Issue 02: MOLASSES
The Sweetener That Loves to Haunt Your Pantry
I’ve done a lot of cabinet cleaning during this quarantine. And fridge cleaning. Freezer cleaning. Dishes. Generally a lot of cleaning that doesn’t ever seem to stay “clean”. If you have found yourself doing the same, you may have discovered a jar of molasses hiding in the back of your pantry. How long has that been there? Why did you even buy it in the first place? I know.
But that’s the thing about molasses! It’s a relic from the past - until the 1880’s most Americans were sweetening with molasses, not sugar! It was a product for the masses, much cheaper than refined sugar, and ubiquitous until granulated sugar came along. So if it makes you think of grandmas or pioneers, your association isn’t incorrect.
Unfortunately because molasses is a sugar byproduct, its history is a bit … fraught. Initially, they didn’t know what to do with molasses. Sugar is made by extracting juice from sugarcane (or sugar beets) and boiling that juice down until sugars crystallize. The syrup left over after crystallization is molasses! Per National Geographic:
On average, about one pound of molasses was made for every two pounds of sugar, and nobody knew what to do with it. Some was fed to slaves and livestock; some was mixed with lime and horsehair to make mortar; and some was used to concoct a very ineffective treatment for syphilis. Most, however, to the tune of millions of gallons a year, was simply tossed into the sea.
Finally, someone figured out that you could make rum from molasses and that was well received. Whatever wasn’t used to ferment into rum or beer was put on the table for sweetening. There was a lot of molasses, which made it affordable.
Today, that deep molasses flavor may remind us of gingerbread and the holiday season, but don’t pigeonhole molasses like that! Molasses can be used in baking for sure, but can also be an ingredient in meat glazes, barbecue sauce, or in baked beans. A lot of recipes that feature molasses have Boston in the name and are complemented with heavy, intense spices like cloves, ginger, cinnamon. HOT TIP ALERT: if you ever run out of brown sugar, you can make some with molasses and white sugar!
If you really wanna freak it and get molasses involved in your cheese board, Culture cheese magazine recommends pairing molasses candy with manchego and gingersnap cookies with funky blue cheeses. If you decide to do this, please invite me. Or at least post it on Instagram and tag me.
PURCHASING
Molasses is going to be in the baking section of the grocery store, typically one of the center aisles. Molasses for sale in the grocery store will most likely be unsulfured. This is what you want. (There was a time when they would add sulfur to speed the maturing process of young sugarcane, but you can usually taste the sulfur and it’s gross. Just don’t, k?)
Not only do you want your molasses unsulfured, you also want it light, regular, mild or sweet. Sometimes also called “Barbados”. Light molasses is made from the first boiling of the sugarcane, making it the lightest in color, sweetest, and mildest in flavor.
If that is not available, try dark, full, or robust. Sometimes called “second” because this molasses has gone through two rounds of boiling. You can sub light for dark or dark for light in baking. Just do NOT use blackstrap, unless it is called for.
Blackstrap molasses is made from the third and final boiling. It is considered the “healthy” molasses because it retains the most vitamins and minerals. This also makes it thickest and darkest in color, and also the least sweet with an intense bitterness. Some people look to blackstrap molasses as an alternative way to get more iron in their diet.
Molasses brands that have survived after all these years include Grandma’s Molasses, which offers a recipe for plantation cake on their website, Brer Rabbit Molasses, named after a character from the Tales of Uncle Remus which are stories about, y’know, life on a plantation, and lastly, Plantation Molasses! Which, even in the year of 2020, has for some reason, not decided to go ahead and spring for a re-brand. So, unfortunately our choices are limited and decidedly not woke. If anyone knows of any options that are less sad, please share!
PREPARATION
Not a lot of prep involved - just pop open and pour! Cold molasses is thick and more difficult to pour, so if you have been storing it in the fridge, let it get to room temp if you can. If you want to grease your measuring cups beforehand to ensure you get all of the molasses that is an option, but I just used a rubber spatula.
I decided to make two separate molasses cookie recipes because being in my apartment this long has turned me into a certain Sesame Street character. The two recipes I used were from Food Network’s Anne Burrell and the other from NYT Cooking by Alison Roman. I preferred Burrell’s recipe, I think it’s a bit more straightforward and there is an accompanying video, which is helpful! And you get to look at her Lady Fieri hair.
STORAGE
Wipe the rim and bottle clean after each use to prevent stickiness. I got a paper towel wet with hot water and that did the trick. Store in a cool, dry, dark place, like the back of your cupboard. Avoid exposing it to heat or humidity as these can cause mold and bacteria growth.
Unopened, molasses has a shelf life of 1-2 years after the "best by" date. Opened molasses can keep for a year after that date under proper conditions. It will maybe last forever. When I asked my dad if he had any memories of molasses in his childhood kitchen he said, “Molasses was always in the pantry. I don’t know how but it was always half full and two years old.”
REMEMBER: “ENJOY BY”, “BEST BY”, “BEST BEFORE”, “BEST WHEN/IF USED BY”, ARE NOT SAFETY DATES! These dates are issued by the manufacturer, estimating how long the molasses will remain at “peak quality”. THE BEST WAY TO DISCERN QUALITY IS THE SMELL TEST!
Any off-odors, discolored patches, or crystallization means it's no longer good and should be discarded.
TL;DR
Molasses is not a larder necessity in the same way that chocolate chips are not a necessity. While it is a fun ingredient to have for projects like Boston can bread or baked beans, I’m not about to swap Molasses for anything that is currently in my pantry. If you bake often and want to have the supplies readily available because that’s your truth, then great! Work molasses into your rotation. (One jar gave me enough for two batches, each recipe calling for 3/4 cup).
Molasses cookies, like chocolate chip cookies, are for those times when you don’t want to *bake* per se, but instead shovel a warm mountain of butter and sugar into your face. Molasses cookies don’t require fancy equipment: you just mix wet ingredients with dry and in less than an hour, start to finish, you will have hot, fresh cookies! Their chewiness keeps them delightful even days later.
GROCERY-RELATED INTERNET
The freshest picked news from the world wide web
Melissa Clark from NYT Cooking tells us all how to properly utilize our freezers. Texas-based chain HEB is adding meals from local restaurants to their prepared food section. (Will other chains follow this model?) If you *really* wanna lean into that no-waste ethos, I guess you could try making this cocktail with canned chickpea juice. But I’m not actually endorsing that. Maybe just be kind to yourself instead. Trader Joe’s is finding it increasingly difficult to unionize during COVID. I recently learned about Umbrella, if you want to volunteer to deliver groceries to your elderly neighbors you can sign up here! Pizzaslime has a free coloring book available for download, if only I had a printer. NYPost calls NYC grocery scene a “tale of three cities”. We are all clinging onto our beloved processed snacks for comfort. You can buy Xi’an’s Famous Chili Oil. Grocery chain Giant Eagle recently opened it’s second location dedicated only to delivery and pickup. With no bulk orders to fill for restaurants, hotels, and schools, farmers are dumping milk and turning pig bellies into lard instead of bacon. Customers on Instacart are baiting potential shoppers with large tips, only to change the amount to $0 afterward. I can’t stop thinking about the chaotic evil that is Tyra Banks microwaving bagels. And finally, Fran Lebowitz blesses us all with this incredible quote in the New Yorker:
I hate to cook. I find it incredibly tedious. Last night, I was peeling a cucumber and I was infuriated. Like, why am I peeling this cucumber? Why am I not in a restaurant, where they know how to peel a cucumber, and where I’m not doing it? So the eating at home I find horrible.
Thanks for reading! For any and all questions, comments, concerns, or topic suggestions please reach out! enjoyby@maggiemcglinchy.com
