All About Molasses

There is just something comforting and warm about molasses, that never tires you from eating it. Molasses is a thick, brown syrup that comes from raw sugar which is separated when it is being refined. What happens is the stalks are shred apart into small bits and is passed through three different rollers. What comes out is a dark grayish sweet juice.

The juice is boiled to a thick syrup which contains sugar crystals. This is then put into containers that have holes in them so the liquid can come out and the crystals are left behind. What is left is the molasses.

If you boil the syrup more than one time, you get a syrup that is less sweet. This type is used for candy and cakes. Black strap molasses comes from boiling the syrup three times. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word Melaco which is from the Latin root Mel which means honey, and aceus which means resembling. So Molasses means, resembling honey. American molasses is from the very first description that I wrote about: separating the sugar crystals from the syrup.

The English call molasses treacle when the syrup, during this time, is separated from the raw sugar is refined. Sorghum molasses is when the syrup comes from the grains that come from the stalk and very much looks like corn. There is no sugar taken from it, just the syrup. The syrup looks and tastes like molasses.

The first time molasses was eaten in America was when Columbus brought it to the West Indies.Indians and Chinese were the first to have eaten it. It has become an important product and was known as the life blood of the colonial trade. It was the main sweetener until after the Civil War.

In New England, they used molasses to make doughnuts. Corn, baked beans,breads, puddings cakes and cookies were all made with molasses. The best way we are familiar with molasses is over pancakes and hot biscuits and other breads. Molasses was not only enjoyed by eating it, but also for medicinal purposes.

Molasses was mixed with sulfur to help purify the blood and rejuvenate the system after the winter season when people indulged in starchy diets.

Molasses Types

You can find light or dark molasses. Light molasses is delicate tasting, while the dark molasses is tangy. The dark molasses is best to use in foods that include many spices like gingerbread.