Old-fashioned molasses a good source of iron for your body

One day last week when I was looking for some rice vinegar and sesame oil on the turn-table in my corner kitchen pantry, I came across a bottle of molasses I had bought a couple years earlier for a recipe I no longer even remember. This got me to thinking maybe I should read up a little on molasses and find some good recipes that use it.

Table-grade molasses contains about 60 percent sugar, is economical and can be used on cereal, baked apples, stewed fruit, peanut butter, baked ham and even bread and butter.

What is molasses?

Molasses is that portion of the sugar cane juice resulting from the extraction of some of the sugar (or sucrose). It is the cane juice that has been concentrated by boiling, with a portion of the sugar removed.

Its vitamin and mineral contents are about 60 times greater than they are in the same quantity of cane juice itself. The more sugar extracted, the more highly concentrated becomes the mineral and vitamin content of the molasses.

Molasses is not a residue from the manufacture of sugar, but it is a part of the product itself, and it happens to contain all the minerals and vitamins. Sugar cane juice contains a large percentage of sugar that may not be profitably extracted. Molasses, therefore, contains a good portion of sugar originally found in the cane juice.

Grades of molasses

There are four grades or types of molasses. The grade or type is designated by the percentage of sugar taken out of it. First Molasses is cane juice boiled down with a portion of the crystallized sugar removed from it. Second Molasses is First Molasses diluted with cane juice and reworked for a second extraction of sugar. Third Molasses is Second Molasses diluted with water and reworked for the extraction of additional sugar. Fourth Molasses (sometimes known as blackstrap) is that from which all the sugar that can profitably be extracted has been taken out. Even so, this molasses still contains a good portion of the total sugars in the cane juice, and since it is more concentrated, it is richer in vitamins and minerals.

Good supply of iron

Molasses is not recommended as part of a balanced diet, but it would take a long time for a person to starve to death who ate it exclusively, because it contains, in addition to a good supply of iron, calcium and carbohydrates, a trace of protein, fat and amino acids. It is evident that good, old-fashioned molasses is one of the best foods for supplying iron to the body. Spinach contains about one-third the iron found in molasses. The available iron in molasses is more than 12 times the amount one gets in an equal amount of spinach.

The following original recipes, from sources unknown and almost 75 years old, show the many ways in which molasses can be used to add iron, calcium and other minerals to the diet.

Molasses Cream Pie

1 envelope plain gelatin

2-1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp. salt

2/3 cup molasses

3 eggs, separated

1 baked 9-inch pie shell

6 Tbsps. sugar

1/4 cup shredded coconut

Soak gelatin in 1/4-cup milk. Scald the remaining milk in the top of a double boiler over boiling water. Beat together flour, salt and molasses; add to scalded milk and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Beat egg yolks; add a little of hot mixture, pour into double boiler, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add softened gelatin and stir until dissolved.

Chill until mixture begins to set. Pour into cold baked pastry shell and top with meringue made by beating salted egg whites until stiff but not dry, beating in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; flavor meringue with vanilla or lemon extract, if desired. Sprinkle meringue-topped pie with coconut.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, until browned. Chill thoroughly before serving. Makes 6-8 servings.

Louisiana Rice Pudding

4 cups milk

1/4 cup Molasses

1/2 cup washed rice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup raisins

1 Tbsp. butter

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well. Bake in a slow oven (275-300 degrees) for 2-1/2 hours, stirring four times (every 15 minutes the first hour) and add one tablespoon of butter in the fourth stirring. Makes 6 servings.

Louisiana Pecan Pie

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

3/4 cup molasses

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup pecan meats, sliced

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry dough (or use a prepared store-bought pie shell). In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, molasses and lemon juice and beat using a rotary mixer. Add pecan meats and pour into pastry shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, and then decrease heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until done.

Apple Molasses Bake

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 can apple pie filling

1/3 cup molasses

2 Tbsps. butter

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 cup cookie crumbs (your choice)

Pour the apple filling into an 8x8 baking dish. Mix molasses, lemon juice and rind together; pour over apples. Dot with one tablespoon butter. Mix crumbs, flour, salt and nutmeg with sugar and spread over apple mixture. Cover baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serve hot or cold with some slightly melted ice cream over it. Makes 4 servings.

Norm Harding is a cooking columnist for the Beacon. To send him recipes, e-mail him at nharding@brunswickbeacon.com.