How to Cook with Blackstrap Molasses

Blackstrap molasses has a dark color, strong odor and very bitter taste. It results from the processing of natural sugar by boiling. Successive boilings of the sugar produce darker types of molasses: light from the first, cooking from the second and blackstrap from the third boiling, according to Recipe Tips. The darker the molasses, the less sweetness it contains. This makes blackstrap molasses a poor, too-bitter substitute for light molasses, according to Taste of Home. This iron- and calcium-containing syrup can still be used in other cooking applications which do not require sweetness.

Things You'll Need

• Blackstrap molasses
• Baking soda

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Instructions

• 1

  Prepare a batch of baked beans as usual and add 2 tbsps. blackstrap molasses to the beans as they cook.

• 2

  Add 2 tbsp. of blackstrap molasses to savory beef or pork stews or braising mixtures for roasts.

• 3

  Make pecan or shoofly pie with 2 tbsp. blackstrap molasses in addition to the other ingredients in the recipe.

• 4

  Balance out the acidity of blackstrap molasses by adding one part of baking soda for every 16 parts of blackstrap molasses, according to Recipe Tips. For instance, add 1 tbsp. of baking soda to every 1 cup of blackstrap molasses used in a recipe.

• 5

  Use blackstrap molasses in savory recipes to add depth of flavor and a slightly bitter, smoky taste rather than using it in dessert recipes.