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 massecuite (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]

In culture

A traditional Cornish fisherman's celebratory drink is "Mahogany", made from two parts local gin—now usually Plymouth Gin—mixed with one part black treacle.^[11]^[12]^[13]

In chapter 7 of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Dormouse tells the story of Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie, who live at the bottom of a well. This confuses Alice, who interrupts to ask what they ate for sustenance. "The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, 'It was a treacle-well.'" This is an allusion to the so-called "treacle well", the curative St Margaret's Well at Binsey, Oxfordshire.^[14]

In chapter 10 of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, Car the Queen of Spades carries a glass bottle of treacle in a basket above her head. The bottle breaks and the syrup pours down her backside. Tess laughs with the others present but Car is angry at her.^[15]

The Arctic Monkeys' 2011 album Suck It and See features a song entitled "Black Treacle", in which singer Alex Turner compares the night sky to sticky black treacle.^{[citation needed]}

In the Harry Potter book series, treacle tarts, puddings, and other variations regularly appear as one of Harry's favourite desserts, and are noted as present during many of the Hogwarts feasts.^{[citation needed]}

In the Discworld series of fantasy books by Terry Pratchett, the dwarfs work in treacle mines. They are sometimes buried in treacle when a particularly rich vein of treacle is unexpectedly encountered.^{[citation needed]}

In the animated series Futurama, Bender the robot offers to recreate Philip's favourite candy. During the cooking process, he adds treacle, explaining that it reminds him of his grandmother.^{[citation needed]}

In the Thomas the Tank Engine episode "Woolly Bear" (based on the same story from the Railway Series book Tramway Engines), a crate of treacle smashes all over Percy before he leaves the harbour. His crew get the worst off, but he is still sticky as he puffs away into a windstorm in which hay is stuck to his boiler, and he resembles a Woolly Bear caterpillar as a result.^[16]^[17]

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
^ "Mahogany Recipe from England". Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
^ "Gin Brandy Beer and Treacle". www.theoldfoodie.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
^ "Cornish Drinks Recipes - Food from Cornwall". Archived from the original on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
^ p14, Oxford in English literature: the making, and undoing, of "the English Athens" (1998), John Dougill, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 0-472-10784-4.
^ Hardy, Thomas. "Phase the First: The Maiden". Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023 – via Wikisource.
^ Awdry, Wilbert (2004) [1972]. "Woolly Bear". Tramway Engines. The Railway Series. Vol. 26. Egmont Publishing. ISBN 1405203560.
^ Mitton, David (17 December 1986). "Woolly Bear". Thomas & Friends. Season 2. Episode 25. Retrieved 2 November 2024 – via YouTube.

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

[11] "Mahogany Recipe from England". Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-13.

[12] "Gin Brandy Beer and Treacle". www.theoldfoodie.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-13.

[13] "Cornish Drinks Recipes - Food from Cornwall". Archived from the original on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-13.

[14] 14, Oxford in English literature: the making, and undoing, of "the English Athens" (1998), John Dougill, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 0-472-10784-4.

[15] Hardy, Thomas. "Phase the First: The Maiden". Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023 – via Wikisource.

[16] Awdry, Wilbert (2004) [1972]. "Woolly Bear". Tramway Engines. The Railway Series. Vol. 26. Egmont Publishing. ISBN 1405203560.

[17] Mitton, David (17 December 1986). "Woolly Bear". Thomas & Friends. Season 2. Episode 25. Retrieved 2 November 2024 – via YouTube.

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