Treacle

Treacle (/ˈtriːkəl/)^[1] is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar.^[2]^[3] The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and black treacle, a darker variety similar to molasses. 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 in British cuisine, found in such dishes as treacle tart and treacle sponge pudding.

Etymology

Historically, the Middle English term treacle was used by herbalists and apothecaries to describe a medicine (also called theriac or theriaca), composed of many ingredients, that was used as an antidote for poisons, snakebites, and various other ailments.^[3] Triacle comes from the Old French triacle, in turn from (unattested and reconstructed) Vulgar Latin *triacula, which comes from Latin theriaca,^[5] the latinisation of the Greek θηριακή (thēriakē), the feminine of θηριακός (thēriakos), 'concerning venomous beasts',^[6] which comes from θηρίον (thērion), 'wild animal, beast'.^[7]^[8]

Production

Treacle is made from the syrup that remains after sugar is refined. Raw sugars are first treated in a process called affination. When dissolved, the resulting liquor contains the minimum of dissolved non-sugars to be removed by treatment with activated carbon or bone 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-grade masse cuite (boiled mass) which is centrifuged, yielding a brown sugar and a liquid by-product—treacle.^[9]

Black treacle naturally contains relatively high levels of sulphite (>100ppm, 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. >10mg/kg, be declared on the ingredients label.^[10]

References

Citations

^ "treacle, n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^ "Treacle Origins and Uses at www.recipes4us.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
^ ^a ^b Oxford Dictionary ISBN 978-1-85152-101-2
^ "Definition of TREACLE". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
^ theriacus Archived 2020-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus
^ θηριακός Archived 2020-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus
^ θηρίον Archived 2021-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus
^ "Treacle". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015.
^ Heriot p 392
^ Bindu Nair and Amy R. Elmore, Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Sodium Sulfite, Potassium Sulfite, Ammonium Sulfite, Sodium Bisulfite, Ammonium Bisulfite, Sodium Metabisulfite and Potassium Metabisulfite, International Journal of Toxicology 22(Suppl. 2):63–88, 2003, page 67, [1] Archived 2022-05-17 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

Heriot, Thomas Hawkins Percy (1920). The manufacture of sugar from the cane and beet. London: Longmans, Green and co.

External links

"Treacle" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). 1911.
Old 'Recipes4us' page "Treacle Origin" Archived 2018-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
CSR Sugar company of Australia – Treacle
Sugar Australia website – refiner and marketer for CSR limited.

[1] "treacle, n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[2] "Treacle Origins and Uses at www.recipes4us.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2008-03-31.

[OED-3] Oxford Dictionary ISBN 978-1-85152-101-2

[4] "Definition of TREACLE". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2010-10-12.

[5] theriacus Archived 2020-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus

[6] θηριακός Archived 2020-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus

[7] θηρίον Archived 2021-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus

[8] "Treacle". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015.

[9] Heriot p 392

[10] Bindu Nair and Amy R. Elmore, Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Sodium Sulfite, Potassium Sulfite, Ammonium Sulfite, Sodium Bisulfite, Ammonium Bisulfite, Sodium Metabisulfite and Potassium Metabisulfite, International Journal of Toxicology 22(Suppl. 2):63–88, 2003, page 67, [1] Archived 2022-05-17 at the Wayback Machine

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