February 8th is National Molasses Bar Day. How about whipping up a batch of chewy molasses bar cookies?

Before there were chocolate brownies, there were molasses bars. What exactly is molasses? See below for the types of molasses and the  “>history of molasses.

This recipe, from Grandma’s Molasses, ups the chewiness and nutrition by adding nuts and dried dates.

Walnuts are popular, and pistachios and dates are a classic Middle East combination, but you can use any nut you favor.

Don’t like dates? Substitute chocolate chips.

For a special dessert tonight, top a bar with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
 
 
RECIPE: DATE NUT MOLASSES BARS

Ingredients For 32 Bars

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F.

2. SIFT together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. COMBINE the egg, sugar, molasses, shortening, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, nuts, and dates.

4. LINE a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan with wax paper, greased and lightly floured. Pour in the batter and bake for 40 minutes or until done.

5. TURN out onto a cooling rack; remove the wax paper. When cool, cut into 32 bars. Store in an airtight container.
 
 
WHAT IS MOLASSES?

Molasses is a thick syrup produced as a by-product during the refining of sugar cane. Molasses is the residue that is left after the sugar crystals are extracted (i.e., molasses is produced when no more sugar may be economically crystallized by conventional means).

Molasses is predominantly sucrose, with some glucose and fructose. It is 65% as sweet as sugar. The better grades of molasses, such as New Orleans drip molasses and Barbados molasses, are unprocessed and contain more sucrose, making them lighter in color. They are used in cooking and confectionery and in the production of rum.

 
In addition to baking (baked beans, cakes, cookies, cornbread, doughnuts, gingerbread, mince pies, pumpkin pies, and the Pennsylvania Dutch shoofly pie), molasses is also used in:

 
 
THE HISTORY OF MOLASSES

Molasses, a byproduct of refining sugar cane juice, has was in use in India by 500 B.C.E. [source].

The word molasses comes from the Portuguese melaço, which derived from the late Latin mellacium must (referring to grape must), based on the Latin mel, honey.

In the 17th century, it was used in trade for slaves brought from Africa to the Caribbean. When sugar cane plantations were established in the Caribbean, much of the molasses was sold to New England, where distillers turned it into rum.

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere is said to have paused his famous ride in Medford, Massachusetts, at the house of Isaac Hall to warm himself with a slug or two of rum [source].

Before the Revolutionary War, it is estimated that colonists downed an average of four gallons of rum a year [source].

It warmed them in cold weather, and was safer than drinking water, which could come from tainted sources.

The other use for rum in the Colonies was baking: baked beans, cakes, cookies, cornbread, doughnuts, gingerbread, mince pies, pumpkin pies, and the Pennsylvania Dutch shoofly pie.

On the other side of the pond, in England, any candy made of molasses was called toffee, which later evolved into taffy. Molasses there is known as black treacle.

Colonial molasses makers were not competing successfully against the non-British colonies. The Molasses Act of 1733, an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, imposed a tax of six pence per gallon on imports of molasses, rum, and sugar from non-British colonies.

The act was created largely at the insistence of large plantation owners in the British West Indies—not for the purpose of raising revenue, but to regulate trade by making British products cheaper than those from the French West Indies. This created a practical monopoly of the North American sugar market for the British West Indies sugarcane growers [source].

By the 1830s, a bride’s popularity was measured by the number of layers of molasses stack cake guests brought her [source].

Molasses remained the most popular sweetener through the 19th century. Used to sweeten drinks as well as confections, molasses was also used to flavor meat, especially pork and ham (the concept evolved into modern barbecue sauce).

In addition to rum, molasses was used to create industrial alcohol for ammunition during World War I. Molasses used to be the most popular sweetener in the U.S., but after World War I, it was replaced by refined sugar, as a cheaper alternative.

Another notable event in U.S. molasses history was the Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, on January 15, 1919.

A 50-foot-tall steel vat of molasses, weighing approximately 13,000 short tons (12,000 tons), burst in Boston’s North End, sending a tidal wave of more than 2 million gallons of molasses into Boston’s North End.

The wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph, killing 21 people and injuring 150. It also resulted in $1 million in property damages ($16 million today). Clean-up took months, and for decades afterward, residents claimed that the area smelled of molasses on hot summer days [source].

Fortunately, there’s been no molasses excitement since then. Cooks continue to use molasses in much the same way it was used in Colonial times,
Today, you may come across sweet fruit syrups called molasses.

Pomegranate molasses, also known as robb-e anâr and nar ekshisi, is a Persian syrup consisting of concentrated pomegranate juice flavored with sugar and lemon juice. It is usually used in fish and meat dishes.

Similarly, you can find grape molasses, known as petimezi in Greece and pekmez in Turkey.

Cherry molasses is popular in Turkish cuisine. Here’s a recipe.

Sour plum (and other sour fruit) molasses is a staple in Northern Iranian cooking. Here’s a recipe.

No matter what type of molasses appeals to you, make something with it that’s new for you. There’s no better reason than expanding your culinary horizons.

[1] Date, nut and molasses bars (photo © Grandma’s Molasses.

[2] This recipe makes a smoother bar, more like a brownie (photo © All Recipes).

[3] Grandma’s Molasses is the brand in our cupboard. Check out all the recipes you can make with molasses (photo © Grandma’s Molasses).

[4] Molasses is a must to flavor baked beans. Here’s a recipe (photo © Melissa’s).

[5] Molasses is a key ingredient in gingerbread and gingersnaps (photo © Sur La Table).

[5] Pumpkin and molasses are a natural combination, whether pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, muffins, and more (photo © Good Eggs).

[6] American barbecue sauces invariably are sweetened with molasses (photo by Hannah Kaminsky | © The Nibble).

[7] Artisan rye breads use molasses (photo © Rising Above Bakery).

[8] Porter and stout, the darkest beers, are brewed with molasses (photo © American Craft Beer).

Our tip today includes three beet recipes: a hot side dish, a first-course salad and a beet-and-quinoa side.

The first recipes is from Williams-Sonoma. It’s adapted from the cookbook Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Vegetables, by Jodi Liano.

Beets and fresh goat cheese, garnished with fresh herbs, are one of our favorite ways to enjoy beets. Orange—juice, zest or both—is a wonderful complement. In this recipe, the ingredients combine in a most delicious way. Enjoy it as a side dish with any protein, or on a vegetarian plate with barley, brown rice, quinoa or other whole grain.

RECIPE: ROASTED BEETS WITH ORANGE &
GOAT CHEESE

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F.

2. FINELY GRATE the zest from the orange and set aside. Halve the orange and place one half in a baking dish just large enough to hold it and the beets in a single layer. Add the beets and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the garlic cloves, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and toss well. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast until the beets are tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 45 minutes.

Top: Beet and goat cheese salad from Williams-Sonoma. Bottom: Beet, orange and red onion salad from Chef Ingrid Hoffmann.

4. REMOVE the beets from the oven and let cool. Using the dull side of a paring knife, gently scrape off the beet skins, then cut the beets into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the slices on a platter. Reserve the cooking liquid.

5. LINE a strainer with a damp paper towel and place over a bowl. Pour the cooking liquid through the strainer and squeeze the roasted orange half to release any juice. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice from the remaining orange half to make a dressing. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Let the dressing cool to room temperature.

6. DRIZZLE the beets lightly with the dressing, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Top the beets with small spoonfuls of the herbed goat cheese, garnish with the orange zest and serve immediately.

Anchovies with beets? Who’d have thought? It’s an unusual but delightful pairing of beets and anchovies. Top Photo courtesy Vital Choice; bottom photo courtesy Love Beets.

BEET SALAD, A FIRST COURSE

From Love Beets, producers of ready-to-eat vacuum-packed beets, comes this seemingly unusual combination of beets and smoked anchovies. If you and your Valentine are anchovy fans, serve this salad as a first course.

While there are no greens in this recipe, we served it on a bed of sliced endive and radicchio to make it more of a traditional salad. (We were looking for frisée instead of the endive/radicchio, but the store didn’t have it.)

RECIPE: MARK HIX’S BEET SALAD WITH
SMOKED ANCHOVIES
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Dressing

Preparation

1. CUT the beets into ¼-inch slices and arrange them on plates or on a serving dish.

2. MAKE the dressing, combining the ingredients. Spoon the dressing over the beets. Arrange the anchovies on top of the dressed beets and serve.
 
RECIPE: QUINOA AND ROASTED BEET SALAD

Here’s another warm side dish that combines beets with one of today’s trending ingredients, quinoa. It’s from Alter Eco Royal Pearl Quinoa. It uses the beet greens, too: a delicious green that should never be discarded!

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SCRUB and roast the beets. Once they are cooled, remove the skins and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Set aside.

2. BLANCH the greens in a large pot of generously salted water or steam them above an inch of boiling water until wilted, one to two minutes. Refresh with cold water, squeeze dry and chop.

3. HEAT the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the caraway, beet greens and salt and pepper to taste. Stir over medium heat for 30 seconds to a minute until the greens are nicely infused with the garlic and oil.

4. ADD the beets and quinoa. Toss together until the ingredients are well combined and the quinoa is heated through and colored with beet juice. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Transfer to a wide serving bowl or platter, and sprinkle the goat cheese over the top.
 
Is your heart beeting in anticipation?

National Pisco Sour Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in February. Pisco is Peru’s national spirit and the Pisco Sour its national cocktail.

But we don’t drink nearly enough pisco in the U.S. To remedy the situation, celebrate National Pisco Sour Day, this year on February 7th.

A versatile and mixable spirit, pisco is a brandy distilled from grapes. The oldest distillery in the Americas, Hacienda la Caravedo, was established in 1684 in Ica, Peru and now used by Pisco Portón, the most awarded pisco in the world. The spirit may be named after the Peruvian town of Pisco.

Here’s a recipe for the most popular pisco drink, a Pisco Sour, from Pisco Portón.

It is believed that the Pisco Sour was invented in at Morris’ Bar in Lima the 1920s, by its American owner, Victor Morris. The recipe was perfected by Mario Bruguet, who added the egg whites to make the velvety cocktail we enjoy today.

RECIPE: PORTÓN PISCO SOUR

Ingredients For 1 Cocktail

1. PLACE all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high for 15 seconds, add 5 cubes of ice, and then pulse in the blender 5 times.

2. STRAIN into a glass. Garnish with 3 drops of Angostura bitters.

Delicious toffee made with cashews instead of conventional almonds. Photo courtesy Red
Rocker Candy.

Red Rocker Candy, of Troy, Virginia, makes one of our favorite toffees: Cashew Toffee with White Chocolate. Every batch is hand-made using only the finest ingredients: pure butter, the best nuts money can buy and fine chocolate couverture.

The result is just the way we like it: oh so buttery, with the different twists of roasted cashew instead of almonds, and white chocolate (although dark chocolate and milk chocolate versions are available).

The toffee is a best-seller year-round; but in its bright red packaging, it makes a delicious Valentine gift.

 
Get yours at Red Rocker Candy.com.

And get some for your Valentine, too.

For a sophisticated Valentine cocktail that isn’t overly pink or laden with rose petals, we like this from Tequila Herradura . Herradura used its Silver Tequila to make the drink.

RECIPE: POMEGRANATE REFRESHER

Ingredients Per Drink

Preparation

1. PLACE all ingredients except the soda into a high ball glass filled with ice.

3. GARNISH with the mint sprig or strawberry and serve.