Question from Marti
LOVE THE WEBSITE!! I am so excited to start trying your recipes. But I am curious – why is molasses missing from your lists of sweeteners? I was surprised to see that it wasn’t on your list of “okay” sweeteners since it often is recommended, but even more surprised to see that you don’t list it as one to avoid, either.
Thanks!
Debra’s Answer
Well, here’s the thing about molasses.
Molasses is the stuff that’s leftover after they refine cane sugar. If you look at evaporated cane juice, it’s brown and full of nutrients. When it’s refined and granulated you end up with a pile of “pure” white sugar and molasses, which is everything else.
Molasses is actually considered by some to be a dietary supplements because of the nutrients it contains (nutrients in blackstrap molasses).
Since all the sucrose has been crystallized out, it’s not very sweet and it also has a strong flavor. So, though it is sold with the sugar in the supermarket, I don’t really consider it to be a sweetener. You couldn’t, for example, use it as the sole sweeteners in cookies or cake. To me, it’s more a flavoring for baked beans or gingerbread.
That’s why it’s not on the list.
