grape syrup

The ancient Greek name for grape syrup is {{Lang|grc-latn|siraios}} ({{Lang|grc|σιραίος}}), in the general category of {{Lang|grc|hepsema}} ({{Lang|grc|ἕψημα}}), which translates to 'boiled'.The Online Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon [http://stephanus.tlg.uci.edu/lsj/#eid=47221 s.v.] The Greek name was used in Crete and, in modern times, in Cyprus.{{cite web|title=Έψημα|url=http://foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy/web/guest/parsintages/civitem/786#_bs_civitems_tabcyprus.rec.tab1|website=foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy|publisher=Cyprus Food Virtual Museum|access-date=20 November 2015|language=el}}

{{Lang|el-latn|Petimezi}} is the name for a type of Mediterranean grape syrup. The word comes from the Turkish {{Lang|tr|pekmez}}, which usually refers to grape syrup, but is also used to refer to mulberry and other fruit syrups.A.D. Alderson and Fahir İz, The Concise Oxford Turkish Dictionary{{Cite web |title=pekmez |url=https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/kelime/pekmez |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Nişanyan Sözlük |language=tr}}

{{Lang|it|Vincotto}} (not to be confused with {{Lang|it|vino cotto}}) is the southern Italian term for grape syrup. It is made only from cooked wine grape must ({{Lang|it|mosto cotto}}), with no fermentation involved. There is no alcohol or vinegar content, and no additives, preservatives or sweeteners are added. It is both a condiment and ingredient used in either sweet or savory dishes.

One of the earliest mentions of grape syrup comes from the fifth-century BC Greek physician Hippocrates, who refers to {{Lang|grc-latn|hépsēma}} ({{Lang|grc|ἕψημα}}), the Greek name for the condiment.Jacques Jouanna Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers, 2012, p. 190. {{ISBN|978 90 04 20859 9}} The fifth-century BC Athenian playwright Aristophanes also makes a reference to it, as does Roman-era Greek physician Galen.

Grape syrup was known by different names in Ancient Roman cuisine depending on the boiling procedure. {{Lang|la|Carenum}}, {{Lang|la|defrutum}}, and {{Lang|la|sapa}} were reductions of must. They were made by boiling down grape juice or must in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds of the original volume, {{Lang|la|carenum}}; half the original volume, {{Lang|la|defrutum}}; or one-third, {{Lang|la|sapa}}. The Greek name for this variant of grape syrup was {{Lang|grc-latn|siraion}} ({{Lang|grc|σίραιον}}).The Online Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon [http://stephanus.tlg.uci.edu/lsj/#eid=96993 s.v.]

The main culinary use of {{Lang|la|defrutum}} was to help preserve and sweeten wine, but it was also added to fruit and meat dishes as a sweetening and souring agent and even given to food animals such as ducks and suckling pigs to improve the taste of their flesh. {{Lang|la|Defrutum}} was mixed with garum to make the popular condiment {{Lang|la|oenogarum}}. Quince and melon were preserved in {{Lang|la|defrutum}} and honey through the winter, and some Roman women used {{Lang|la|defrutum}} or {{Lang|la|sapa}} as a cosmetic. {{Lang|la|Defrutum}} was often used as a food preservative in provisions for Roman troops.{{cite video|title=Tales of the Living Dead: Poisoned Roman Babies|publisher=Brighton TV for National Geographic|people=Director: Chris Warren|medium=television|date=2004}}

There is some confusion as to the amount of reduction for {{Lang|la|sapa}} and {{Lang|la|defrutum}}. As James Grout explains in its Encyclopedia Romana,{{cite web |last1=Grout |first1=James |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html |website=Encyclopedia Romana |publisher=James Grout |access-date=19 August 2019|title=Lead Poisoning and Rome}} authors informed different reductions, as follows:

The elder Cato, Columella, and Pliny all describe how unfermented grape juice ({{Lang|la|mustum}}, must) was boiled to concentrate its natural sugars. "A product of art, not of nature," the must was reduced to one half ({{Lang|la|defrutum}}) or even one third its volume ({{Lang|la|sapa}}) (Pliny, XIV.80),{{cite book |last1=The Elder |first1=Pliny |title=Natural History, Volume I: Books 1-2. Translated by H. Rackham. |date=1945 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |edition=Loeb Classical Library}} although the terms are not always consistent. Columella identifies {{Lang|la|defrutum}} as "must of the sweetest possible flavour" that has been boiled down to a third of its volume (XXI.1).{{cite book |last1=Columella |first1=Lucius Junius Moderatus |title=On Agriculture. translated by E. S. Forster and Edward H. Heffner |date=1954 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=9780674993983 |edition=Loeb Classical Library}} Isidore of Seville, writing in the seventh century AD, says that it is {{Lang|la|sapa}} that has been reduced by a third but goes on to imagine that {{Lang|la|defrutum}} is so called because it has been cheated or defrauded ({{Lang|la|defrudare}}) (Etymologies, XX.3.15).{{cite book |last1=Isidore of Seville's |first1=Saint |title=Isidore of Seville's Etymologies. The Complete Translations of Isidori Hipalensis Episcopi Etimologiarum Sive Originum Libre XX. Translated from Latin by Priscilla Throop |date=2005 |publisher=Priscilla Throop |location=Charlotte, Vermont |isbn=978-1-4116-6526-2 |page=XX 3 14–15 |edition=Priscilla Throop |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6jjsJ9NP6hYC&q=Etymologies%2C+XX.3.15&pg=PT352 |access-date=19 August 2019}} Varro reverses Pliny's proportions altogether (quoted in Nonius Marcellus, De Conpendiosa Doctrina, XVIII.551M).{{cite book |last1=Marcellus |first1=Nonius |title=De Conpendiosa Doctrina (Vol. III)edited by Wallace M. Lindsay. |date=1903}}

In ancient Rome, grape syrup was often boiled in lead pots, which sweetened the syrup through the leaching of the sweet-tasting chemical compound lead acetate into the syrup. Incidentally, this is thought to have caused lead poisoning for Romans consuming the syrup.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/02/17/lead-poisoning-and-the-fall-of-rome/|title=Lead poisoning and the fall of Rome|last=Bernstein|first=Lenny|date=2016-02-17|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-02-05|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}{{cite journal|last1=Nriagu|first1=Jerome O.|title=Saturnine Gout among Roman Aristocrats. Did lead poisoning contribute to the fall of the Empire?|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|date=17 March 1983|volume=308|issue=11|pages=660–663|doi=10.1056/NEJM198303173081123|pmid=6338384}} A 2009 History Channel documentary produced a batch of historically accurate {{Lang|la|defrutum}} in lead-lined vessels and tested the liquid, finding a lead level of 29,000 parts per billion (ppb), which is 2,900 times higher than contemporary American drinking water limit of 10 ppb. These levels are easily high enough to cause either acute lead toxicity if consumed in large amounts or chronic lead poisoning when consumed in smaller quantities over a longer period of time (as {{Lang|la|defrutum}} was typically used).

However, the use of leaden cookware, though popular, was not the general standard of use. Copper cookware was used far more generally and no indication exists as to how often {{Lang|la|sapa}} was added or in what quantity. There is not, however, scholarly agreement on the circumstances and quantity of lead in these ancient Roman condiments. For instance, the original research was done by Jerome Nriagu, but was criticized by John Scarborough, a pharmacologist and classicist, who characterized Nriagu's research as "so full of false evidence, miscitations, typographical errors, and a blatant flippancy regarding primary sources that the reader cannot trust the basic arguments."{{cite journal|last1=Scarborough|first1=J|title=The myth of lead poisoning among the Romans: an essay review.|journal=Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences|date=October 1984|volume=39|issue=4|pages=469–75|doi=10.1093/jhmas/39.4.469|pmid=6389691}}

Grape syrup has been used in the Levant since antiquity, as evidenced by a document from Nessana in the northern Negev, within modern Israel, that mentions grape syrup production. Sources describing the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 636 note that when Jews met with Rashidun caliph Umar, who camped in Jabiyah, southern Golan, they claimed that due to the harsh climate and plagues, they had to drink wine. Umar suggested honey instead, but they said it was not beneficial for them. As a compromise, Umar agreed they could make a dish from grape syrup without intoxicating effects. They boiled grape juice until two-thirds evaporated and presented it to Umar, who noted it reminded him of an ointment for camels. Botanist Zohar Amar estimates that this explains the winepresses from Mishnaic and Talmudic times found in the Mount Hermon area, which are similar to those used for grape syrup production in modern times.{{Cite book |last=Amar |first=Zohar |author-link=Zohar Amar |title=Agricultural Produce in the Land of Israel in the Middle Ages |publisher=Yad Izhak Ben Zvi |year=2000 |editor-link= |location=Jerusalem |pages=113–116 |language=he}}

Islamic law increased the prevalence of grape syrup in the region due to the prohibition of wine, a practice that was strictly enforced during the Mamluk period, when grape syrup became a common wine substitute among Muslims. Rabbi Joseph Tov Elem, who lived in Jerusalem around 1370, proposed that the honey mentioned in the Bible is actually grape syrup. Obadiah of Bertinoro also mentioned grape syrup among various types of honey sold in Jerusalem, and Meshullam of Volterra described it as "hard as a rock and very fine." Baalbek, in modern Lebanon, was particularly renowned for its dibs production, and Ibn Battuta detailed the production process, noting the use of a type of soil to harden the syrup so that it remained intact even if the container broke. In the 15th century, hashish users mixed it with dibs to mitigate its effects. Rabbis such as Nissim of Gerona and Obadish of Bertinoro discussed its kashrut. In the early Ottoman period, there was sometimes a special tax on raisins and dibs. In the 19th century, Hebron exported significant quantities of grape syrup to Egypt, as documented by Samson Bloch and Samuel David Luzzatto.

In early Islam, {{Lang|grc-latn|hépsēma}} was known in Arabic as {{Lang|ar-latn|tilā’}}. Early caliphs distributed {{Lang|ar-latn|tilā’}} to Muslim troops along with other foodstuffs, considering that it was no longer intoxicating. However, fermentation could resume in the amphorae, and in the late 710s, Caliph ‘Umar II prohibited drinking this beverage.{{Cite journal |last1=Tillier |first1=Mathieu |last2=Vanthieghem |first2=Naïm |date=2022-09-02 |title=Des amphores rouges et des jarres vertes: Considérations sur la production et la consommation de boissons fermentées aux deux premiers siècles de l'hégire |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ils/30/1-2/article-p1_001.xml |journal=Islamic Law and Society |volume=30 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–64 |doi=10.1163/15685195-bja10025 |issn=0928-9380}}

The ancient Greek name {{Lang|grc-latn|hépsēma}} (now pronounced {{Lang|el-latn|épsēma}} in Cypriot Greek) is still used to refer to the condiment, which is still made in Cyprus.

{{nutritional value

| name = {{lang|el-latn|Petimezi}}

| kJ = 1380

| protein = 0.9 g

| fat = 0.4 g

| carbs = 80.9 g

| iron_mg = 1.2

| phosphorus_mg = 40

| calcium_mg = 74

| note = Varkazas, p. 203

}}

{{Lang|el-latn|Petimezi}} ({{Langx|el|πετιμέζι}} {{IPA|el|petiˈmezi}}), also called {{Lang|el-latn|epsima}} ({{Lang|el|έψημα}}) and in English grapemust or grape molasses, is a syrup that is reduced until it becomes dark and syrupy. {{Lang|el-latn|Petimezi}} keeps indefinitely. Its flavor is sweet with slightly bitter undertones. The syrup may be light or dark colored, depending on the grapes used. Before the wide availability of inexpensive cane sugar, {{Lang|el-latn|petimezi}} was a common sweetener in Greek cooking, along with carob syrup and honey. {{Lang|el-latn|Petimezi}} is still used today in desserts and as a sweet topping for some foods. Though {{Lang|el-latn|petimezi}} can be homemade,{{cite web|url=http://greekfood.about.com/od/syrupssauces/r/petimezisyrup.htm|title=Naturally Sweet Grape Syrup - Petimezi - Greek Recipe for Grape Molasses|author=Nancy Gaifyllia|work=About.com Food|access-date=15 February 2016|archive-date=3 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203143944/http://greekfood.about.com/od/syrupssauces/r/petimezisyrup.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.food.com/recipe/petimezi-greek-grape-syrup-262278|title=Petimezi - Greek Grape Syrup|access-date=15 February 2016}} it is also sold commercially under different brand names.

Fruits and vegetables that have been candied by boiling in {{Lang|el-latn|petimezi}} ({{Lang|el-latn|epsima}}) are called {{Lang|el-latn|retselia}}.

From late August until the beginning of December, many Greek bakeries make and sell dark crunchy and fragrant {{Lang|el-latn|petimezi}} cookies, {{Lang|el-latn|moustokoúloura}} ({{Lang|el|μουστοκούλουρα}}).

{{Lang|el-latn|Petimezopita}} ({{Lang|el|πετιμεζόπιτα}}) is a spiced cake with {{Lang|el-latn|petimezi}}.{{cite web|url=http://greekfood.about.com/od/coffeecakestylecakes/r/petimezo_kriti.htm|title=Petimezopita Grape Molasses Spice Cake Recipe - Greek Desserts and Cake Recipes|author=Nancy Gaifyllia|work=About.com Food|access-date=15 February 2016|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174121/http://greekfood.about.com/od/coffeecakestylecakes/r/petimezo_kriti.htm|url-status=dead}}

In Iranian cuisine, grape syrup (in {{langx|fa|شیره انگور}}) is used to sweeten ardeh (tahini), which is consumed at breakfast. An alternative is date syrup, which is also widely used in Middle Eastern cooking.

{{Lang|it|Saba}}, (from the Latin word {{Lang|la|sapa}}, with the same meaning), vincotto or {{Lang|it|vino cotto}} is commonly used in Italy, especially in the regions of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Calabria, and Sardinia, where it is considered a traditional flavor.

In North Macedonia, a form of grape syrup known as {{Lang|mk-latn|madjun}} (Macedonian: Гроздов маџун) has been produced for centuries, commonly used as a sweetener, but also as traditional medicine. It never contains any added sugar.

In South Africa, the grape syrup is known as {{Lang|af|moskonfyt}}.

File:Honey arrope flask.jpg

{{Lang|es|Arrope}} is a form of grape concentrate typically produced in Spain. Often derived from grape varieties such as Pedro Ximénez, it is made by boiling unfermented grape juice until the volume is reduced by at least 50%, and its viscosity reduced to a syrup.{{cite encyclopedia|year=1999|title=Arrope|encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to Wine|publisher=winepros.com.au|url=http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=174|edition=2nd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706113512/http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=174|archive-date=2011-07-06|url-status=dead|editor=Robinson, Jancis}}{{cite encyclopedia|year=1999|title=Grape concentrate|encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to Wine|publisher=winepros.com.au|url=http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=1411|edition=2nd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404111610/http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=1411|archive-date=2011-04-04|url-status=dead|editor=Robinson, Jancis}} The final product is a thick liquid with cooked caramel flavours, and its use is frequent as an additive for dark, sweet wines such as sweet styles of sherry, Malaga, and Marsala.

In Turkey, grape syrup is known as {{Lang|tr|pekmez}}.

Grape syrup is known as {{Lang|ar-latn|dibs}} or dibs {{Lang|ar-latn|al-anab}} in the countries of the Levant (Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Syria). It is usually used as a sweetener and as part of desserts alongside carob syrup and bee honey. In areas of Palestine, it is also used to sweeten wine and eaten with leben and toasted nuts such as walnuts and almonds for breakfast.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} The syrup is made in Druze villages in the northern Golan Heights.

In some areas, its combined with tahini to make a dip called dibs wa tahini ({{Langx|ar|دبس وطحينة}}), and then eaten with bread (typically pita), similar to pekmez, date syrup, or carob syrup.{{cite book |last1=Kassis |first1=Reem |title=The Palestinian Table |date=23 October 2017 |publisher=Phaidon Press |isbn=978-0-7148-7496-8 |page=108 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Palestinian_Table/Pmm2tAEACAAJ |language=en}}

Grape syrup is particularly popular in the city of Hebron, where the cultivation of grapes is also popular, where it is eaten in a variety of dishes, in combination with tahini to make a dip, or with snow to make ice cream.{{cite web |title="الدبس والثلج" على موائد فلسطينيي الخليل: لذّة مجبولة بالأضرار |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%22%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A8%D8%B3-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%84%D8%AC%22-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AF-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%91%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1 |website=Al-Araby Al-Jadeed |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=ar}}

{{portal|Food|History}}

• Churchkhela, a sausage-shaped candy made from grape must, flour and nuts
• Drakshasava, an Ayurvedic tonic made from grapes
• Moustalevria
• Must
• Pekmez, a similar product in the Ottoman world
• Pomegranate syrup
• Vino cotto
• List of fruit dishes
• List of grape dishes
• List of syrups

{{reflist}}

• Theodoros Varzakas, Athanasios Labropoulos, Stylianos Anestis, eds., Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology, 2012, {{ISBN|143987672X}}, p. 201ff.
• Harris, Andy Modern Greek: 170 Contemporary Recipes from the Mediterranean. Chronicle Books, 2002. {{ISBN|0-8118-3480-8}} {{ISBN|978-0-8118-3480-3}}
• Ilaria G. Giacosa; A Taste of Ancient Rome; University of Chicago Press; {{ISBN|0-226-29032-8}} (paperback, 1994)
• Pliny the Elder; Natural History; tr. H. Rackham; Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library); {{ISBN|0-674-99432-9}} (cloth, 1956)
• Marcus Porcius Cato; On Agriculture ; Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library); {{ISBN|0-674-99313-6}} (hardcover, 1979)

{{Commons category}}

• [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html James Grout, Lead Poisoning, part of the Encyclopædia Romana]

{{Condiments}}

Category:Condiments

Syrup

Category:Fruit juice

Category:Grape juice

Category:Greek cuisine

Category:Lead poisoning

Category:Oenology

Category:Roman cuisine

Category:Syrup

Category:Toxicology