Turkish President revealed his secret coronavirus fighting recipe, mulberry molasses
President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reports his secret weapon against deadly coronavirus en route back to Turkey from his official trip to Ukraine. It is mulberry molasses, -also known as ‘pekmez’ in Turkey or ‘petimezi’ in Greece!
The new type of coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, causes severe acute respiratory infection, and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Emerging in China’s Wuhan city about a month ago, the virus killed 427 people (425 in China, one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines) and infected more than 20,000 people, with the number of new cases growing by the thousands every day.
Turkey stopped all flights from China as of February 4 until the end of the month, as part of measures taken against the coronavirus threat. Also, a military cargo plane of the Turkish Armed Forces with dozens of evacuees aboard landed in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Saturday upon completing its evacuation operation from Wuhan.
While everyone around the world talks about the novel coronavirus, it was also one of the topics on the presidential plane. President Erdogan shared the latest news about the situation and the details of Turkey’s operation to China so as to return its citizens. After emphasizing that all the world is jealous of the capabilities of the Turkish state, he revealed his own formula against the coronavirus: Not catching a chill, being aware of fever, and first and foremost believing in yourself!
The President also advised citizens about being careful of what they eat and shared his secret, -mulberry molasses from Erzurum, an eastern city of Turkey. “I eat one spoon of mulberry molasses every morning. It is hematinic,” he said.
Pekmez is a savory, thick molasse made from the boiled down juices of fruits. It is commonly made from grapes but can also be made from different fruits, including mulberries, plums, apples, pears, pomegranates.
Traditionally, no sugar or additives are added, making Pekmez a natural sweetener. It is believed that it is one of the first sweeteners before cane sugar and honey were introduced in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
Turkish families have been using pekmez as a health remedy for centuries. It is an excellent source of iron and is very beneficial to people diagnosed with anemia. Also very rich in calcium, potassium, and magnesium, pekmez is a traditional and natural source of energy.
After the President’s comments, the IHA news agency reported that people in Erzurum took an interest in pekmez. In Erzurum, one kilogram of pekmez is for 33 Turkish liras, less than six dollars, says the agency.
Various digital outlets also reported the ‘benefits’ of pekmez after learning President’s secret weapon.
