When sugar is dissolved in water it becomes a syrup. Syrups can be used in many situations where crystallized sugar isn't ideal, most notably when sweetness isn't the cause for adding sugar.

Molasses (also known as treacle)

There are a number of grades of molasses. The darker the molasses, the more bitter it is. Blackstrap molasses is usually the last extracted and is very dark as its sugars have been caramelized over and over and an effort to extract as much sucrose as possible. Most of the syrups available as molasses (or treacle) are a blend of molasses in various stages of caramelization and sugar syrups. This is so the molasses can be sold in an almost uniform condition. Just out of interest molasses is approximately 35-50% sucrose, 15-30% invert sugar and 20-25% water. Molasses is generally added to a recipe for colour and flavour and moisture, rather than sweetness. This is why you will often come across recipes that use molasses or treacle with sugar also added. A good example is gingerbread. Molasses is common in licorice, baked beans, and barbeque sauce. Molasses and to a lesser extent brown sugars are variably acidic, which makes them work well with bi-carbonate of soda as a levening agent.

Golden Syrup

This is refinery syrup made from raw sugar filtered through charcoal to give it a clear appearance and delicate flavour.

Honey

As mentioned before, honey is great for longevity in baked goods. It is very high in fructose and glucose, and is quite similar to invert sugar. It is approximately 1¼ times as sweet as granulated sugar. Heating honey makes it less liable to crystallize as it sometimes does. The sweetness of fructose is registered almost immediately on the tongue, and fades very quickly. This quick action is said to enhance the flavours in some foods, especially fruitiness, tartness and spiciness without the sweetness lingering long enough to mask the flavour of these foods. This is why honey and lemon work so well or honey used in a spicy marinade.

Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar

Maple syrup originates from the sap of the maple tree. The season for harvesting maple sap is very short at approximately six weeks. The water in the sap is separated from the sugars and boiled down, leaving heavily flavoured syrup. It takes about 40 parts sap to make 1 part syrup. After the refining process, the final composition is about 62% sucrose, 34% water, 3% glucose, fructose, and .5% acids. Maple syrup is graded by colour, flavour and sugar content, grade A being the highest grade. The lower darker grade syrups are used in baked goods and glazes. Cheap maple flavoured syrups are usually not maple at all, they're usually corn syrup with maple flavour added. Maple sugar is made by concentrating (boiling) the sap down for much longer than is needed to make the syrup until all that's left is a solid sugar.

Glucose (also known as dextrose)

Glucose is the building block of sugars, a place from which sugar chains are started. It is found in fruits and honey, amongst other things. Glucose is less sweet than granulated sugar. It is less water soluble, producing a thinner solution. It melts and starts to caramelize at 150°C, where granulated sugar will caramelize at around 170°C. It is great for sugar work as it caramelizes more quickly than other sugars. Used in toffees, candies and icecreams, it can keep the product soft and gooey while still caramelizing and setting.

Corn Syrup

Corn is the second largest sugar producing crop. Corn syrup begins as a starchy liquid that is converted into sugars by the addition of acid. The thickness of corn syrup is due to the large number of carbohydrate molecules that are tangled up with each other. This results in a syrup that is much thicker than a standard sugar can produce. Due to the tangled nature of its molecular composition, corn syrup has the valuable effect of preventing other sugars from crystallizing and producing a grainy texture. This means that it helps minimize the size of ice crystals in ice cream encouraging a creamy consistency. Its viscosity helps impart a thick chewy texture to foods. It is less sweet than sugar because it contains a lot of glucose, giving keeping qualities and preventing moisture loss without being overbearingly sweet. Corn syrup is acidic, due to the way it is produced; therefore, it works well with baking soda. Light corn syrup is a mixture of regular and high fructose corn syrup with the addition of vanilla. It contains around 75% fructose plus glucose making the sweetness similar to table sugar. The combination enhances the moisture and develops colour in baked goods. Dark Corn Syrup is a mixture of corn syrup and refiner's syrup, used for colour and flavour.

Date Syrup

This is made from date solids in a solution of sugar. Brands vary but can be a mix of approximately 37% solids with the remaining 63% being a mixture of glucose, fructose, and water.

For a delicious recipe using date syrup, try your hand at cooking Saffron Rice Pudding with Apples and Date Syrup.

Grape Syrup

A lovely syrup made from concentrated grape juice containing fructose and glucose, not unlike date syrup.