Dales hot molasses drink

I came down the stairs, to the kitchen at 9 p.m., thinking that it would be nice to have a hot drink. I have made coffee at this hour, and that has cost me half of my night's sleep. So, I looked in the cupboards, thinking that I would make one of my very quick soups, which is basically a mix of Italian and Indian spices with a bit of soya sauce. Just add hot water. It's not for everybody. :-)
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Instead, I found the blackstrap molasses. I decided to use just molasses, hot water and organic whole milk. It makes a very smooth drink. Not quite like coffee, but very much like Postum, which I haven't had for 25 years.

I should Google things first , but as usual , I conducted my experiment first .  It turns out that blackstrap molasses is a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and selenium. Other sweeteners are pretty much devoid of nutrient value. And sugar in hot water, wouldn't make much of a coffee substitute.

So, I looked around a bit, and it turns out that others have made a similar drink to mine, some with just heated milk, for a latte type drink.

This has got to be the simplest experiment of mine that has ever gone so well. Concept to smashing success, in under 5 minutes. :-)
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Check out this link for the nutritional value of blackstrap molasses. Don't follow the hundreds of other links that they offer. It's a black hole,

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/benefits-blackstrap-molasses#modal-close

Thanks, Dale!  You've reignited my interest in black strap molasses.  I did research awhile back and discovered that 'Plantation' brand had the highest levels of some nutrients... I was looking for the iron... I can only find it at the natural food store, but it's also online.  BTW, I think cinnamon would also be good in that drink... and it is extremely helpful in maintaining steady blood sugar levels : )   (Wish I raw garlic and turmeric could be added.... but don't think that would be very tasty :)

I made a similar discovery about 10 years ago. We'd gone for a walk in the snow, and when we got back, I reeeeeally wanted some hot chocolate. But, we had no chocolate. There was, however, milk in the fridge, as well as maple syrup. Heated up the milk and added some maple syrup and MAN that was good. Maple syrup also has a surprising amount of vitamins, though not nearly as much as molasses.

We actually use molasses as an electrolyte drink/supplement, too. My husband used to get horrible leg cramps. Molasses would usually fix that within minutes. If I'd feel under the weather due to, um, "shark week," a spoonful of molasses do me wonders. It was also great when I was iron and electrolyte depleted while pregnant. My four year old loves molasses, too. His game is to lie down on the kitchen floor, face up, and say he's "Swampy" (from Candy Land) and my husband will either pour molasses right into my son's mouth, or give it to him on a spoon.

I also sometimes mix up an electrolyte drink with molasses, apple cider vinegar, and some maple syrup &/or honey (the latter two for both flavor as well as nutrients and immun-system goodness). It's not bad at all, and a whole lot cheaper than electrolyte powders or even coconut water.

I'm going to try it with fruit juice. Apparently the calcium is more available, if it's taken with something containing vitamin C. But, I like it as a coffee replacement. It is smooth, and the molasses emulsifies completely. So many of the drinks I've tried have something that settles to the bottom. This looks like coffee and it stays the same, whether it's sits a while or not.

I'll bet it would be good with mint extract or vanilla extract or any of those things that could be gotten as pure products and not some chemical factory imitation.

Dale Hodgins wrote: ...Not quite like coffee, but very much like Postum, which I haven't had for 25 years.

I had to look this up, because I had never heard of Postum before. According to wikipedia, "Postum is made from roasted wheat bran, wheat and molasses" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postum). Since Postum contains molasses, it makes sense that your drink would remind you of it! And, if you happen to long. And, if you happen to want to drink Postum again after all these 25 years, it looks like you can buy it on amazon! (link to Postum)

Yes, I created a thread on Postum a few months back. But, I'm finding that the Molasses drink is here and it's super easy and cheap. So, for now I will follow this path of least resistance. It's mainly a way for me to have a hot drink that doesn't keep me up all night.

For those who don't like mushrooms, it's a great way to get selenium. I don't mind mushrooms, but I don't eat them regularly.

Chicory is probably the worst coffee substitute I've tried. Maybe I got a bad batch.

Dale,

I have also suffered with evening coffee sleepless results, and had just come in from giving the chickens some food and scratch (20 degrees and going down to 13 tonight.), when I found your thread.

Fantastic indeed.

Tasty and warming.

Thanks for your post!

Happy trails,

Keith

So, there's me, and Keith. That's two converts. Not quite enough to call it a movement, but it's only been one day. :-)

I'm going to do some experiments, using cayenne pepper, mint, dill, vanilla and other things, to see if there are ways to improve this drink further.

For those who take their coffee black, I could see adding mint and eucalyptus, as a drink to clear the nasal passageways. I take mine with milk, which is known to worsen congestion, but I will still give it a whirl.

There are many herbal preparations meant to ease the discomfort of the common cold. Something like this, as a delivery system, might make them more palatable.

You could also make it "chai" flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, etc.

For an anti-inflammatory boost, you could add turmeric and make it a kind of "golden milk" (https://wellnessmama.com/223/turmeric-tea/)

Or, make it Gingerbread/Pepparkakor flavored by adding cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and allspice.

Yes, I think the chai could work, although for me I would want to do it without cloves. They give me a headache, in large quantity. I looked it up and it turns out they give lots of people headaches.

I know two people who use turmeric, for their joints. This is definitely something to try.

For me, it's mostly about replacing sugary, caffeine laced drinks.

About a year ago, I started using molasses in my oatmeal, instead of brown sugar.

I don't really care for cloves, either. My husband used to keep fish and when they'd get too sick, he'd "put them down" by putting them in a small cup filled with clove oil and water. The clove oil would slow down their respiratory systems so much that they would fall asleep and then die. Supposedly, it was painless for the fish.

Ever since then, the smell of cloves makes me think of dead fish. Not very appetizing!

... and I have to wonder if clove oil kills fish, what does it do to us?

I've made another batch. This time, I used some natural vanilla extract, half a teaspoon of cocoa, a sprinkling of cinnamon and some black pepper.

I added these things in stages. After putting in the vanilla, I tasted it, and there wasn't much difference. Molasses seems to overpower the more subtle flavor of vanilla.

The cocoa was quite noticeable and improved the flavor for anyone who likes cocoa. I would say that it emulsified better , with molasses than it does otherwise. Sometimes I have made hot chocolate and found that half of the cocoa settled to the bottom.

The cinnamon was also noticeable.

The black pepper was fairly large chunks and it wanted to float on top. I'm not a fan. My friend makes a very powerful fruit and vegetable juice. He includes lots of garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper. It's very finely ground and emulsifies.
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I'd say all of the additions are worthwhile, except for the pepper.
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I'd like to try Ginger. That's what Gilligan said, but I don't think it happened. :-) lf my phone hadn't capitalized Ginger, I wouldn't have thought to go there. :-)

I found some dried powdered ginger, that is probably 5 years old or more. It still tastes like ginger. My roommate buys a multitude of spices, but then she never uses them.

Half a teaspoon is probably too much. Still, it was not bad.

I couldn't find mint, but we have 100 small candy canes. I broke up a candy cane and used it as a sweetener and twist of flavor.

I'm not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but adding milk will reduce the iron absorption (effects of the calcium). I struggle with low iron and I love molasses (and milk) so I was drinking that every morning until I realised my mistake. Now I just have it black and it's still pretty good.

I guess as someone suggested above, fruit juice would help with the absorption, but personally I think molasses and orange juice sounds kinda gross!

Oh, I also add a large teaspoon of raw cacao powder which makes it more like a black mocha. Yum!

Pediatric nurse here...we used to use warm milk and molasses as an enema for pediatric constipation.  They have stopped that practice, but I still don't think I could stomach it to drink now, haha!

What a great idea! I drink golden milk every night before bed, using coconut milk, turmeric, dash of black pepper, teaspoon of chwayanprash (India fruit & spice jam) and a little coconut oil. It's really good, but tonight I'll add molasses! I love it, glug it right from the bottle when I'm working outside in the heat. It'll take me from dying of heat exhaustion to refreshed, I kid you not. There's an electrolyte recipe using molasses, black & green tea, lemon juice and salt. It was a pain to make so now I just come in from outside, slam some water and a swig of molasses.
I might be gross...not sure...😆

For those powdered spices, like ultra-healthy cinnamon, stirring it thoroughly into the molasses, before adding other liquid, keeps it emulsified, i.e., not floating at the top.