, salad dressings, glazes for meat, roasted vegetables
Sensational in savoury cooking and a poor swap in a cake. It is aggressively tart with a drying tannic finish, so a dessert made with it one for one tastes sharp and puckering instead of sweet and mellow. Cut the amount, add sweetness back, and taste as you go. In a lamb glaze it is arguably better than the original.
Maple syrup
different taste and texture
A widely available dark syrup with similar sweetening power.
- Best for
- baking, drizzling, pancakes, yogurt, glazes
It works, and everyone has it, but nobody will mistake the flavour. Maple is thinner, less viscous and unmistakably maple, so a Greek cake made with it tastes North American. It has no fruity acidity either, so add half a teaspoon of lemon juice per quarter cup if the recipe relies on petimezi for tang as well as sweetness.
Blackstrap or dark molasses
different taste, similar texture
Sugarcane molasses, dark and thick but bitter and strongly mineral.
- Best for
- dark spice cakes, gingerbread, marinades, bean dishes
Right colour, wrong personality. Molasses is bitter and metallic in a way petimezi never is, and used one for one it takes over the whole dish. Cut it with honey so you get the darkness without the bitterness. Best confined to strongly spiced bakes where a bitter edge is welcome anyway.
Honey
different taste, similar texture
The easiest swap of all, and the traditional Greek sweetener petimezi historically stood in for.
- Best for
- baking, drizzling, yogurt, syrups, dressings
Honey tastes sweeter than petimezi and brings its own floral perfume, so the finished dish is brighter and lighter in colour and loses the raisiny, wine-like depth entirely. In a syrup-soaked cake this is completely fine. In something like a walnut and petimezi cake, where the dark grape flavour is the point, it changes the dish.
Questions
5 questionsIs petimezi the same as pekmez or grape molasses?
Yes. Petimezi is the Greek name, pekmez is the Turkish name, and grape molasses or grape must syrup is the usual English label. All are boiled-down grape must with no added sugar, so any of them can be used interchangeably.
Can I use regular molasses instead of petimezi?
Only as a last resort and in a reduced amount. Cane molasses is bitter and mineral, while petimezi is fruity and mellow, so at a one to one swap the molasses flavour dominates. Use half to three quarters as much, and blend it with honey to soften the bitterness.
Is petimezi healthier than sugar?
It is still a concentrated sugar syrup and should be treated as one in a recipe. It is unrefined and made from grape juice alone, so it carries some of the minerals and colour compounds of the fruit, but the practical difference in a cake is flavour and moisture rather than nutrition.
Can I leave petimezi out of a recipe?
Only if it is a drizzle at the end, in which case just serve without it or use honey. If it is in the batter, it is providing sweetness, liquid, acidity and colour all at once, so leaving it out throws the recipe off. Replace it with an equal volume of another syrup rather than omitting it.
What does petimezi taste like?
Deeply sweet with a raisin and dried-fig character and a faint winey tartness at the finish, close to a very concentrated grape juice. It is much less bitter than cane molasses and less floral than honey.
Tips for substituting petimezi (grape molasses)
7 tips- Petimezi's job is not only sweetness. It brings a fruity acidity, a dark raisin and fig flavour, deep colour, and because it is a concentrated syrup it holds moisture, which keeps cakes and cookies soft for days. A swap that only delivers sweetness will give you a paler, drier, blander result.
- When replacing granulated sugar with petimezi or any of these syrups, use about three quarters of a cup of syrup per cup of sugar and reduce the other liquid in the recipe by roughly three tablespoons per cup.
- Syrups like petimezi are acidic, so add about a quarter teaspoon of baking soda per cup used if the recipe has no other acid. Without it, the crumb can be dense and the flavour slightly sharp.
- Anything made with petimezi browns faster than the same recipe made with white sugar. Drop the oven by about twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit and check early, or the edges will be dark before the centre is set.
- For moustalevria, the Greek grape must pudding, there is no substitute worth making. The dish is literally set grape must, so use petimezi diluted with water if you cannot get fresh must, and pick a different dessert if you have neither.
- With nothing dark and syrupy in the cupboard at all, simmer half a cup of dark brown sugar with three tablespoons of water and a teaspoon of lemon juice until it coats a spoon. That gives you half a cup of a passable stand-in, though it tastes of caramel rather than grapes.
- Petimezi keeps for a year or more in a sealed jar at room temperature and crystallises slightly in the cold. If it has gone stiff, stand the jar in warm water for ten minutes rather than microwaving it.