Lyle's Black Treacle 454g

Product Information

The OED further comments on “London treacle”: London Treacle… This seems to have been designed as a Succedaneum [substitute] for the Mithridate, or Venice Treacle, and is that which the Country Apothecaries sell the Farriers under the general Name of Treacle, which many of the latter distinguish from the common Molossus-Treacle, by calling it, The Doctor’s, or the Apothecaries Treacle.” Liquid Sugars. Sugar Australia. Accessed August 2020 at https://www.sugaraustralia.com.au/sugar-australia/products/industrial-products/liquid-sugars/

But by 1725, it appears to have also been common to use the world treacle to mean the sweet syrup that it does today. Here are directions on using treacle in brewing. Note the writer conflates the term treacle with molasses:Add in the next round of sugar (500 g/1.1 lb), as well as the cup of boiling water. Fizzing and bubbling may occur. Dark sugars also may solidify. There’s no such thing!’ Alice was beginning very angrily, but the Hatter and the March Hare went ‘Sh! Sh!’ and the Dormouse sulkily remarked, ‘If you can’t be civil, you’d better finish the story for yourself’. The day that the King went to the laboratory at Versailles, to see the drugs that were made use of in the composition of (Venice) treacle, M. Pier, his chief apothecary made this speech to him: What did they live on?’ said Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking.

Sugar Kitchen: Your complete usage guide for CSR Sugars and Syrups. Accessed August 2020 at https://csrsugarkitchen.com.au/content/uploads/CSR-SUGAR-KITCHEN-USAGE-GUIDE.pdf Once upon a time there were three little sisters’, the Dormouse began in a great hurry; ‘ and their names were Elsie, Lacie and Tillie; and they lived at the bottom of a well. At St. Margaret’s Church, in Binsey, near Oxford, there is a famous “treacle well”, whose water was thought to have healing properties, and thus it was known as a treacle well. Googling on “treacle explode”, it appears that explosions of the expired tins, while rare, are not entirely uncommon either. Here’s one food blogger’s experience:Return to heat. Gently stir and heat until all sugars are dissolved and liquidy. Simmer gently for 35 to 40 minutes. Pour into a 900g (2lb) loaf tin (lined, or greased and the base lined with parchment). Bake on the middle shelf for 30 minutes, then cover with a sheet of foil to stop it from over-browning and cook for a further 30 minutes. The gingerbread is ready when well risen, it feels springy and when a fine skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

It’s interesting to ponder whether the exploding issue might be related to the Lyle’s brand being sold in tins. W hile the Lyle’s brand is shipped in tins, the CSR brand is shipped in a plastic bottle, with a screw-on plastic cap. This might make the CSR brand more likely to let off any pressure building up in storage gradually. Heating tins of treacle O’Connell, Sanjida. Sugar: The Grass that Changed the World. London: Virgin Books Ltd. 2012. Ebook. In bed with Jane. Blog entry, 13 January 2009. http://www.calamityshazaaminthekitchen.com/2009/01/in-bed-with-jane.html

Pour this mixture into the flour, followed by the egg and milk and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon - you are looking to make a smooth batter. Rare treat ... Jeremy Lee’s beremeal treacle soda bread with smoked salmon. Photograph: Patricia Niven/The Observer The use of treacle hath prevailed abundantly within these few years, especially in the country trading towns, where manufacturers are settled, so that many hundred hogsheads a year are used with bread instead of butter, and it being palatable, warm in the stomach, and very nourishing, good in colds, against scurvy, and very nourishing, and (the doctors say) useful in many diseases. It hath this disadvantage in London, ’tis sold very cheap, therefore rich folks do not like it. Treacle should be stored at ambient temperature, although it may be warmed just prior to usage. Sugar Australia will expect a useful shelf life of 2 years for drums as delivered and remaining in their sealed and unopened containers.”