Molasses or treacle is a thick, syrupy derivative of the juice of the sugarcane plant or the processing of sugar beet. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço. The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or beet, the amount of sugar extracted, and the method of extraction.
Cane Molasses
- Sulphured molasses is made from green (not yellow) sugar cane and is treated with sulphur fumes during the sugar extraction process.
- Each season, the sugar cane plant is harvested and stripped of its leaves. Its juice is then extracted from the canes (usually by crushing or mashing), boiled until it has reached the appropriate consistency, and processed to extract the sugar. The results of this first boiling and processing is first molasses, which has the highest sugar content because comparatively little sugar has been extracted from the juice.
- Second molasses is created from a second boiling and sugar extraction, and has a slight bitter tinge to its taste. Further rounds of processing and boiling yield the dark blackstrap molasses, which is the most nutritionally valuable, and thus often sold as a health supplement, as well as being used in the manufacture of cattle feed, and for other industrial uses.
Molasses can also be produced from several grasses such as sorghum.
Sugar Beet Molasses
Molasses from the sugar beet is different from cane molasses. Only the syrup left from the final crystallisation stage is called molasses; intermediate syrups are referred to as high green and low green. It is about 50% sugar by dry weight, predominantly sucrose but also containing significant amounts of glucose and fructose. The non-sugar content includes many salts such as calcium, potassium, oxalate and chloride. As such, it is unpalatable and is mainly used as an additive to animal feed or as a fermentation feedstock.
It is possible to extract additional sugar from beet molasses through a process known as molasses desugarisation. This technique exploits industrial scale chromatography to separate sucrose from non sugar components. The technique is only economically viable in areas where the price of sugar is supported above the world market—e.g., in areas with trade barriers. It is prevalent in the United States and is also seen within the European Union.
Substitutes
Molasses is a common ingredient in baking, often used in baked goods such as gingerbread cookies. In such recipes, it is possible to replace each cup of molasses with one of the following:
- 1 cup honey
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
Notes
See also
