What is treacle?

The word treacle refers to any uncrystallised syrup produced during the refining of sugar. One example is golden syrup, while the darker variety is known as black treacle (or molasses, in the United States).If you’ve got a tin of treacle sitting in your cupboard for nobody knows how long, here are a few ways to use it up:

  1. Adding 1-2 tsp of treacle to your brown bread mixture will make your bread moist and add a toasty, caramelised flavour.
  2. Treacle can be used to make a sticky, sweet glaze for baked ham.
  3. Add a few tablespoons to a barbecue sauce destined for pulled pork or slow-cooked beef.
  4. Try using treacle in place of golden syrup when making flapjacks; it will give a more intense flavour when baked.
  5. A sticky treacle pudding is the perfect wintertime dessert with a scoop of ice cream.
  6. Ginger and treacle go well together, so try using some treacle in a ginger cake.
  7. Surprisingly, treacle can also add a fantastic depth of flavour to stews, casseroles or chilli con carne!