Cup of Yum
1. This recipe uses fresh homemade pomegranate juice. Feel free to use store bought juice if you aren’t up to spending few extra minutes to make your own juice.

To make your own pomegranate juice –

Cup of Yum
1. Using a paring knife dig out the crown. Remove crown and discard it.
2. Score pomegranate in the middle running knife all the way around.
3. Using both hands carefully tear both halves apart.
4. Take each half and tear it apart into smaller sections.
5. Separate the arils by prying it loose from it’s rind and collect it in a bowl.
6. Collect only the ruby red arils, discard all rind.
7. Now place all pomegranate arils in a juicer and pulse just enough until the red arils are broken.IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT pulse pomegranate too much that the hard white bitter parts are broken and blended into the juicy red parts. Those are bitter bits that you want to leave out and discard.
8. Sieve through fine sieve mesh to separate out the bitter hard white parts collecting only the juice.
9. Fresh homemade pomegranate juice is ready to be used to make molasses.

To make molasses -

1. In a sauce pan pour 4 cups of pomegranate juice, 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and ½ cup sugar.
2. With constant stirring bring juice mix to gentle boil on medium heat until sugar dissolves completely.
3. Once sugar is completely dissolved, reduce heat just enough to maintain a simmer.
4. Keep stirring and scrapping the sides of the sauce pan and continue to cook until the molasses reduces to 1 to 1 ¼ cup.
5. Dip a spoon in the molasses; if it forms a coating on the spoon, you know molasses is ready.
6. Remove sauce pan from the heat and let it cool. The mix will be runny at this point. Don’t worry. It will thicken as it cools.
7. Allow molasses to cool at least for 40 minutes before transferring it into a jar.
8. Store it away in air tight container refrigerated for up to 6 months.
9. Use it in your favorite dish.