Treacle (/ˈtriːkəl/)[1] (British English) orBlackstrap Molasses (American English) is uncrystallisedsyrup made during the refining ofsugar.[2][3] The most common forms of treacle aregolden syrup, a pale variety, and black treacle, a darker variety similar tomolasses. Black treacle has a distinctively strong, slightly bitter flavour, and a richer colour than golden syrup.[4] Golden syrup treacle is a common sweetener and condiment inBritish cuisine, found in such dishes astreacle tart andtreacle sponge pudding.
Historically, theMiddle English termtreacle was used byherbalists andapothecaries to describe a medicine (also calledtheriac ortheriaca), composed of many ingredients, that was used as anantidote for poisons, snakebites, and various other ailments.[3]Triacle comes from theOld Frenchtriacle, in turn from (unattested and reconstructed)Vulgar Latin*triacula, which comes fromLatintheriaca,[5] thelatinisation of theGreekθηριακή (thēriakē), the feminine ofθηριακός (thēriakos), 'concerning venomous beasts',[6] which comes fromθηρίον (thērion), 'wild animal, beast'.[7][8]
Treacle is made from the syrup that remains after sugar isrefined. Raw sugars are first treated in a process calledaffination. When dissolved, the resulting liquor contains the minimum of dissolved non-sugars to be removed by treatment withactivated carbon orbone char. The dark-coloured washings[clarification needed] are treated separately, without carbon or bone char. They are boiled to grain (i.e. until sugar crystals precipitate out) in a vacuum pan, forming a low-grademasse cuite (boiled mass) which iscentrifuged, yielding a brown sugar and a liquid by-product—treacle.[9]
Black treacle naturally contains relatively high levels of sulphite (>100 ppm, expressed in sulphur dioxide equivalent). These levels are deemed safe for the majority of the population. However, some allergic and respiratory reactions have been reported particularly amongst asthmatics. As such, that the United States Food and Drug Administration requires that levels over 10ppm, i.e. >10 mg/kg, be declared on the ingredients label.[10]
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