Middle East’s Sweet & Sour Sauce

Instructions

To remove the pomegranate fruit:

1. Use a knife to score the skin of the pomegranate, going all the way around the middle of the fruit
2. Pry the two halves apart with your fingers
3. Hold one half and then pull two opposing sides of the pomegranate away from each other, rotate and repeat with the whole thing
4. Hold the pomegranate half upside down over a bowl, and then hit it repeatedly with a heavy object until all the seeds have come out of the section you were hitting
5. Rotate and repeat till the entire half has been emptied
6. Repeat with the second half, then pick out any large pieces of pith
7. You can now add water (optional) to the bowl and then skim off any pieces of pith which float
8. Drain and the pomegranate is ready to use

To Juice the pomegranate:

1. Add the fruit to a blender, food processor, or juicer, and process it into a liquid
2. Strain the juice using a cheesecloth or strainer, making sure to remove all pulp and seeds

To make the molasses:

1. Add your juice to a large pot over medium-low heat, add in the lemon juice and the optional sugar
2. Optionally skim off any floating funk once it comes to a simmer
3. Allow it to simmer for a few hours until the juice is reduced to a quarter of its original volume
4. Check that it has reached a syrupy texture, by coating a spoon in the molasses and blowing on it to cool it down
5. Remove from the heat once syrupy and pour into a jug or bowl
6. Once it has cooled a little, pour it into your jug or container and allow it to cool completely to room temperature before using

To make the wing glaze:

1. Combine the ingredients together into a thick glaze
2. Brush onto your wings, then bake for 5 more minutes