Erik ekşisi vs Pomegranate molasses
The short answer
Two fruit sours of Anatolia that share the word ekşi. Pomegranate molasses is juice boiled dark, sweet as well as sour, and sold in bottles everywhere. Plum sour is boiled plum strained and thickened, salted in Malatya, made at home in Çorum from a wild plum, and little traded. Both are stirred into a dish for acid; no source read compares their taste.
Side by side
| Erik ekşisi | Pomegranate molasses | |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical identity | Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. | Punica granatum L. |
| Part used | fruit | fruit |
| Origin | Not established | Not established |
| Flavour notes | sour, fruity | sour, sweet, caramelised, fruity |
| Heat | Scoville does not apply | Scoville does not apply |
| Flavour | Sour. The people asked in Çorum said the plum gives a dish sourness, a sweet-sour edge and a taste and smell of its own, and the study calls the fresh fruit very sour and somewhat bitter until it ripens. No tasting panel and no measurement of acids was read. | Sweet, and sour from the acid of the fruit, with a caramelised note from the boiling; thick enough to pour slowly. This is the wording of the Hatay registration, written by the body that holds the name. No tasting panel was found. |
| Aroma | Not established | Not established |
Which should you buy?
Erik ekşisi
The paste and the dried fruit sour the same dishes; the paste is ready to stir in and the dried fruit has to cook.
Pomegranate molasses
Sold only as a bottled liquid, so the question does not arise.
Full detail on erik ekşisi and pomegranate molasses, including evidence grades and sources for every claim above.