Özet:

Molasses, an ancient heritage of Turkish gastronomy; It is one of the foods that preserves its value in our cuisine with its nutritive ness, traditional production method and cultural background. Although grapes are generally used in its production, it can also be made with fruits such as mulberry, fig and carob in Anatolian geography. The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of traditional grape molasses production in the Cal district of Denizli on the gastronomy tourism of the region. Qualitative research method was used in the study and the deliberate sampling method was preferred. Within the scope of the research, interviews were held between 45-70 minutes with a total of 16 participants who played a role in bringing the traditional molasses production in Cal to gastronomy tourism. A semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool and content analysis method was applied in the analysis of the data. As a result of the research, it is seen that although traditional molasses production has gastronomy tourism potential, there are inadequacies in destination management and branding. The use of grapes mostly in wine production limits traditional molasses production. In the study, it was determined that the farmers in the region tended to different products by uprooting their vineyards due to the ease of production. This situation jeopardizes the existence of vineyards and the sustainability of molasses production in the district. The study also points out that there is not enough awareness in the local people about the production of traditional molasses.

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