golden syrup is a pale gold, viscous treacle (molasses) with a light, intensely sweet flavor and a mild, slightly caramelized undernote. It is a by-product of cane-sugar refining that, like molasses, contains sugar that has failed to crystallize out of solution during the refining process; its distinctive color comes from the left-over impurities. See molasses and sugar refining. An equivalent product is now produced from beet sugar by hydrolysis, in which sucrose is split into monosaccharides by the addition of acid.
