Jams & Preserves
Bekmes
Turkmenistan
Grape or melon juice is reduced slowly into a thick Turkmen syrup used as a spread or sweetener.
Original eatfuls sticker artwork
What it is
A closer look at Bekmes.
Grape or melon juice is reduced slowly into a thick Turkmen syrup used as a spread or sweetener.
What to look for
Know it when you find it.
Look for a dark, glossy syrup with concentrated fruit flavour rather than the loose texture of juice.
Where it belongs
Origins and
traditions.
Food rarely respects a border. These are the places the dataset connects most strongly to Bekmes.
Turkmenistan
Country-wide tradition
Names around the table
One food, more than one name.
Keep exploring
If this caught your eye…
Modena, Italy
Amarene Brusche di Modena
Amarene Brusche di Modena is a named Italian preserve from Province of Modena, made from its defining local ingredient and finished with a characteristic texture, aroma, and serving form.
Argentina
Arrope
A sweet, syrupy paste from Santiago del Estero, made by boiling carob or chañar pods with sugar. A pre-Hispanic sweet of the Chaco, eaten with bread or cheese.
Guatemala
Ayote en Miel
A Salvadoran sweet squash simmered in panela syrup with cinnamon and cloves, a daily and festive classic
Turkey
Ayva Tatlısı
Quince halves poached in sugar syrup with cloves and cinnamon until tender and translucent, turning a deep pink color. Served cold with kaymak or ice cream. This elegant dessert showcases the quince, a fruit beloved in Turkish cuisine, and is especially popular in autumn.
Jersey
Black Butter
Lé Nièr Beurre
Dark spicy apple preserve made by cooking apples in reduced cider for 24-30 hours with sugar, lemons, liquorice, and allspice; a traditional community cooking event (séthées dé nièr beurre); spread on bread, used in fudge and cooking; the iconic preserve of Jersey.
Cape Town, South Africa
Blatjang
Cape Malay chutney of dried apricots cooked down with chilli, onion, vinegar and brown sugar - sweet, sharp and fiery, the ancestor of commercial South African chutneys.
Santander, Colombia
Bocadillo Veleño
Guava paste cooked down from pulp and sugar until firm and sliceable — the PDO'd specialty of Vélez, Santander, and the same sweet Colombians call dulce de guayaba. Eaten in strips with fresh white cheese (bocadillo con queso, the "matrimonio"), in pastries, or straight from the leaf wrapper.
Netherlands
Boerenjongens
Raisins preserved in brandy and sugar, served as a Dutch accompaniment to porridge, pancakes, or ice cream.