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How to Measure Molasses

How to Measure Molasses Easily
Thick, sticky molasses can be a difficult ingredient to work with because it is so hard to measure. Molasses should be measured by volume in the same type of measuring cup that you might use for measuring water, milk or oil. It’s not that you can’t use a dry measuring cup to measure molasses, but that the pour spout on liquid measures makes it much easier to direct the flow of the syrup into your mixing bowl. Molasses tends to pour our slowly, especially once you get to the end of your pour, and anything that helps to channel the flow of the syrup will save you energy.

Molasses also likes to stick to the container that you’ve measured it in, leaving behind remnants in the container or on the spoon that can be tricky to get to. The best way to prevent molasses from sticking to the inside of your measuring cup is to coat it with vegetable oil or even with butter. A light spray of vegetable oil will encourage the molasses to slide right out. If you are making multiple batches of, say, gingerbread cookies for a holiday party, you might want to grease your cup with softened butter or even with a little bit of shortening. The solid fats will remain in place quite well for batch after batch of molasses, while the sprayed-on vegetable oil will need to be reapplied. Not having to clean or re-oil your measuring cup can be nice if you have a lot of baking to do.

Still, keep a spatula on hand for wiping out any bits of molasses that remain in your container. Losing a few drops to a slow pour isn’t a big deal and won’t throw off your recipe, but you don’t want to leave behind any more than you have to in the measuring cup.

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1 Comment
  • Steve
    December 21, 2016

    Another option for measuring molasses is to use a kitchen scale and measure by weight. You might want to use the scale with a volume measurement first to be sure you get a good weight calibration for your recipe. But once you have the amount by weight, you can place your bowl on the scale, tare it, and then carefully pour directly from the jar, eliminating the need to use a volumeteric measuring cup at all. No mess. No cleanup.

    I’ve converted a molasses-based swedish brown bread recipe (bread machine) to all weight except for the yeast. It makes prep really quick. Water, milk, flour, sugar, molasses, butter… all go into the pan by weight. Add the yeast and boom. Into the machine.

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