They both meet their molasses needs and provide themselves with economic income.

One of the indispensable food sources of cold winter days, the production of molasses continues in the village of Şadı in the Çanakçı district of Giresun through communal efforts. Families who convert the apples they grow in their gardens into molasses using traditional methods not only provide economic income but also prepare for winter.

The villagers emphasize the importance of utilizing every product from their gardens, starting with cleaning the sour and sweet apples they collect, then boiling and straining them, and finally simmering them over a wood fire for hours to turn them into molasses.

Ayşegül Cındık, who explains that after helping her neighbors, it’s now her turn to make molasses, stated that they not only meet their own needs but also contribute to their family economy by selling the surplus.

Cındık, who complains that fruits are not adequately utilized in today’s world where everyone has become accustomed to buying ready-made products, said, “Our villages are very fertile; whatever you plant or sow yields produce. Those who are skilled can meet all their needs without buying from the market. We also convert the apples we collect from our gardens into molasses by helping each other with our neighbors in our village. However, no one can do it like before anymore. Everyone is used to convenience. But very few people like us still continue the traditional communal method of molasses production. Today, it’s my turn to make molasses. With the apples we collected, we will make enough molasses to last through the winter. After distributing some to friends and relatives, we will sell the remainder to buy other things we need,” she said.

Cındık also explained the stages of molasses production: “We first clean the apples by separating the rotten ones. Then there is the boiling process; we place the boiled apples in a strainer, and we filter the water that drains through a cloth. After straining, we put it back in the pan to boil, and after boiling for a while, we let it rest to obtain the molasses.”