As the holiday baking season kicks into high gear, it's time for the molasses to shine. This warm, sweet and slightly bitter syrup supports many classic holiday and winter recipes. If you are leaving ginger peopleconstruction a gingerbread houseor filling a can with soft molasses cookiesusing the right type of molasses is key.
Photography by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova
What are the types of molasses and how do they differ?
The taste of molasses can vary greatly, and this is mainly due to the way it is processed. Molasses is made by crushing sugar cane or sugar beets, extracting the juice that is released, then boiling that juice until it forms sugar crystals. When the sugar crystals have been removed (to continue to be refined into different types of sugar), a thick, dark syrup remains, which is molasses. It usually comes in three types:
Light molasses
If you stop at the first boil, you will have “light” molasses, which has a delicate, sweet flavor. Some manufacturers label this molasses from the first boil as “regular,” “mild,” or “Barbados” molasses.
Dark molasses
If you boil the molasses again, you will create “dark,” “full,” or “hard” molasses, which has a thicker texture and less sweet flavor than light molasses.
Black Belt Molasses
And if you boil the molasses a third and final time, you'll end up with “black belt” molasses, which is ultra-dark, thick, and especially bitter since most of its sugar has been extracted during the boiling process. boiling.
It's worth noting here that there can be a lot of variability between different brands of molasses—what one manufacturer calls “mild” may have a much stronger flavor than another that's labeled “strong.” These descriptors are quite subjective, and as an agricultural product, molasses can range in flavor from delicate and floral to caramelized and spicy, depending on how it's made and where it's from. If you can, taste a little of your molasses before you start baking to gauge its flavor. The good news is that these flavor differences, while more noticeable when tasted plain, tend to diminish during baking, as long as you don't use blackstrap molasses (see below), so you can generally use it that you have in hand. , even if the taste may differ from what the recipe calls for.
Sulfur vs Sulfurless Molasses
Another difference between types of molasses is whether or not it has been “sulfurized.” Some producers process sugar cane into molasses when it is young or “green”. To keep it stored until it is ready for processing, it can be treated with sulfur dioxide, making the resulting molasses “sulphurized.” Some tasters may pick up chemical flavor notes in sulfurized molasses and prefer the taste of sulfur-free molasses made from roasted or roasted sugar cane. Unsulfurized molasses is the most common type you'll find in grocery stores.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
What kind of molasses should I use in baking?
The type of molasses you achieve during roasting depends on the flavor you are looking to achieve. In general, light, unsulphured first-boil molasses is the most versatile type of molasses to keep in your pantry. It has a prominent sweetness and just a hint of bitterness and blends well with other flavors without taking over. Light molasses (which may also be labeled regular, original, mild, or Barbados) works well in anything from Quick Ginger Frosted Cookie Bars to the traditional New England Anadama Bread festive Gingerbread cookies OR Gingerbread Waffles.
If you want the rich, bold flavor of molasses to shine through in your recipe and don't mind a more bitter edge, second-boil dark molasses is a good choice. Dark (aka hard, full, or second) molasses would be right at home traditional bold Gingerbreadintense Chocolate Molasses Fingerprintsso easy Chocolate Gingerbread Cake with Glazeor crusted Sour Dough Pumpernickel Bread.
However, third-boil blackstripe molasses has a very specific flavor profile and should really only be used in recipes that call for it. Its intense, bitter flavor and signature dark color make it the least versatile type of molasses to bake with, but delicious when planned. This traditional Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding uses blackstrap molasses for its deep flavor, which is balanced by the sweetness of coconut sugar, raisins, and sweet potatoes. But if your recipe doesn't specify using blackstrap molasses, assume it's intended to be light or dark (not blackstrap).
Photography by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova
Molasses substitutes
Molasses has a distinct flavor, but with a little, you can substitute another liquid sweetener. The best choices are cane syrup, honey, sorghum, or dark corn syrup, which can generally be substituted 1:1 for molasses. But note that the color and flavor of your final baked product will be quite different from what was intended, especially if the recipe calls for a lot of molasses.
Cover photo by Mark Weinberg; food styling by Erin Jeanne McDowell.
