Liquid Sweeteners Category

This tastes a bit like molasses, and it's not as sweet as sugar or honey. It's mostly used to make beer, but it's also used to make breads or other baked goods.

This is the British version of America's blackstrap molasses. It's common in Britain, but hard to find in the United States. Look for it in specialty markets. Don't confuse this with golden syrup, which is sometimes called light treacle.

This has a strong, bitter flavor, and it's not very sweet. It's sometimes used to make chili. Look for it in health food stores.

Health buffs like this because it contains complex sugars, which are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream. It's about half as sweet as ordinary table sugar. Some rice syrups include barley malt, and may pose a problem for people with gluten allergies.

Hawaiians like to pour this syrup on pancakes, but it's also used in several mixed drinks. To make your own: See the recipe for coconut syrup posted on kitchenmixes.com.

This is a thick, sweet syrup that's popular in America, but hard to find in other countries. Unlike other sweeteners, corn syrup doesn't crystallize and turn grainy when it's cold, so it's a good choice for frostings, fudge sauces, and candies. Baked goods made with corn syrup are moister and stay fresher longer than those made with sugar. There are two types: dark corn syrup is dark brown and has a slight molasses flavor, while light corn syrup is almost clear and has a more delicate flavor. The two can be used interchangeably in many recipes. Karo is a well-known brand. Store corn syrup at room temperature.

This corn syrup has a mild molasses flavor, and it's a common ingredient in barbecue sauce, pecan pie.

This is a Caribbean cane syrup that's delicately flavored and slightly alcoholic. It's sometimes used in rum-based cocktails.

These are often used to flavor Italian sodas or coffee. They come in dozens of flavors, but some of the most popular are vanilla, almond, raspberry, Irish cream, and hazelnut. Popular brands include d'Arbo, Monin, and Torani. To make your own: Make a simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, then add flavored extract to taste. Store in the refrigerator.

This amber-colored liquid sweetener is popular among British, Caribbean, and Creole cooks. It's made by evaporating sugar cane juice until it's thick and syrupy. Lyle's Golden Syrup and Steen's Pure Cane Syrup are popular brands.

Indians use this to make desserts and drinks.

Light corn syrup is used to make everything from candy to fake blood at Halloween.

Made from the sap of sugar maples, maple syrup is a traditional topping for pancakes, waffles, and French toast. It's also used to make candies, frostings, candied yams, meat glazes, and baked beans. Lighter syrups usually have a more delicate flavor. Refrigerate after opening. Don't confuse authentic maple syrup with the cheaper and more commonly used pancake syrup, which are based on corn syrup.

Sugar is made by extracting juice from sugar cane or sugar beets, boiling them, and then extracting the sugar crystals. Molasses is the thick, syrupy residue that's left behind in the vats. It has a sweet, distinctive flavor, and it's a traditional ingredient in such things as gingerbread, baked beans, rye bread, and shoofly pie. There are several different varieties: Unsulfured molasses is what you'll most often find in supermarkets. It's milder and sweeter than sulfured molasses. Sulfured molasses has sulfur dioxide added as a preservative. Light molasses = mild molasses = sweet molasses = Barbados molasses is taken from the first boiling. It's the sweetest and mildest, and is often used as a pancake syrup or a sweetener for beverages. Dark molasses = full molasses = full-flavored molasses is left behind after the juices are boiled a second time. It's less sweet but more flavorful than light molasses, and it's a good choice if a recipe simply calls for molasses. Sugar-beet molasses is very bitter and is mostly used as cattle feed or as a medium for growing yeast. When measuring molasses, grease the cup and utensils to keep molasses from sticking. If your molasses crystallizes while being stored, heat it gently to dissolve the crystals. After opening, you can store molasses in your cupboard.

This sweet almond-flavored syrup is used in many mixed drinks. Look for it in liquor stores. To make your own: See the Almond Syrup recipe on the ichef website.

To make your own: melt palm sugar, then strain.

This is the inexpensive version of maple syrup that Americans love to pour on pancakes and waffles. It's usually based on corn syrup, and flavored either with artificial flavoring or real maple syrup. To make your own: See the recipe for Mock Maple Syrup on RecipeSource.

This is a mixture of sugar and water that's brought to a boil and simmered for about five minutes so that the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes syrupy. When it cools, it's used to make mixed drinks, liqueurs, baked goods, sorbets, sauces, and many other things. The thickness of the syrup depends upon the ratio of sugar to water used. Many simple syrup recipes call for equal parts sugar and water. For a thinner syrup, combine two parts water with one part sugar. Rock candy syrup, a heavy syrup used to make some liqueurs and mixed drinks, is made with two parts sugar and one part water.

This is made from sorghum cane juice, and Southerners sometimes use it instead of molasses to make things like barbecue sauce, baked beans, and gingerbread. Look for it in health food stores.

Treacle is the British version of molasses, and it's a close substitute. Varieties include golden syrup=light treacle, which resemble light molasses, and dark treacle = black treacle, which is more similar to dark molasses.

To make your own: See the recipe for Violet Syrup on RecipeSource.