Molasses

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Types of Molasses and sugar content

There are three major types of cane molasses: unsulphured, sulphured and blackstrap.
There are also three major grades of cane molasses: first molasses, second molasses, and blackstrap molasses.
When sugar cane plant is harvested, the leaves are stripped. The juice is extracted from the cane by crushing or mashing, boiled to remove most of the water, and later processed to extract the sugar. The results of this first boiling and processing is first molasses, which has the highest sugar content because comparatively little sugar has been extracted from the juice. Unsulphered molasses is the finest quality. It is made from the juice of sun-ripened cane and the juice is clarified and concentrated. Barbados molasses is one type of unsulphered molasses, light in color and high in sucrose mainly sold for cooking, confectionery and in the production of rum.
Second molasses is created from a second boiling and sugar extraction, so there is less sugar. It has a darker color and a slightly bitter taste, or as some would say, a more pronounced flavor.
Further rounds of processing and boiling yield blackstrap molasses, used in the manufacture of cattle feed, as well as having other industrial uses. Blackstrap molasses is from the third boil and has a commercial value in the manufacture of cattle feed and other industrial uses. It is 55 to 65% sugar.
Sulphured molasses is made from green sugar cane that has not matured long enough and treated with sulphur fumes during the sugar extracting process.
Cooking Molasses is a blend of Fancy and Blackstrap Molasses. It is 59 to 69% sugar.
Cane Molasses is a by-product of the manufacture or refining of sucrose from sugar cane. Cane molasses purchased as an animal feed will contain more than 46% total sugars expressed as invert sugars. If its moisture content exceeds 27%, its density determined by double dilution must not be less than 79.50 Brix.

Beet Molasses is a by-product of the manufacture of sugar (sucrose) from sugar beets. It will have more than 48% total sugars expressed as invert and its density determined by double dilution must not be less than 79.50 Brix.
However, some molasses from sugar beets is so well processed it has virtually no sugar. So, if you are buying beet molasses, be sure to find out first if it is sweet.

Citrus Molasses is the partially dehydrated juices obtained from the manufacture of dried citrus pulp. It must contain not less than 45% total sugars expressed as invert and its density determined by double dilution must not be less than 71.00 Brix.

Starch Molasses is a by-product of dextrose manufacture from starch derived from corn or grain sorghums where the starch is hydrolyzed by enzymes and/or acid. It is at least 43% reducing sugars expressed as dextrose and not less than 50% total sugars expressed as dextrose.

The molasses trade commonly use the term Brix as an indicator of specific gravity and as illustrated in Table 4, represents an approximation of total solids content. Brix is a term originally initiated for pure sucrose solutions to indicate the percentage of sucrose in solution on a weight basis. However, in addition to sucrose, molasses contains glucose, fructose, raffinose and numerous non-sugar organic materials. Consequently, a Brix value for molasses will often differ dramatically from actual sugar or total solid content. In fact, Baker (1979) stated that, "With an impure sucrose solution such as molasses, Brix does not represent anything except a number denoting specific gravity and this cannot be related to either sucrose or dry matter content." Regardless, in the United States, Brix is used in the official definition of beet, citrus, starch and cane molasses.
Interestingly, molasses is also an excellent chelating agent. An object coated with iron rust placed for two weeks in a mixture of one part molasses to nine parts water will lose its rust due to the chelating action of the molasses. http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow