Blackstrap Molasses
History:
Molasses has been imported into the United States from the Caribbean Islands  since the time of the early colonists. In fact, it was the most popular  sweetener used until the late 19th century since it was much more affordable  than refined sugar, which was very expensive at that time.
In some respects, molasses has had a rather sticky history with at least two  important historical events centering around this sweet food product. The first  is the Molasses Act of 1733, a tariff passed by England to try to discourage the  colonists from trading with areas of the West Indies that were not under British  rule. This legislation is thought to be one of the events that catalyzed  pre-revolutionary colonial dissent and unrest.
It is not often that a fateful tragedy occurs that centers around a food, but  unfortunately, in 1919, one such event did occur. The event is referred to as  the Great Molasses Flood and occurred when a molasses storage tank holding over  two million gallons of molasses broke, and its sticky content came pouring  throughout the city streets of Boston, Massachussetts, traveling as fast as 35  miles per hour and creating a thirty foot tidal wave of sweetener.  Unfortunately, this was not a sweet matter as twenty-one people died and  significant amounts of property was destroyed.
Blackstrap molasses gained in popularity in the mid-20th century with the  advent of the health food movement. Today, the   largest producers of molasses are  India, Brazil, Taiwan, Thailand, the Phillipines and the United  States.
The truth behind the phrase "slow as molasses" becomes apparent when you  reflect on molasses's thick, viscous, syrupy texture. Featuring a robust  bittersweet flavor, blackstrap molasses helps create the distinctive taste of  dishes such as baked beans and gingerbread. Blackstrap molasses is very dark in  color, having a black-brown hue.
Blackstrap molasses is just one type of molasses, the dark liquid that is the  byproduct of the process of refining sugar cane into table sugar. Blackstrap  molasses is made from the third boiling of the sugar syrup and is therefore the  concentrated byproduct left over after the sugar's sucrose has been  crystallized.
Blackstrap molasses is a sweetener that is actually good for you. Unlike  refined white sugar and corn syrup, which are stripped of virtually all  nutrients except simple carbohydrates, or artificial sweeteners like saccharine  or aspartame, which not only provide no useful nutrients but have been shown to  cause health problems in sensitive individuals, blackstrap molasses is a  healthful sweetener that contains significant amounts of a variety of minerals that promote your health.
Iron for energy:
A spoonful of Blackstrap Molasses helps your Calcium needs go down. A energizing, mineral-dense sweetener.
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