What’s the Difference Between Molasses, Treacle, and Golden Syrup?

There seems to be a lot of debate about the difference between molasses, treacle and a product called “golden syrup.” Apparently, this debate is not new but has been going on since the 1800’s. Nobody today seems to really know the difference, but many claim there is one.

Today, treacle seems to be a generic word for any syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane. However, in older texts, treacle is said to refer to the waste drained from the sugar molds after the sugar was removed from the molasses, or to a more clarified molasses product.

Treacle can range from light to dark but in common parlance, treacle usually refers to the light syrup that results from the first boiling, which is also called light treacle or golden syrup. However, golden syrup sometimes refers to a treacle that has been further refined by reboiling and filtration through charcoal.

There is also a version of this that was “invented” and sold by a Scotsman named Lyle Abam, a product still sold today. This has created some confusion about the origin of golden syrup. Lyle’s Golden Syrup has been sold since 1884 and, according to the label, is a “partially inverted refiner’s syrup.” Partial invert, also called medium invert, is refined cane sugar syrup that is only partially inverted so that it contains more sucrose. Such products typically contain 32.5-35.5% sucrose to 42.5-45.5% invert sugar. The additional sucrose gives the syrup a natural yellow color. This is not the same as light treacle or light molasses.

Much darker syrups resulting from a second boiling, are called either just treacle or dark treacle by the British, which Americans call molasses. The product of a third boiling is called Blackstrap by British and American folks alike.