How To Make Date Syrup

Date syrup is a thick, caramel-colored sweetener made from dates. You may have seen it on the shelves in your local health food store, as many cooks embrace it as an alternative sweetener. Date syrup is incredibly easy to make at home, can be more affordable than store-bought, and has the lush caramel hue and heady date flavor of its namesake fruit.

Here is everything you need to know about making date syrup at home.

Medjool dates are ideal for making date syrup. These soft, caramel-colored dates are easy to chop, soak, and purée for maximum sugar extraction (aka maximum flavor). Common Deglet Noor dates certainly work too, although you may find that they need a longer soak after boiling to soften.

Barhi dates are also reportedly incredible for making date syrup at home, but are difficult to find outside date-growing states. Plus, if I can get my hands on some, I prefer to eat them out of hand.

Date syrup is made by boiling chopped dates, puréeing the cooked dates, and squeezing out their liquid, leaving a thick paste you can save for other uses (more on that below). The date liquid after straining is quite thin (thinner than maple syrup), but quite flavorful.

Most people prefer to cook the thin liquid to a thick honey-like consistency, not just for more flavor, but also because the reduced water content makes the syrup better for baking.

You can and should save the paste left after puréeing and straining the dates. This date paste will be slightly less sweet than the original dates, but you can add a few tablespoons of the date syrup back to the paste to smooth it out. Spread this jammy paste on toast, bake it into breads, or swirl it into a slow cooker oatmeal.

Date syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. Use it where you might use maple syrup or honey — on fluffy buttermilk pancakes, waffles, biscuits, or oatmeal. Add it to smoothies for sweetening. It is also incredible in coffee where the caramel flavor really shines.

For baking: You need to use less date syrup when replacing granulated sugar —a ratio of 2/3 cup date syrup for every 1 cup of sugar — and less liquid in the recipe. Or simply replace honey, maple syrup, or molasses with date syrup in baking recipes for a more caramel-like flavor that only dates can impart.

Health food proponents prefer raw date syrup, which is made by simply soaking and puréeing whole dates. Because this form of “date syrup” still contains the fiber from the fruit, it imparts some texture to baked goods and drinks. You can use the ratio below to try this, but you won’t get the same syrupy texture of the cooked syrup.