This Charts Shows Molasses Production Quantities by Country
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the refining of sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. The word comes from the Proto-Indo-European mélid. Molasses varies by amount of sugar, method of extraction, and age of plant. Sweet sorghum syrup may be colloquially called "sorghum molasses" in the southern United States.
To make molasses, sugar cane is harvested and stripped of leaves. Its juice is extracted usually by cutting, crushing, or mashing. The juice is boiled to concentrate it, promoting sugar crystallization. The result of this first boiling is called "first syrup", and it has the highest sugar content. First syrup is usually referred to in the Southern states of the U.S. as "cane syrup", as opposed to molasses. "Second molasses" is created from a second boiling and sugar extraction, and has a slight bitter taste.
9 years ago
