Golden syrup

Golden syrup

What it is

Abram Lyle began selling it from his refinery on the Thames in 1881, and the tin has carried a dead lion, a swarm of bees and Samson's riddle since the 1880s - Guinness records it as the world's oldest unchanged brand packaging. The picture is apt: the syrup is a by-product of refining, sweetness left over from the strong.

In the kitchen

It is partly inverted, so it will not crystallise and it holds on to water - a spoonful in a biscuit dough keeps it chewy for days. Weigh it rather than spooning it, and oil the spoon or half of it stays behind.

Goes with

Butter Oats Ginger Lemon Cream Sodium bicarbonate

Same species

Cane vinegar Chinese rock sugar Dark rum Demerara sugar Icing sugar Invert sugar

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