Is molasses gluten free? Yes, molasses is naturally gluten free. However, there is always a risk of cross contamination during manufacturing. If you’re sensitive to gluten, there are a few things to watch out for.
What is molasses? What is molasses made of?
Molasses is a type of syrup that comes from sugarcane or sugar beets. Molasses comes in 3 different forms: light, dark and blackstrap.
- Light molasses: Results from the first boiling down of the sugarcane juice. While it’s called ‘light’ it’s still a deep amber color.
- Dark molasses: Comes from a second boiling and is a dark brown.
- Blackstrap molasses: Comes from a third boiling. It’s rich, thick, and black in color. It has the least amount of sugar and can taste a little bitter. However, it’s also the most nutrient dense and only type of molasses allowed on the AIP and Paleo diets.
The origin of molasses
Molasses has its origins in India as early as 500 BC. In the Middle Ages, molasses made its way to Europe. And from Europe, it made its way to the Americas and around the rest of the world. It was a popular sweetener before the 20th century due to the high cost of refined sugar. And molasses is still used in cooking today.
The production process of molasses
Molasses is a byproduct of making refined sugar. The process of making sugar requires the boiling down of sugarcane juice. Once the sugar crystals are removed the remaining syrup is called molasses.
Is molasses healthy?
Molasses is surprisingly packed with nutrients and by far the most nutrient dense sweetener. It’s even more nutrient dense than honey or maple syrup! And it also contains significantly more calcium than cheddar cheese and more iron than steak.
Nutritional profile of molasses
One tablespoon (20 grams) contains only 47 calories, but contains:
- Iron (3.6 mg, or 20% of the RDA)
- Calcium (176 mg, or 17.6% of the RDA)
- Copper (0.42 mg, or 21% of the RDA)
- Manganese (0.54 mg, or 27% of the RDA)
- Magnesium (44 mg, or 11% of the RDA)
- Potassium (510 mg, or 9.7% of the RDA)
- B vitamins, including B6 (0.15 mg, or 7.5% of the RDA) and smaller amounts of B2 and B3
- Selenium (3.6 mg, or 5.2% of the RDA)
- Small amounts of sodium, zinc, and phosphorus
(Source)
All these nutrients make molasses a nutrient dense food even though it does contain sugar. Even though it’s so nutrient dense, it should be used sparingly, like all sweeteners or fruit.
- 50% sucrose
- 25% glucose
- 25% fructose
(Source)
How to store molasses
Molasses is best stored at room temperature. It’s not recommended to store molasses in the refrigerator because it’s sugar. The liquid could crystallize and make it impossible to pour. If you can imagine being slower than molasses, refrigerate it and found out!
What is unsulphured molasses?
Sulphured molasses is made from young, green sugarcane therefore it requires sodium dioxide to help preserve the sugarcane until it’s ready to use. If you have a sensitive palate, you may not enjoy the chemical taste.
Unsulphured molasses uses ripe sugarcane therefore does not require any chemical preservatives. Most molasses you find in the grocery store is unsulphured because it offers a ‘pure’ or cleaner flavor.
What is sorghum molasses? And does it taste good?
Sorghum syrup is made from the green juice of the sorghum plant therefore it’s not technically molasses. The process of making sorghum molasses is like that of cane molasses. The green juice is cooked down into a syrup.
Sorghum molasses is usually thinner than cane molasses, has a sourer flavor. Additionally, it’s not widely used. You find it regionally as a traditional Southern food.
Sorghum is a grass and therefore gluten free. However, it’s important to keep in mind the processing and packaging of the products. For the purposes of this post, we’re not categorizing sorghum molasses as molasses.
Is molasses safe for celiacs?
Since molasses is a naturally gluten free food, it’s safe for celiac’s to consume. However, there is always the risk of cross contamination. It’s best to follow the same guidelines and take the same precautions you would with any other food to ensure that whatever molasses you purchase is gluten free.
The Risk of Cross Contamination
Cross contamination is a huge issue for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Molasses is at risk of cross contamination during manufacturing similar to honey or maple syrup. While molasses should be a single ingredient product, mass production and manufacturing can introduce trace amounts of gluten into a product. If the molasses isn’t produced in a dedicated gluten free facility or even a gluten free line, then there’s opportunity for gluten to contaminate the product. However, due to the nature of molasses (it’s super thick) it’s difficult for the product to share manufacturing equipment.
It’s best to follow the same guidelines and take the same precautions you would with any other food to ensure that whatever molasses you purchase is gluten free.
FAQs
- Is molasses dairy free? Is molasses soy free? Yes. Since molasses is from sugarcane or sugar beets, they do not contain any dairy or soy. If you’re looking for dairy free recipes, click here. if you’re looking for soy free recipes, click here.
- Is pomegranate molasses gluten free? Pomegranate molasses is technically not molasses. Pomegranate molasses is made from reduced pomegranate juice and can also include sugar, flavoring, thickeners, etc. And while it should be gluten free, this type of molasses would need to be treated on a case-by-case basis as it’s not necessarily a single ingredient product. For the purposes of this post, we’re not categorizing pomegranate molasses as molasses.
- Is grandma’s molasses gluten-free? According to Grandma’s website, their molasses products are gluten free. See below for their gluten statement from their customer service.
- Is blackstrap molasses gluten free? Blackstrap molasses is a naturally gluten free food. However, the manufacturing and processing of the product depends on each company. There’s still the risk of cross contamination. While the risk is lower for molasses, it’s best to take the same precautions you would with any other food to ensure that whatever molasses you purchase if gluten free. Keep scrolling for a list of gluten free molasses brands.
- Is bead molasses gluten free? Bead molasses is another type of molasses that’s typically found in Asian recipes. It’s made from the scraping from the pot after making molasses. It gives it a rich and smokey flavor that is different than other types of molasses. It can be harder to find and can be substituted with light molasses. In fact, there’s only one brand of bead molasses and it’s made on shared equipment with other gluten products. See below.
Gluten free brands of molasses
At the time of writing this post (June 2024), these brands offer gluten free molasses. However, please keep in mind that brands change their manufacturing processes and ingredients often and without notice. Please check and read labels before you make a purchase.
- Grandma’s Unsulphured Molasses (Original and Robust): According to their website, their products are gluten free. And according to their customer service:
Our products are made in a gluten free facility and have been tested and ensured gluten free.
- Brer Rabbit Unsulphured Molasses (comes in Blackstrap, mild, and full): Owned by B& G Foods which also owns Grandma’s Molasses. According to their customer support:
Our Brer Rabbit products are certified gluten free.
- Golden Barrel Unsulphured Blackstrap and Supreme Baking Molasses: According to their customer service:
Our molasses is naturally Gluten free, but not certified Gluten Free.
Our facility is not a gluten free facility, but our allergens are segregated to one part of the facility, separate from where we process the molasses. There are designated allergen receipt routes and routes for the movement of finished product that contain allergens so as to keep them separate from the wet production side of our facility. Testing is not regularly performed as regular washouts would eliminate any trace presence that might have strayed into the area.
All molasses is received in sealed tanker trucks and unloaded into designated silos and moved through designated lines.
We are confident these procedures are sufficient to ensure the integrity of our molasses.
- Crosby’s Unsulphured Molasses (Fancy, Cooking and Blackstrap): According to their website the plant is peanut free but doesn’t mention any other allergens. However, according to their customer service:
Our product is not tested for the presence of gluten and we are not a certified gluten free facility but we have no sources of gluten in our facility. Staff are permitted to consume gluten in their lunches but that must be done in the designated lunchroom and strict hand washing and sanitizing occurs before they go back to work.
- Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blackstrap Molasses: Their customer support provided the below gluten free statement.
- Swanson Certified Organic Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses: According to their customer service:
Our Certified Organic Blackstrap Molasses - Unsulfured SWF153 does test negative for a gluten or wheat allergy but we cannot say it is made in a facility excluding products made with gluten or wheat. The assembly lines are cleaned thoroughly, however, to avoid cross-contamination.
Is all molasses gluten free?
No! While molasses should be made from one ingredient, sugarcane. There’s still the risk of cross contamination as you can see below from the gluten statement from Dynasty regarding their bead molasses. According to their customer service:
Even though this item does not contain Gluten, this item is made on the same line as items that contain Gluten and is also in the manufacturing facility. The manufacture cannot guarantee this is Gluten-Free item, as they it is not tested for gluten.
Gluten Free Recipes Using Molasses
- Glass Noodle Soup
- AIP Ginger Cookies (AKA Gingersnaps)
- Char Siu Sauce
- AIP Gingerbread Cookies
- AIP BBQ Sauce
- AIP Banana Ketchup
- AIP Pumpkin Bread
- Slow Cooker Cardamom Ribs
- AIP Coconut Pumpkin Panna Cotta
- No-Bake AIP Pumpkin Pie
Thoughts on gluten free molasses
It’s very important that you always read the ingredients on the products that you purchase. Just because something like molasses would logically only include one ingredient, doesn’t make it so. You’d think that you wouldn’t need to dig deeper into the ingredients. But every company has a different way of handling their products which allows for cross contamination.
Brands can and will change their manufacturing process/ingredients without notice so it’s best to be vigilant regarding ingredients and packaging.
If you have a gluten intolerance or suffer from celiac disease, then it’s best to read labels, research brands and use only those products which you trust.
Please keep in mind that this isn't a complete list of gluten free brands. We reached out to many brands, and these are the brands that either responded or had gluten free statements on their websites by the time of publishing this post.
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