Just got started reading up on this, so I don't know my 'A' from my elbow but I was/am interested in making some Belgian candy and how to get the different flavors out of it, but this is not the point of this post.
What I ended up learning is that Belgian syrup is the byproduct of Beet sugar refinement. I also read somewhere that the monks in days past didn't care where the sugar came from, they got what they could get at the time of getting the sugar, so it stands to reason that they also acquired Cane sugar too.
Once Beet & Cane is processed I read sugar is sugar, so fair enough.
Where I am going with this is that (again) I read that "true" Belgian syrup such as D2 is the byproduct of the sugar refinement. This led me to find that Molasses is also the byproduct of sugar refinement and so is Treacle. Where by Belgian Syrup is Belgian, Molasses is American and Treacle is English. But basically all the same thing. From what I understand is that Treacle is Molasses just taken at a later stage in the refinement process, so it is more bitter.
So where do all 3 stand in comparison to each other in the process of sugar refinement? Am I even on the right track, I found a lot of different opinions on what Belgian Candy is, whether it is just caramelized sugar if you don't use DAP or you need DAP to do it "right" for the maillard reaction but then if your using refined sugar you don't get Belgian anything only something close because you need to start with the raw ingredient to get the impurities of that sugar to get the complex flavors and so on...
This all leads me to believe that Belgian Syrup, Molasses and Treacle are all the same thing, maybe only taken at different stages of refinement and depending on the sugar source, Beet or Cane. But since beet and cane are both used interchangeably thru history, which is which and what is what or does it really even matter?
What I ended up learning is that Belgian syrup is the byproduct of Beet sugar refinement. I also read somewhere that the monks in days past didn't care where the sugar came from, they got what they could get at the time of getting the sugar, so it stands to reason that they also acquired Cane sugar too.
Once Beet & Cane is processed I read sugar is sugar, so fair enough.
Where I am going with this is that (again) I read that "true" Belgian syrup such as D2 is the byproduct of the sugar refinement. This led me to find that Molasses is also the byproduct of sugar refinement and so is Treacle. Where by Belgian Syrup is Belgian, Molasses is American and Treacle is English. But basically all the same thing. From what I understand is that Treacle is Molasses just taken at a later stage in the refinement process, so it is more bitter.
So where do all 3 stand in comparison to each other in the process of sugar refinement? Am I even on the right track, I found a lot of different opinions on what Belgian Candy is, whether it is just caramelized sugar if you don't use DAP or you need DAP to do it "right" for the maillard reaction but then if your using refined sugar you don't get Belgian anything only something close because you need to start with the raw ingredient to get the impurities of that sugar to get the complex flavors and so on...
This all leads me to believe that Belgian Syrup, Molasses and Treacle are all the same thing, maybe only taken at different stages of refinement and depending on the sugar source, Beet or Cane. But since beet and cane are both used interchangeably thru history, which is which and what is what or does it really even matter?
