If you didn't grow up in England or one of its former colonies, you may not be familiar with a staple of the British kitchen: golden syrup. The rich, flavorful syrup is found in most pantries and on kitchen counters throughout the United Kingdom, usually in a green and gold tin marked Lyle's, which is the original—and still best-known—brand.
The company's founder, a Scottish businessman named Abram Lyle, owned a sugar refinery in London in the late 19th century. The syrup was a byproduct of the refining process, and Lyle first brought it to market as "Goldie" in the 1880s. As demand grew, he started selling the syrup in those familiar tins, with a lion figuring prominently on the label. Though the lion appears to be sleeping, it's actually dead, with bees swarming above its body. The company's motto ("Out of the strong came forth sweetness") is printed below the lion, as a reference to the biblical story of Samson, in which bees make honey from the carcass of a lion. (Lyle was a deeply religious man.) Though the syrup has been sold the world over since those early days, the design of the tins remains the same as when Lyle first created it.
What Does Golden Syrup Taste Like and How Is It Used?
Golden syrup is thick and amber-colored, with a flavor that's distinct from other sweeteners like honey and corn syrup. (The former has a more pronounced flavor and the latter is so mild as to be almost flavorless, unless you count pure sweetness as a flavor.) Fans of golden syrup describe it as much more rich and satisfying, uniquely buttery and caramel-like. Golden syrup is an essential ingredient in many British desserts, especially cookies like brandy snaps and Australian Anzac Biscuits, as well as gingerbreads, steamed sponge cakes and puddings, baked tarts, and toffees.
The syrup is also crucial to the flavor of British flapjacks, a type of baked oat bar cookie that bears no resemblance to American pancakes—though a drizzle of Lyle's makes a very nice topping for those, too. Similarly, it's delicious stirred into oatmeal or yogurt with fresh or dried fruit, or in place of simple syrup in co*cktails. Also known as light treacle, golden syrup makes its way into recipes with treacle in the title, like this Blood Orange Treacle Pudding. It's not to be confused with treacle, however, which is closer to molasses or dark corn syrup in its consistency, though it doesn't quite have the same flavor.
What Can You Use in Place of Golden Syrup?
In her cookbook, A Girl and Her Pig($22.99, amazon.com), British chef April Bloomfield says, "There's no real substitute for golden syrup, but if you can't lay hands on any, you can substitute two parts light corn syrup and one part molasses." There was a time when a can of golden syrup was hard to come by in the United States, and recipes for British favorites were adapted to include corn syrup or honey in its place. Now that golden syrup is easy to find in larger American supermarkets, specialty grocers, and online, you can always use it in place of the corn syrup and molasses called for in such recipes. Who knows? You may even come to prefer it in American recipes, too.
In the U.S., golden syrup is usually sold under the name of light treacle, but it's not readily available in many grocery stores. In cooking recipes, molasses and light treacle are often used interchangeably because their textures and flavor profiles are similar.
Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts.
Golden syrup is made from cane sugar or sugar beet. It's produced by further processing one of the by-products of the sugar refining process. It's often found in baked goods and desserts. Despite being made from grapes this still has a high sugar content, so isn't much healthier than regular table sugar.
Golden syrup is made up of sugar and water. Therefore, it is in no comparison healthier than honey. However, honey is a natural sweetener with nutrients, whereas golden syrup is empty calories. Therefore, honey is more nutritious than golden syrup.
According to The Nibble, making golden syrup involves a partial inversion of sugar. During the inversion process, sugar's glucose and fructose elements are separated, creating a liquid known as invert sugar that has equal amounts of glucose and fructose and tastes sweeter than white sugar (via the Sugar Association).
However, unlike varieties of brown sugars that have slight nutritional benefits over white sugar, golden syrup has no dietary advantage; there is no real difference nutritionally.
Once open, commercial golden syrup lasts around three to six months, as long as it's sealed properly and is kept out of direct sunlight. I does not need to be refrigerated, and if it is kept in the cooler it may crystalize and/or loose viscosity.
According to the company's website, Lyle had strong religious views, which is why the logo depicts the story of Samson from the Old Testament, in which Samson killed an attacking lion, and later noticed a swarm of bees had formed a comb of honey in the carcass.
Molasses. Black treacle is often the British counterpart to North America's molasses. The two are similar in color and viscosity and used in the same way.
Similarly, it's delicious stirred into oatmeal or yogurt with fresh or dried fruit, or in place of simple syrup in co*cktails. Also known as light treacle, golden syrup makes its way into recipes with treacle in the title, like this Blood Orange Treacle Pudding.
Treacle (/ˈtriːkəl/) is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar. The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and black treacle, a darker variety similar to molasses.
In the U.S., golden syrup is usually sold under the name of light treacle, but it's not readily available in many grocery stores. In cooking recipes, molasses and light treacle are often used interchangeably because their textures and flavor profiles are similar.
The fructose content gives a heightened perception of sweetness so that, when used as a sweetening agent, about 25% less golden syrup can be used than granulated white sugar.
It also contains more sucrose than maple syrup and, as a result, has a sweeter flavour. Left: sugar cane. Right: sugar beet. Unlike maple syrup, golden syrup is produced from sugar.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/lyle-golden-syrup-tin-0421-43bbad843bd5410d8081bca23678fa88.jpg "This Is Why the Brits Love Golden Syrup So Much—and Why You Will, Too! (1)")
