melasse
The English word molasses is translated into Afrikaans as melasse.
melasse refers to a thick, brownish syrup that is refined from sugarcane.
Meaning: thick brownish syrup refined from sugarcane (noun)
Did you know?
- Traditional South African 'koeksisters' are fried dough treats that are soaked in a syrup that can sometimes be made using melasse for a deeper flavor.
- In South Africa, melasse is often associated with the historical sugarcane industry of KwaZulu-Natal, where the syrup was a primary byproduct of the sugar mills.
- Melasse is a feminine noun in older Dutch, but because Afrikaans has dropped grammatical gender, it is now treated as a common noun without a gender marker.
Examples in context
- Die melasse is baie dik.The molasses is very thick.
- Ek gebruik melasse vir die koek.I use molasses for the cake.
- Die soet melasse is donkerbruin.The sweet molasses is dark brown.
Example conversation
Nicola and Stefan are baking together in the kitchen.
- NicolaStefan, waar is die melasse?Stefan, where is the molasses?
- StefanDit is in die kas, Nicola.It is in the cupboard, Nicola.
- NicolaDankie, ek het dit nou gesien.Thank you, I see it now.
- StefanMoenie te veel melasse byvoeg nie.Do not add too much molasses.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “molasses” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
