Today’s topic of natural sugar substitutes is: What is molasses and black strap molasses?
Regular Molasses
Molasses is a sticky by-product of the refining of sugarcane, grapes, or sugar beets into sugar. Basically it’s the thick, dark brown, uncrystallized juice obtained from the raw sugar during the refining process. In most products and instances we get fed all the refined sugar that is stripped of all it’s nutrients. While molasses is the by-product that is “left over” from the processing and obtains the high vitamin and mineral content.
Blackstrap Molasses
Blackstrap molasses is the higher quality molasses, it’s lower GI and does contain more nutrients when compared to regular molasses (see below). The reason why it does contain more nutrients is that it comes from the more matured sugar cane, whereas regular molasses comes from a ounger cane. Blackstrap molasses can simply be used in place of your usual sweetener of choice. Just test it first to gauge how much you will need to use. Blackstrap is made from more matured cane, regular the younger cane.
Molasses Nutrition
Check out the nutritional profile of both molasses and blackstrap molasses.
As you can see, compared to the empty calories consumed with white sugar, the molasses left from the process is full of nutrient value.
It’s strange that they remove all the good stuff and feed us the crap in most of the commonly found packaged foods.
How to use molasses?
Molasses is like the consistency of honey and it can be used in anything you use sugar in. Use it in your coffee or use it in your cakes and bakes. You may have to adjust the amount based on flavour but as far as how a cake may turn out with replacing sugar for molasses, it will work just fine.
You can also get a granular sugar that still retains the molasses, it’s called rapadura sugar. If you know what molasses tatses like then you will love the deep rich flavour of rapadura too. This can be used 1:1 in replace of sugar.
As far as natural sweeteners go, molasses ot black strap molasses are both good healthy options.
Jedha
P.S. The next post in the natural sweetener series is erythritol, a sugar alcohol. Sign up to my newsletter to stay informed on the sugar series posts.
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