Why You Should Never Substitute Regular Molasses With Blackstrap

When you're baking up a batch of sweet and chewy molasses cookies, you might need to run to the store to grab a jar of the sugary syrup. If you're not too familiar with it, you might find yourself pondering the different varieties available to purchase. Just be sure to omit the blackstrap kind if you're mixing up something sweet — it should only be used in recipes that specifically indicate the use of blackstrap molasses due to its bitter, salty flavor.

While normal, light molasses is just a little bit bittersweet, blackstrap molasses has more of a bitter bite. It's also a little saltier than the standard variety and has way less sugar content. Molasses is already pretty sticky, but blackstrap molasses is even thicker than the norm and can be harder to measure out and scrape off the spoon. It also takes a little bit of extra work to produce.

To make molasses, sugarcane is crushed and the juices are extracted. That liquid is boiled down, leaving some sugar crystals and a thick, brown syrup. Once the sugar crystals are taken out, the leftover syrupy liquid is enjoyed as molasses.

The varieties of molasses differ in how many times they're boiled down. Light molasses is produced after just one process, and it has the sweetest, mildest flavors, perfect for baking up cookies, cakes, and pies. Dark molasses is produced after a second boil and has a slightly more intense flavor. It can still be used in some sweets, though others may prefer to add its flavors to savory foods. Blackstrap molasses is created after the process is repeated three times, and it is the darkest variety.

Although all three varieties of molasses are created from the same method — they're just refined a different number of times — their different flavors make them unsuitable substitutes for one another.

Some people use blackstrap molasses thanks to its health benefits. The bitter flavor might be unpleasant to the taste buds, but the syrup brings along a concentration of vitamins and minerals. Of all the molasses varieties, blackstrap is the one that has the most vitamins and nutrients, since it's been concentrated down to remove so much of the sugar.

Healthline reports that just a single tablespoon of blackstrap molasses contains one-fifth of your daily needed iron and one-tenth of the recommended calcium and magnesium. Just be cautious not to ingest too much of it at once — that tablespoon also has a high concentration of sodium.

So, what is blackstrap molasses used for? Before barbecuing, some people like to slather their meats in the salty substance for a unique flavor. It can even be used to add some extra flavor to baked beans. However, because of its intense flavor, you'll probably want to add some extra sweetness to the dish to balance it out.