WordGarden.iomolasses
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /məlˈæsɪz/
US
- /məˈlæsəz/
Meanings
Noun
a thick dark sweet syrup made during sugar refining and used in cooking
Beyond the definition
Imagine a thick, dark syrup with a deep, rich sweetness: that's molasses. It is made during the process of turning sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. People often use it in baking and cooking, especially in foods like gingerbread, baked beans, and some sauces. If someone says something moves "like molasses," they mean it moves very slowly.
Molasses comes in different kinds, such as light, dark, and blackstrap. Each kind has its own strength of flavor. It is more than just a sweetener; it also gives food a dark color and a warm, strong taste that many traditional recipes depend on.
Molasses is a thick, dark syrup produced while sugar is being made from sugarcane or sugar beets. After the sugar crystals are removed, a dark liquid remains, and that liquid is molasses. It has a strong, rich flavor and has long been used in baking, cooking, and food production.
The kind of molasses depends on how much the juice has been boiled and processed. Light molasses is usually sweeter and milder, so it works well in cookies, cakes, and other baked goods. Dark molasses has a deeper, fuller flavor and is common in gingerbread, baked beans, and barbecue sauce. Blackstrap molasses is the darkest and least sweet type, with a more bitter taste and a thicker texture.
The word is also used in figurative language to suggest slowness. If traffic is moving "like molasses" or a process is "slow as molasses," it means things are moving very slowly. In everyday English, the word usually refers either to the syrup itself or to this idea of heavy, sticky slowness. So the word carries both a real taste from the kitchen and a vivid image for anything that seems painfully slow.
Examples
- 1
Baking
This gingerbread recipe calls for molasses instead of white sugar.
- 2
Flavor
A little molasses gives the sauce a richer color and flavor.
- 3
Figurative use
Traffic was moving as slow as molasses this morning.
- Phraseas slow as molasses
very slow
See also
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- molassesnoun