Molasses more sticky than I thought.

Who would have thunk the subject of molasses would be so sticky to unravel.

My first problem is the recipes.  One calls for "fine" molasses.  Another asks for "good" molasses.  Yet another requires "Porto Rico" (their spelling, not mine) molasses.  I wasn't prepared to have to figure out differences in molasses, so off to another search on Google . . .

Okay.  According to what I've found, "good" and "fine" are not grades of molasses.  Molasses is made during three different processings.  There is first-process, second-process, and third-process.  During each processing cycle, more sugar is removed, so the product becomes more bitter.  The first-process molasses is also called light.  The second-process is also referred to as medium or dark.  The third-process molasses is known in the United States as bootstrap molasses.  There is also something British called treacle, a refined molasses from the Victorian era which is sweeter and more mellow in flavor than molasses.  Sorghum is a syrup made from grains rather than grass, so it is technically not molasses.  Taking all of this into account, I am going to define "good" and "fine" as the higher grades.  Therefore, I wanted a first-process (fine) or second-process (good).  Sooner or later, I will work with treacle, if I can find it.

Something I did not know about molasses, though.  Although all its calories come from carbs, like sugar, molasses is nutritious.  It is high in minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, selenium, and copper.  All the metals a growing steampunk needs.  It also contains uridine, which has been scientifically shown to help fight depression.  Throughout history, molasses has been used to cure everything from arthritis to gray hair.  Suddenly, molasses candy is sounding very appealing.


Next, I had to figure out which brands are which process.  Grandma's Molasses comes in two types:  Original and Robust.  Their website says Original is pure cane juice.  This means it is really not a molasses at all.  Robust is a blend of first-process molasses.  The only other brand I can find in the U.S. is Brer Rabbit.  They have mild (first-process), full (second-process), and bootstrap.  Amazon has 337 listings for molasses, including 5-gallon buckets and molasses dog biscuits.

So, off to the grocery store I went in search of molasses.  My local big-box grocer is King Soopers (owned by Kroeger).  They had a 12 fl. oz. jar of Grandma's Original for $3.99.  I felt that was too expensive, so I checked the Dollar Tree.  They did not have any molasses.  I next checked the Mexican supermarket, Rancho Liborio.  They did not have any molasses.  I checked the Safeway, they had Grandma's for $3.99 and Brer Rabbit for $3.59.  I was still not tempted to buy at those prices.  My next stop was WalMart.  They had the Grandma's Original for only $2.50 a jar.  This is the first thing I have found at WalMart that actually made it worth the travel time.

I am now in possession of all the ingredients to make molasses candy.  However, it will probably be a few weeks before I make the recipe.  I am still looking for a good heavy-bottom kettle, and I have to try to get my apartment a little cooler.  According to what I have read, the temperature has to be 68F with a humidity under 40% to make candy.  Therefore, my next step is to find an inexpensive way to cool my apartment.