The sweet goodness of golden syrup

Living here in the USA I've been introduced to many things to put on pancakes: maple syrup, molasses, preserves, and so on.

However, it seems that few, if any, in this wonderful country have been exposed to the delights of Tate & Lyle's Golden Syrup.




I grew up with the stuff in South Africa. I still drool as I recall the rich, sweet goodness of it drizzled onto hot pancakes or stirred into thick porridge. Yummy indeed!

The reason I mention it is that this year marks the 125th anniversary of its introduction. The Daily Mail has an excellent article about its history, traditions and production - very interesting to those who like social history. For example:

• It accompanied Scott to the Antarctic;
• It was beloved of servicemen in both World Wars (and was packaged in cardboard "cans" during World War I due to the shortage of tin);
• The factory was hit by six high-explosive bombs, sixty-one incendiaries and a parachute mine in World War II, enduring 69 consecutive days and 79 consecutive nights of air-raids;
• It ages as well or better than fine wine - connoisseurs know to look for the oldest tins they can find, as it seems to taste better the older it gets (forget the "sell by" date!);
  
• The factory produces 20,000 tons of the stuff each year (the equivalent of forty million tins of the size illustrated above).

If you've never tasted it, may I recommend that you buy a can and try it for yourself? It's very different to most American syrups, and in my humble opinion is actually better than most of them. Let me know what you think of it. It's available from Amazon and other retailers.

Peter