Date Molasses (Silan / Dibs)

Date molasses — silan in Hebrew, dibs in Arabic — is a thick, dark syrup made by simmering dates with water and reducing the strained liquid until glossy. It tastes like deep caramel with the fruity, smoky edge of dried dates and zero refined sugar. Across the Middle East it dresses everything from breakfast tahini to roasted vegetables to lamb. Use it as you would honey, pomegranate molasses or balsamic glaze: drizzle over labneh, brush on roasting carrots and squash, whisk into vinaigrette, glaze duck or lamb in the last minutes of cooking. It keeps at room temperature for months. Look for it at Middle Eastern groceries.