Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy - Wonderful Desserts

Photo of shoo fly pie by m-e-c on flickr.

Molasses is usually made from sugar cane, although it can also be made from beets.  Molasses made from beets is usually added to animal feed.

To make molasses, the sugar cane juice has to be separated from the pulp.  Then the sugar (sucrose) is extracted from the juice by heating and spinning the juice in a centrifuge.  

After the sugar has been extracted, there's still some syrup left and that syrup is molasses. This is called light or first molasses and has the mildest taste.

If the molasses syrup is processed further, more sucrose can be extracted.  This second extraction of sucrose can then be manufactured into table sugar.  After this second processing, the syrup left over is concentrated even more and becomes darker.  This dark or second molasses is what is usually sold in grocery stores.  

Second molasses can still be further processed and this third round is called blackstrap molasses.  It is the thickest and darkest molasses.  If you can't find this type molasses in grocery stores, you may have to look in health or natural food stores.  Blackstrap molasses is full of minerals:  iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, copper, manganese, and selenium.  Blackstrap molasses has a strong bitter flavor and shouldn't be used in baking.  Photo of molasses on spoon from wikipedia.

SULPHURED AND UNSULPHURED MOLASSES

Molasses with the highest sugar content is made from ripe, mature sugar cane.  If sugar cane is harvested before it is mature, the resulting molasses has a lower sugar content.  Sulphur dioxide is then added as a preservative and to help prevent it from spoiling.

All three grades of molasses; light, dark and blackstrap are available sulphured or unsulphured.  Sulphur dioxide in molasses doesn't make any difference in cooking or baking and is considered safe for most people.  But some people are allergic to sulfites and can have serious reactions when exposed to sulphur dioxide.  These people should only use unsulphured molasses.  

Photo of bottle of molasses on wikipedia

Pennsylvania Dutch Immigrants

The Pennsylvania Dutch are descendants of German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. Among the immigrants were the Mennonites and the Amish who came because they heard that Pennsylvania tolerated all religions. The first large group arrived around 1710 and settled near Lancaster County.

The word "Deutsche" means German. Other settlers who didn't speaker German probably mispronounced the word "Deutsche" as "Dutch" and the immigrants became known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch".

Pennsylvania Dutch Food 

The traditional dishes of the Pennsylvania Dutch are simple, using lots of fresh produce and ingredients that are not heavily processed. Early settlers improvised and used what was available in their new country.  

A lot of their food is not particularly healthy due to the heavy use of fatty meat, butter and lard, and sugar and molasses.  But the traditional meals fill you up and are economical.  If you're heatlh-conscious, eat Pennsylvania Dutch food in moderation. 

Some of the foods originating with the Pennsylvania Dutch are:

~ Birch Beer and Root Beer

~ Apple Butter

~ Beef or Venison Jerky

~ Gingerbread and Ginger Snaps

~ Pork and Sauerkraut

~ Pretzels

~ Angel Food Cake and Funnel Cakes

~ Apple Dumplings

~ Shoo-Fly Pie and Whoopie Pies

Photo of Amish in Buggy on Wikipedia