Date syrup (Date molasses)
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Date syrup is cooked fruit.
Date syrup is fruit sugar, concentrated.
Dates are high in fructans, and the syrup keeps them.
Safe in small amounts; may bother some people or raise blood sugar.
Rules by country
Date syrup is a fruit food, not an additive with an E-number. The US, the EU and Canada do not evaluate it as an additive. Dates are high in sugar and in fructans, so the syrup concentrates both.
What is it?
Date syrup is dark, thick and tastes of dried fruit rather than plain sugar. Cooks use it where molasses would be too bitter.
Where it comes from: Date syrup is dates cooked with water and strained. The sugar was already in the fruit, mostly glucose and fructose. Silan is the same syrup under its Hebrew name.
Why it’s in food
- Sweetens oatmeal and yogurt
- Glazes roasted vegetables
- Replaces molasses in a gingerbread
- Binds energy balls
Often found in
Also listed as: Date syrup, Date molasses, Date nectar, Silan, Date honey
Health & gut impact
Date syrup is the sugar of the fruit with most of the fiber left behind in the pulp. A spoon is closer to honey than to a whole date.
Food use of date syrup
Dates are high in fructans. Straining them into a syrup does not remove that load.
FODMAP pattern of dates
What can I use instead?
Related
More sweeteners:
Common questions
Is date syrup the same as silan?
Yes. Silan is the Hebrew name for date syrup.
Is date syrup low FODMAP?
No. Dates are a high-fructan fruit, and the syrup concentrates them.
Is Date syrup safe?
Use in moderation (58/100). Date syrup is a fruit food, not an additive with an E-number. The US, the EU and Canada do not evaluate it as an additive. Dates are high in sugar and in fructans, so the syrup concentrates both.
Is Date syrup vegan?
Yes. Date syrup is cooked fruit.
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Scientific sources & regulatory citations
- Food use of date syrup
- FODMAP pattern of dates