Molasses is an important ingredient in all sorts of foods, from spicy gingerbread to homemade barbecue sauce, but not all molasses is suitable for baking and BBQ-ing. Though blackstrap molasses is prized for it’s mineral content, it doesn’t touch true molasses in terms of flavour or bake-ability.
Stella Parks can break down all the differences between blackstrap and the regular stuff, including the differences in manufacturing, but the main takeaways have to do with flavour:
- Blackstrap molasses: This stuff is thick and dark, with 1% of your daily sodium intake and not a lot of sugar. (It has a sugar content of around 40%, if you’re interested). It tastes salty and bitter, making it a bad fit for most recipes.
- True molasses: True molasses on the other hand is much sweeter (with a sugar content of around 70%), flows more freely, and has a much higher moisture content, making it easier to mix into doughs.
If that doesn’t convince to skip the blackstrap in your baked goods and beans, click the link below to see a tale of two gingersnaps. Parks baked one batch with true molasses and another batch with blackstrap. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say there was only one true winner.
The Difference Between Blackstrap and True Molasses [Serious Eats ]
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