Molasses...

[rochfood]

Have a jar of Grandma's molasses in the cupboard. Is it even "real" molasses ? Looking to use it up.
I don't even remember buying it (it is still fresh).
What do you like to make with molasses ?
I am thinking sweet over savory..but wouldn't be adverse to baked beans.
My mom was from Maine and she cooked with it all the time or used molasses type products
We only ate B and M beans..even had "brown bread "? is that correct ?
Thanks in advance.

[Musie]

Anna Olsen has a wonderful recipe for gingerbread cake. The molasses in the recipe just makes it so scrummy.

[charles_sills]

alton brown has a recipe for pork chops and uses mollasses in the brine. you can try that.

i also bet it might be good in pancakes.

[Ruthie789]

My Dad would just put the molasses in a bowl and dip fresh bread into it. It was a favorite meal of his. I use molasses in baked beans, homemade barbeque sauce, some stir frys.

[mike9]

Molasses is one of my favorite sweeteners.

I poke the top of a skillet of corn bread with a chop stick and spread molasses over then back in the oven for a few more minutes.

In my old Joy of Cooking there is a molasses candy pop corn - it's the best.

[mariars]

I love molasses in oatmeal, or cream of wheat, and I love, love, love the molasses crinkle cookies!!!

[rcbaughn]

Pizza! I have a wonderful pizza crust recipe that calls for molasses in it. It browns so well, and has that caramelized color that everyone looks for without cloying sweetness! It is a Mellow Mushroom clone dough that I was working on from Pizzamaking.com Let me know and I can post it if you want!

[Leepa]

Please!!!

[rcbaughn]

I am so sorry I never posted this up!!!!!!!!! I forgot about the thread. Anywho, here is the most recent formula that I have been using. This is enough for two dough balls and is very exact on ingredient amounts to be as close to Mellow Mushroom as possible. Pizzamaking.com is the bomb.com :)

Mellow Mushroom Replica Crust

-453g high gluten flour
-230g spring water
-3.18g / 1 teaspoon ADY
-8.25g salt / 1.75 teaspoons
6.81g vegetable oil / 1.5 teaspoons
-59g molasses

Make this as you would any normal bread in a stan mixer and knead until it easily windowpanes. My 6 quart bowl lift will usually take about 6 minutes after the ball has come together, but use your best of judgement and keep checking your dough for good gluten formation. Afterwards ball the dough and allow to rise till doubled then punch down and divide into two balls. Allow the dough to reproof for around 1 hour or less depending on your house temperature and environment and open the ball up as you would any pizza to around 12", usually hand stretching to get a nice air crust. Only use a rolling pin if you must. Place the crust on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel and top with sauce, cheese, and of course mushrooms (I like bluefoot and chanterelles) and throw that baby in a 450 degree oven (475 if your oven runs cool) on your pizza stone and bake till the crust is nice and brown, usually around 9-12 mins depending on the oven. Just keep an eye on it and use your best judgement. After removing from the oven brush the crust with melted butter and dust with cheap parmesan and you have a true authentic replica of Mellow Mushroom pizza.

Also if you using a lower protein all purpose flour feel free to add some vital wheat gluten to up the protein content, usually around 1 teaspoon per crust if I am not wrong, so two teaspoons for the above recipe. Good luck and let me know how you like it!

P.S. - There are many people who put literally weeks worth of research into this pizza formulation. We all really owe a man named Pete and Norma over at pizzamaking.com thanks for this pizza recipe. It truly is amazing and if you pull it off right it is one of the best pies you'll make. It got me addicted to making pizza, then bread. It all started there.

[goodhealthgourmet]

awww, Mellow Mushroom! their Greek salad, calzones and pretzels were college staples for me :)

[chowmel]

when you empty the jar after all this good suggestions, fill it with cold milk, shake well, and enjoy !

[sandylc]

Gingersnaps.
Gingerbread.
Pumpernickel.

[Uncle Bob]

Biscuits an 'lasses.

[Leepa]

Like. And cornbread and molasses. The no-sugar kind of cornbread I grew up on.

[Uncle Bob]

Yeah buddy!!

[Leepa]

With lots of butter!

[littlemissmuffin]

I just make a blend of molasses and butter and put it in a container in the fridge. Then I use it when frying apples, I baste pork or chicken with it, put it on roasted carrots or yams, or just use it straight on muffins or toast.

Also I remember in the book "Giant" one of the ranchhands ate molasses out of a tin cup, as dessert. Too sweet for me to eat it straight, but that image has stayed with me all these years!

[suzigirl]

Molasses butter caramels. Follow basic caramel making directions and use this recipe

2 C white sugar
1C white corn syrup
3/4 C molasses
1C butter
2 C sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

So rich and delish

[Emme]

for those who like ginger, these are great with some chopped crystallized ginger mixed in or a little ground ginger.

[suzigirl]

I absolutely live ginger. Always have knob in my freezer and crystalized in my pantry. Not a fan of the ground though. I guess if you use molasses in gingerbread so why not ginger in molasses caramels.

[sandylc]

suzigirl, you should know how I store my ginger: Peel it, slice it thinly, put it in a glass jar, and cover it with dry sherry. It lasts forever in the fridge this way. Just one more way to have ginger around!

[HillJ]

Ditto for me except I use champagne to cover the ginger coins (skin on).

[suzigirl]

Oh cool. Does it take on the taste if sherry? Can you sub vodka as it is almost flavorless. I had a friend that kept hers in potting soil and let it grow between uses. She'd pull it up,wash it slice it and replant it. Made it look like to much work for me.

[sandylc]

I'll bet you could use vodka! I haven't noticed any unwelcome tastes from the sherry, however.....

[suzigirl]

I like sherry, but if it took on the flavor it might be offputting to my boyfriend. He even cringes if we kiss after a glass of sherry. He said there is no reason, but suspect there was a drunken night involving some sherry. We have all had one in our lifetime. Mine is goldschlager. Shudder...

[sandylc]

Go for the vodka, then!

[Emme]

exactly gingerbread caramels.

[Querencia]

Usually I am persnickety about discarding food that's even getting near its time but molasses seems to last forever. Can anyone inform me about this?

[LauraGrace]

I'm racking my brain for a scenario that would make molasses go bad and coming up blank. It's sugary and acidic -- doesn't seem to me to be a likely medium for typical spoilage baddies. I've certainly never had or seen or heard of spoiled molasses in all my years.

[Leepa]

I've had it go moldy. Of course, my favorite molasses is that the Amish make and that's not exactly a sanitary business.

[Rich102]

Much better than Grandma's IMO is Wholesome Sweeteners blackstrap, which is available at health food stores and some supermarkets, including Whole Foods. It lacks the bitterness of some blackstraps. And it's Fair Trade Certified and Organic.
See http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/br...

Note that it's very high in potassium, which is great if you need more (it's great dissolved in hot tea), but to be avoided if you need less.

[suzigirl]

Thank you for the heads up on potassium. I have a need for potassium and magnesium rich foods.

[goodhealthgourmet]

prune juice is a very good source of both ;)

[sandylc]

And prunes are great, too. And they are not just "movers", as popularly joked about, but regulators.

[goodhealthgourmet]

depends on the individual's digestive system (personally the high fructose & polyol content kills me because i have malabsorption issues).

[HillJ]

Combine molasses with red wine vinegar and marinate a london broil in it for 2 hours, then grill. Amazing!

[Leepa]

Ratio?

[HillJ]

hi Leepa, Equal parts both. I start with a 1/2 cup of each. If you have a very large london broil, double the measurements.

[Leepa]

Thanks!

[iL Divo]

sorry hadn't read next post

[lidia]

Indian pudding is a yummy old-fashioned recipe… basically a molasses-sweetened polenta dessert that's great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side.

[iL Divo]

oh thanks! now that I'm this minute no where near my kitchen. :)
sounds wonderful

[zoo1023]

Oddly enough, this thread came to my attention while I was eating breakfast...cornflakes & milk with molasses. I use it as a sweetener for cereals pretty often (mostly because the milk is so delicious at the end).

[julesrules]

Not 100% sold on the texture of this, but I didn't measure accurately. The flavour, however, is awesome for molasses lovers - like a gingersnap for breakfast! Actually, I was even out of ginger and used a combo of cinamon, cardamom and cloves, and it's stil great :)
http://professionalpalate.squarespace...

[Becca Porter]

A sweet that has a purely molasses flavor: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rc...

These really are incredible!

[wyogal]

oh my oh my oh my. Molasses fix....

[iL Divo]

oh my.................now 'this' I gotta make :0)))

[iL Divo]

so glad I revisited this page because I'd forgotten about this terrific looking winner of a recipe.

[iL Divo]

ok roch, since you have my favorite sweet treat, grab a big spoon and taste it and see the flavor-get a good mouth feel.

gingerbread with warmed lemon sauce for dessert I've made so many times for community meals, a favorite
chewy molasses cookies
chocolate pudding using the molasses as part of the sweetener
gooey chewy brownies
maple meringues

you have a gem in a jar, I seriously think it doesn't go bad, may crystallize like honey < not sure but either way....... delight in it :)

[Sooeygun]

You're probably right about it not going bad. I just used some molasses this weekend to make baked beans. I believe I bought it when we lived at our previous apt, so that makes it 7 or 8 years old. It was really thick and I had to heat it a bit to get it out of the container, but otherwise fine.

[chowser]

I use molasses and white sugar to make brown for baked goods--that way I have control over how heavy it is; and I don't have to keep different brown sugars in the house.

[EWSflash]

I just learned about a fermentation composting method calld bokashi. I'm diving into that knowledge

[wyogal]

??? With molasses?

O.K., I had to google it, interesting, microbes and molasses....

[visciole]

Things I make regularly that contain molasses:
Gingersnaps
Gingerbread (cake & cookies)
Bran muffins
Boston brown bread

[hippioflov]

I had forgotten t his one until my hubby reminded me of it - an old time remedy for constipation. Mix a big glob of molasses with 1/2 a glass of milk and drink it down. Wait about 2 hours and do it again. Should be feeling better soon. Tastes a whole lot better than the other stuff!

[Emme]

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies sandwiched with a Molasses (not too much) Cream Cheesey Filling

Pumpkin Muffins

Sweet Potato Pancakes with a Bourbon Molasses or Pineapple Molasses Sauce....

[Hank Hanover]

Now that you mention it, I just bought some buckwheat honey. It tastes similar to but a little different from molasses. I'm sure you could use it in place of molasses. Not trying to diss molasses just wanted to add that tidbit.

[EWSflash]

I'm a recent convert to molasses, but I do love the taste. I add some to a can of Bush's baked beans, someday I'm going to try it over ice cream. Ooooh- there's some pumpkin ice cream in the freezer... I see dessert in my future.

[EWSflash]

Yes, it turns out I much prefer a little molasses on pumpkin pie to whipped cream.

[CanadaGirl]

Tea biscuit with butter and molasses. Yummy

[Leepa]

This!

And on good Southern (no sugar, please) cornbread with tons of butter, too.

[cheesemaestro]

Molasses is the key ingredient in shoofly pie, a popular Pennsylvania Dutch dessert.

[ipsedixit]

Bread.

[chefj]

Anadama bread especially!

[mlou72]

Real.
http://www.bgfoods.com/grandmas/grandmas_products.asp
http://www.brerrabbit.com/
Same parent company, both products are real cane juice molasses. Many recipes on the bgfoods website.

We always drizzle it over frozen sliced bananas. I love a spoonful as a treat. Standard gingerbread, baked beans, I don't have any nontraditional uses to share.

MyBrands list of all molasses types:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid...

[calliope_nh]

A little drizzle is good on peanut butter.

[smtucker]

An essential ingredient in baked beans, BBQ sauce, some baked goods, can't remember what else. I must find myself reaching for the molasses at least once a month. I did buy blackstrap once and it was so very different that a number of my dishes didn't taste right. Grandmas seems to be what most dishes are asking for by default.

[paulj]

Molasses comes in various strengths and degrees of sweetness. You have one of the milder and sweeter types. Unless the recipe calls for blackstrap, this is probably what the author has in mind.

I use it in gingerbread and pumpkin bread. It makes a great dip for pineapple chunks.

[sueatmo]

I use Grandma's molasses to make gingerbread. It does make very good gingerbread. It would certainly work for gingersnaps. If you make pecan pie, you could add a tablespoon to the light corn syrup generally called for in pecan pie recipes. The idea of using it a glaze for meat is very good. I'd add a touch of butter to the mustard and molasses.

[magiesmom]

gingerbread, yes!

[hippioflov]

1. Molasses whipped into a glass of milk, warm or cold. 2. Mix 2 parts molasses to 1 part yellow mustard and use to glaze a pork loin as you roast it. 3. Warm molasses drizzled over ice cream. 4. Throw some sliced apples and butter into a cast iron skillet and fry til apples are tender, then add a spoonful of molasses and stir to melt. For something really exotic sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. 5. Molasses is also yummy over pancakes. 6. Or make a "stack cake" and layer plate sized pancakes with molasses and a smear of apple sauce between each layer. My grandmother made this one in the fall. Messy, but yummy!

[wyogal]

LOVE Grandma's molasses! I like it for molasses cookies, big ones, crispy. Great with coffee. You can also use it with white sugar to replace brown sugar in recipes, the dark molasses can give it a deep flavor.