What Is the Difference in Dark Cane Syrup & Molasses?

Both dark cane syrup and molasses come from sugar cane.

Molasses and dark cane syrup are both dark, thick and sweet, but that is where their similarities end. The manufacturing, composition, flavor and uses all separate these two liquid sweeteners. When a recipe calls for one or the other, you will be able to distinguish between the two sweeteners on store shelves and understand how substituting one for the other will affect your recipes. Does this Spark an idea?

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Dark Cane Syrup Manufacturing
- Both dark cane syrup and molasses come from sugar cane, but the two products emerge during different steps in the production. Cane syrup comes from pressing the juices out of sugar cane. This juice is partially evaporated until it becomes syrupy. The color variations in cane syrup range from dark to golden, depending on the amount of molasses in the cane syrup. Dark cane syrup contains the molasses from the sugar, giving it a similar, but sweeter flavor than molasses.
Molasses Manufacturing
- Molasses is made when the cane juice is further evaporated to crystallize it. These sugar crystals are spun in a centrifuge to throw off the heavier molasses, leaving behind sugar. The molasses gathered from the first spinning is called mild and has a sweet flavor, similar to dark cane syrup, but the sweetness of molasses decreases with subsequent spinnings until the last results in a bitter blackstrap molasses.
Composition
- The composition of molasses and dark cane syrup depend on the proportion of various types of sugar in the sugar cane. As a natural product, these amounts vary. Molasses generally has 35 percent sucrose -- sugar -- and 15 percent invert sugar. High proportions of invert sugar in molasses will cause it to crystallize when chilled. Though harmless, store molasses tightly sealed at room temperature to avoid this. The same crystallization can occur with dark cane syrup, so it too should be stored at room temperature to avoid crystals from forming in the syrup.
Flavor
- Cane syrup has a sweeter flavor than molasses since it has a higher proportion of sucrose in the mixture. It has a thinner consistency compared to molasses, making it more useful for mixing into other ingredients when baking. Molasses has a strong, caramelized flavor. The darker the molasses, the more concentrated this flavor becomes, almost until it has an extremely bitter flavor with little sweetness, as in blackstrap molasses.
Molasses Uses
- Both molasses and dark cane syrup can be used in baking and sauces. When baking you will have to compensate for the extra acidity of molasses compared to dark cane syrup. Make sure your recipe includes baking soda to neutralize the acidity of the molasses and help to leaven the food. Molasses is frequently used in recipes where its distinctive, bitter-sweet flavor shines through. Shoofly pie, gingerbread and pecan pie all use molasses as one of the sweeteners in the recipe.
Dark Cane Syrup Uses
- Dark cane syrup is used in many recipes in conjunction with molasses to add sweetness to the recipe without altering the molasses flavor. Dark cane syrup can also be used to sweeten drinks instead of simple syrup, but the color of the syrup will slightly darken the drink.