Everything about Golden Syrup totally explained
Golden syrup is a thick, amber-colored form of
inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining
sugar cane juice into
sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to
honey, and is often used as a substitute for people who don't eat honey. It can also be used as a substitute for
corn syrup.
Molasses or treacle has a richer colour than golden syrup, and a stronger, slightly bitter flavour.
History
Golden syrup was invented in 1883 by Scottish businessman
Abram Lyle, when he discovered that a
byproduct of the
sugar cane refined at his factory in
Plaistow,
East London, could be made into a delicious spread and sweetener for cooking. First sold to Lyle's employees and local customers in wooden casks, the iconic green and gold tins that Lyle's golden syrup is sold in today were introduced in 1885. The tin bears a picture of the rotting carcass of a lion with a swarm of bees, and the slogan "Out of the strong came sweetness". This is a reference to the
Biblical story in chapter 14 of the
Book of Judges in which
Samson was travelling to the land of the
Philistines in search of a wife. During the journey he killed a lion, and when he passed the same spot on his return he noticed that a swarm of bees had formed a comb of honey in the carcass. Samson later turned this into a riddle at a wedding: "Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness". While it isn't known exactly why this image and slogan were chosen, Abram Lyle was a deeply religious man, and it has been suggested that they refer either to the strength of the Lyle company or the tins in which golden syrup is sold. Lyle's golden syrup was awarded a
Royal Warrant in 1911.
Production
In cane sugar refining, golden syrup is a combination of byproducts at the
crystallization stage, but an equivalent product is made by
beet sugar refiners by processing a sugar solution and breaking down the
disaccharide sucrose so that some, but not all, is converted into
glucose and
fructose. This is either done by acid
hydrolysis or by adding an enzyme
invertase.
Typical chemical reactions are that the disaccharides are split by
hydrochloric acid, resulting in a solution which is acidic. This is restored to neutral by the addition of
lye, which is
sodium hydroxide. The consequence is that syrup made according to these reactions contains salt (
sodium chloride).
The glucose and fructose crystallize less readily than sucrose but give equivalent preserving properties to the solution. As a result, golden syrups are less likely to crystallize than a pure sucrose syrup. The high fructose content gives it a sweeter taste than an equivalent solution of white sugar; when substituting golden syrup for white sugar, about 25% less golden syrup is needed for the same level of sweetness.
The term
invert comes from the method used for measuring sugar syrups.
Plane polarised light passed through a sample of pure sugar (sucrose) solution is rotated (optical rotation). As the solution is converted to a mixture of sucrose, fructose and glucose, the amount of rotation is reduced and the light appears inverted compared to light passed through the sugar solution.
Lyle's golden syrup is a partially
inverted sugar syrup. It consists of glucose and fructose syrup produced by inversion, which has been blended with the original sucrose syrup in a proportion that creates a thick mixture which doesn't crystallize.
Availability
Golden syrup is widely available in
India,
United Kingdom,
Germany,
Ireland,
Australia,
New Zealand and
South Africa, but harder to find in North America outside of Western Canada and Louisiana, where it often appears in
Cajun cuisine.
Lyle's Golden Syrup, made by Tate & Lyle, remains one of the best known UK brands. The other UK sugar company,
British Sugar, makes an equivalent product under its Silver Spoon brand.
In South Africa, the most popular brands are Illovo golden syrup and the locally produced Lyle's Golden Syrup. In addition to the classic golden syrup, several flavored versions are also marketed, notably
maple flavor.
In Australia,
CSR Limited produces a popular golden syrup, and
Chelsea golden syrup has been a household name in New Zealand since the late 19th century.
Rogers golden syrup and Lyle's golden syrup are available in Canada. King brand syrup, a mixture of
corn and invert syrup, is sold in many areas of the USA, often grouped with table syrups like
maple syrup. Speciality stores or those with international sections, such as Wholefoods Market, often stock Lyle's golden syrup from the UK.
In Germany, golden syrup or (literally "sugar-beet syrup") is a popular spread, especially in the western part of the country around
Cologne. The best known producer is the Grafschafter Krautfabrik which has produced golden syrup for more than a hundred years. German golden syrup is almost always made from sugar-beet; golden syrup from sugar cane is extremely rare on the German market.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Golden Syrup'.
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