Production and Characteristics of a Traditional Food: Molasses (Pekmez)

Pekmez, which has been produced for a long time in Turkey, is one of the popular and traditional Turkish foods (Tosun & Üstün, 2003 ; Celik & Surucuoglu, 2005; Türkben, 2016) . Pekmez is produced primarily from grapes (Arici et al., 2004; Alpaslan & Hayta, 2002; Sürücüoglu & Celik, 2005; Batu et al., 2007; Dag, 2016; Demir, 2014). Molasses are usually preferred for breakfast in winter (Kusçu & Bulantekin, 2016). Suitable for juice production, sugar content, acid value and ripening time are suitable for grape molasses production. Turkey, approximately 4185.126 tons of grapes are produced per year (TUIK, 2012), and approximately 30% of the grapes produced in Turkey are used for pekmez, wort and sausage with pekmez production in a year. In this study, some information is given on the history of Molasses, production stages, its types, effects on health and the relevant regulations and in terms of product chemical and microbiological characteristics.