What Is Date Syrup? How to Use It, and How to Make It at Home

Date syrup is a thick, dark syrup made by cooking dates in water, straining off the liquid and boiling it down. Known as dibs in Arabic, it is drizzled over yoghurt, porridge and pancakes, swirled with tahini for dipping bread, and used in baking, dressings and drinks. Below: how it is made and used, how it compares with date paste, and a homemade recipe.

What is date syrup?

Date syrup is concentrated date juice. Dates cannot simply be pressed for juice like grapes: their soluble solids are too concentrated, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) explains in its guide to date palm products. Water is added to draw them out, and the juice is then boiled down. The FAO calls date syrup (dibs, rub) “probably the most common derived date product”.

It has a long history in Iraq. Food historian Nawal Nasrallah traces the word dibs to dispu, the ancient Mesopotamians’ name for date honey, and Claudia Roden describes Iraqi dibbis once being made by boiling dates to a pulp, pressing out the juice between baskets and thickening it in the sun. It is also sold as date molasses or date honey.

What does date syrup taste like?

Expect a rich, dark syrup that tastes strongly of dates and is often described as caramel-like. The FAO calls the taste “distinct, rather strong”, Roden says dibbis looks like thick brown treacle, and Christine Sahadi Whelan, in her guide to Middle Eastern ingredients, compares it to molasses, with a less bitter edge.

Our Basra Date Syrup

Basra Date Syrup is an Iraqi-style dibs made in the Netherlands and sold in a 450g glass jar. Its ingredients are listed as juice of dates, and about 200g of dates go into every 100g of syrup. Our page tags it vegan, vegetarian and gluten free. Find it in our date paste and syrup range.

How to use date syrup

Ideas from our Basra page, plus one of our own:

• Breakfast: drizzle it over yoghurt, porridge, pancakes and waffles.
• Baking: use it in cakes and cookies (see the swaps below).
• Dressings, marinades and glazes: whisk a teaspoon into a lemon and olive oil dressing, or drizzle it over roasted vegetables. Brush glazes on near the end of cooking, as they catch easily.
• With halva: spread toast with tahini, crumble over some halva and finish with a thin drizzle of syrup. Our guide to halva has more ideas.

Date syrup and tahini

This is the classic pairing. Swirl 1–2 tablespoons of date syrup into 2 tablespoons of tahini and scoop it up with warm bread, or spread it on toast; that serves two. In Iraq the combination is called dibis w’rashi, rashi being the Iraqi word for tahini, Nasrallah writes, and SBS Food reports date syrup served with tahini on bread for breakfast in Jordan. Our guide to tahini has more ideas.

A jallab-style drink

Jallab, a cold drink of the Levant, is “a popular Ramadan refreshment” in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, The National reports. Its base is date molasses and rose water, diluted with water and often served over ice with pine nuts and raisins; some versions add grape molasses or carob. For a quick jallab-style glass, stir 2 tablespoons of date syrup into 200ml of cold water with a few drops of rose water, tasting before you add more, as a little goes a long way. Add ice and, if you like, a few pine nuts and raisins. See also our Ramadan 2027 guide for iftar ideas, and our rose water guide.

Baking with date syrup

In many recipes you can use date syrup where you would use maple syrup, honey or golden syrup, SBS Food suggests. Start with the same amount and adjust next time if needed, as its flavour is stronger. Two things to watch:

• Bakes may come out darker. When food scientists in Iran used date syrup in place of sugar in cakes, crust and crumb came out darker the more syrup they used. Check bakes early, and cover the top loosely with foil if it colours before the middle is done.
• Swapping it for granulated sugar is harder. Syrup adds liquid, so, as Sahadi Whelan advises, adjust the liquid in the recipe to compensate.

Date syrup vs date paste vs whole dates

They are not straight swaps: syrup can stand in for paste in porridge or a smoothie, but it is too runny to hold a filling together. Our date paste guide covers paste in detail, and our guide to types of dates compares the main varieties.

How to make date syrup at home (makes about 250ml)

This homemade date syrup simmers pitted dates in water until very soft, blends them, squeezes out the liquid through muslin and boils it down. It makes about 250ml from 500g of dates and takes about 3½ hours, mostly simmering and cooling.

Prep: 25 minutes. Cooking: about 1¾ hours. Cooling: about 1¼ hours. Total: about 3½ hours. You need a large saucepan, a stick blender or potato masher, a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin, a wide pan and a clean jar.

Ingredients

• 500g pitted dates (half a 1kg pack)
• 1 litre water, plus 250ml for an optional second squeeze

Method

1. Simmer. Put the dates in a large saucepan, checking for any stray stone or fragment as you go, and add 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the dates are very soft and falling apart.
2. Cool, then blend. Take the pan off the heat and leave it for about 20 minutes, until warm rather than hot. Blend with a stick blender, or mash well, to a thin purée.
3. Strain and squeeze. Set the lined sieve over a large bowl and pour in the purée. When it stops dripping and is cool enough to handle, gather up the cloth, twist the top and squeeze until no more liquid comes out. Keep the pulp.
4. Boil it down. Simmer the liquid steadily in a wide, uncovered pan for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring more often as it thickens so it does not catch, until it has reduced to about a quarter of its volume and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Test. Drip a little onto a cold saucer and wait a minute: it should run slowly when you tilt it. Stop while the syrup still pours easily, as it thickens more as it cools.
6. Cool and store. Leave it to cool at room temperature for about 1 hour, then pour it into a clean jar, cover and refrigerate.

Tips: for a little more syrup, stir the pulp into the extra 250ml of water, warm it and squeeze again, then boil it all down together. If the cold syrup is too thick, loosen what you need with a spoonful of hot water. Stir the leftover pulp into porridge, smoothies or bakes; keep it covered in the fridge and eat it within two days, as the Food Standards Agency advises for leftovers.

Allergens: dates are not one of the 14 major allergens, and our Madina Pitted Dates page lists none, though an occasional stone fragment may remain. Tahini and halva contain sesame, and our Madina Date Paste page says it may contain peanuts, other nuts and sesame. Check every pack label if you are cooking for someone with an allergy.

How to store date syrup

For a bought jar, follow the label: the Food Standards Agency advises following the storage instructions on packaging, and notes that some foods might need to be kept in the fridge once opened. Use a clean, dry spoon.

Homemade syrup needs more care. Date syrup is commonly boiled down until it keeps itself, the FAO notes, but in a thinner syrup microbial stability is “marginal, at best”. Keep yours covered in the fridge, set between 0 and 5°C as the FSA advises, and use it within a short time: as a cautious guide, a week at most. Throw it away if it smells sour or alcoholic, fizzes or shows any mould.

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Frequently asked questions

Is date syrup the same as date molasses?

Yes. Date syrup, date molasses and date honey are names for the same thing, called dibs in Arabic (dibis in Iraq). It is made by drawing the juice out of dates with hot water and boiling it down, though thickness and colour can vary.

Can I use date syrup instead of honey or maple syrup?

Often, yes: SBS Food suggests it for many recipes where you would use maple syrup, honey or golden syrup. Start with the same amount and adjust to taste, as its date flavour is stronger. Bakes may come out darker, so check them early. Using it in place of granulated sugar is harder, because syrup adds liquid.

Does date syrup need to be refrigerated?

For a bought jar, follow its label: the Food Standards Agency notes that some foods might need to be kept in the fridge once opened. Homemade date syrup is often thinner than bought syrup and may not keep as well, so store it covered in the fridge and use it within a week at most, as a cautious guide.

Why has my date syrup crystallised?

Date syrup can crystallise over time, our Basra Date Syrup page notes, so a grainy jar is normal. Warm the jar gently, for example by standing it in a bowl of hot water, and stir until it is runny again. If it smells sour or alcoholic, fizzes or shows any mould, throw it away instead.