I finally unpacked a useful book I've had for years: All You Should Know About Health Foods, Ruth Adams and Frank Murray, 1979. The information on well-known and trusted basic health foods is either still current or has been enhanced since the book was published. I like the way the authors explain things so I'm going to use their info, even though there might be even more good news out there about a certain food. I'll type up as much as I can as time permits.

The following is abbreviated.

One hundred years ago almost everybody used molasses as the only sweetener available. . . . Only the very rich had white sugar. . . .

Blackstrap molasses is the final product in sugar refining. . . . Fresh sugar cane, growing in the field, contains minerals and vitamins, as do all living things. . . .

Blackstrap molasses contains, gram for gram, more iron than any other food except for pig liver and brewers yeast. It contains about five times more calcium than milk. It is also rich in the B vitamins which are so important for the health of nerves, heart muscle and skin. It contains considerable amounts of copper, potassium, phosphorous. . . .

Of course, you can't go around eating amounts comparable to those you might eat of liver or drink of milk! Comparing blackstrap molasses to white sugar, we find that sugar has hardly any nutrients, just trace amounts of iron and potassium. Blackstrap molasses has 8,000 times more potassium than white sugar, about 2,000 times more calcium. It's still sugar, though, so if you eat it by the spoonful, get out the toothbrush. Note: brown sugar, except for turbinado and demara, is white sugar with molasses put back in.

I can't even think about anything with sugar in it but if you were to search on the Web for molasses NEAR recipes" you can probably find ways to use this food.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 29, 1999

Answers

Does anyone know the difference between blackstrap molasses and unsulphured molasses? Are they exactly the same, essentially the same, not the same at all?

-- Bingo (ecsloma@pronetisp.net), October 29, 1999.

Logan bread uses molasses, makes great energy bars.

See my Logan-Bread-In-A-Jar recipe, or an earlier post.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), October 29, 1999.

Blackstrap is good, but if you don't want to be gagging every time you unscrew the lid, get BARBADOS Molasses -- for (I presume) many of the same mineral and bioflavanoid benefits (huh?) and a lot less of the STENCH!!! Unsulphured stuff? Cant answer that quewstion, but my first guess is that the processed stuff on the store shelves amy have much of the food value leached out or compromised. If you can't get either, get Grades B or C Maple Syrup -- which likewise has loads of natural trace minerals, and tastes a whole lot better too. B is the best.

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), October 29, 1999.

Roch,

When I was up in Vermont, I got some supposedly "grade A" maple syrup from a family. I was a particular pain because I demanded that they pour it fresh into the half gallon jugs from their tank. What do the grades mean?

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (faryna@giglobal.com), October 29, 1999.

Stan --

The grades represnet levels of refinement of the syrups: C being closest to raw maplesap with the water evaporated off: it is a very dark, heavy, mineral rich syrup like Old Git's blackstrap molasses, but it is much TOO heavily "enriched" by nature, to be readily palatable -- unless you're getting thin. At least, I find it overpowering. Grade B of course is mid-grade: the refinement -- whatever it is they do -- someone reading should know this -- has been taken a step further, some minerals removed, etc. so that the syrup TASTES JUST GREAT -- oh man ohman ohman ... really good stuff, just as sweet and flavorful as the grade A but with enough minerals that you could practically live off the stuff if you had a source of Viatmin "C" to go with. IN fact, in college I would regularly go on 3-4 day fasts of lime-ade sweetened with Grade "B" syrup ONLY. Grade "A" then is what you buy in bottles off the shelf: refined to the point where it's ready to be pancake syrup or maple candy. Sweet, tasty, but with much less of the trace minerals remaining. The Grade "B" would be an excellent nutritous alternative sweetener: tastes good and really good for you. Grade "A" would be a simple waste of money under Y2K circumstances, if you ask me.

I'll also recommend the Barbados Molasses again. Got to go look at mine and re-read the labels. This stuff you would be happy to spoonfeed to yourself and your kids would love it too, I think. I believe it has much of the mineral content of Blackstrap -- CAN'T SAY FOR SURE THOUGH -- but tastes one heck of a lot better. This means it is better for cooking, etc. because you don;lt have that heavy molasses aroma hangin over everything.

I also recommend raw [trubinado] sugar for its trace mineral value, flavor, etc.

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), October 29, 1999.

Opps -- forgot to mention Scracked tan, that your name is of course synonymous with pharina: a wheat breakfast cereal. If you can get your pharina made from KAMUT grain -- and ancient wheat which probably has a half dozen of its own websites -- then you'll have once again optimized the nutriional value of your Y2K stores.

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), October 29, 1999.

I think sulphur is used as a preservative in molasses (as well as some dried fruit, usually supermarket type). The Barbados type is what we call in UK "black treacle" and is, you're right, superior in flavor and aroma. There is no doubt about the nutrition value of any type of molasses, though. When I could eat sweet stuff I preferred to ingest it in spice muffins, gingerbread, fruitcake, and so on. There is also a treacle toffee made in England--very good!

How about I start another thread on maple syrup for those who won't read this one cos they don't like molasses?

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 29, 1999.

Git on it!

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), October 29, 1999.

We use organic unsulphured blackstrap molasses (by a company called Wholesome Foods...the people who also sell Sucanat). 1 tablespoon has 80 calories, no fat, no sodium, 170 mg. of potassium, 13 g. carbohydrates, calcium (8%), iron (20%), vitamin B6 (10%) and Magnesium (8% of what you need for the day).

I use unbleached sugar when I cook, and anytime a recipe calls for brown sugar, I add a tablespoon of this molasses (usually I mix it in with the butter), and then add my unbleached sugar.

I think it smells really good, and I always lick the spoon that I use to measure the molasses with! The first time I tasted it, and realized how much I liked the taste, I thought maybe it was because I needed the iron or the calcium.

Molasses is especially good in gingerbread and chocolate brownies.

-- Margo (margos@bigisland.com), October 30, 1999.