I first encountered kuro mitsu in San Francisco not long ago, at a creperie in the Japantown mall. I ordered a crepe with green tea ice cream, red bean paste, strawberries, whipped cream (sounds totally overkill but is truly amazing), which came drizzled in a mahogany-colored syrup that tasted like a light molassas, with a hint of malt. The mystery syrup really brought the crepe together, somehow cutting through the sweetness with its odd, bright bite.

Later, through research, I discovered that this was kuro mitsu (literally, "black honey"), a Japanese brown sugar syrup not at all dissimilar to molassas. Made from unrefined Okinawan brown sugar, it is a central ingredient in many sweet Japanese dishes.

A Taste of Zen provides a recipe for making your own kuro mitsu. Drizzle it over pancakes, fresh fruit or ice cream, add it to tea or stir a spoonful into plain yogurt.

Well, I told you about the cherry smoothie I made from the summer cherries I put into the freezer for safe-keeping. A lot of good those will be to me in the fall since I subsequently used them all for a liquid breakfast every morning thereafter until they were.

What I didn't tell you is what I did with the cherries I kept fresh on the counter. You, my Slashfood faithful friends, suggested clafouti to spare my fingers the chore of pitting cherries, as well as a multitude of recommendations for what I should do with the result of my gluttonous run at the market. I took the advice of a few and made...

...cherry sauce.

Before I even went to this list of American food icons that never really existed, the first name that immediately popped into my head was Betty Crocker. And yup, she's on the list. Along with Ronald McDonald, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jemima.

I can understand why the clown is on there, though he doesn't really seem to fit in with the other three. Betty Crocker, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jemima aren't just icons like Ronald McDonald, they also have seemed like people who actually do the cooking and not just represent a company. In fact, Uncle Ben was recently promoted to be Chairman of the Board of his company, and Betty Crocker has become sexier over the years.

But what fake icons are missing from this short list?

[via Jade]

If you check out the labels on natural food products, you'll see agave syrup listed as an ingredient more and more often. Agave syrup - sometimes called agave nectar - is a natural sweetener that is marketed as a healthy alternative to processed sugars, as well as an alternative to honey, corn syrup and similar liquid sweeteners. The syrup is made from blue agave, a type of succulent, cactus-like plant that is also used in the production of tequila. The thick liquid comes in light and dark forms, the latter being unfiltered, and tastes similar to honey.

So what makes this syrup "healthier" than other sweeteners? It has a very low Glycemic Index (GI) value, so although it is noticeably sweeter than sugar, it doesn't cause the same type of "sugar rush" that other sweets do. Table sugar has a GI value of 68, on a scale from 1 to 100, while honey comes in at 55. Agave syrup has a value of around 15.

Agave syrup can be used in baked goods, with a reduction in the amount of liquid in the recipe to account for its presence. Starting with a recipe that already calls for honey and substituting it in is a good way to start, but as a general rule, you'll will need to spend some time playing around with your favorite recipes to get them to work, especially if you want to substitute it into a recipe that calls for crystallized sugars. The syrup will dissolve easily in liquids and is a good choice for sweetening iced tea or lemonade.

Since I drink coffee pretty much around the clock, I started buying the bottled syrups so I could add my favorite flavors to the cappuccinos and lattes I made at home. However at $10 or so a pop that can be a fairly expensive habit, especially since I like to mix up my flavors often. I decided to make a simple syrup base and then added various flavorings to find out how they tasted in comparison to the store-bought variety. The results were very favorable, in fact one friend of mine swears she can't tell the difference between various Starbuck's drinks and my own homemade versions. I still think there is nothing quite like the original, but these are a reasonable facsimile at the very least.

To make a simple syrup, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup white sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until it has reduced by half, which should take about 5 minutes. Now if you want flavoring, you have to add those ingredient(s) at the same time you add the water and sugar. Keep in mind, the following are just examples. I don't really have a precise recipe for this as I usually just wing it, so play around with the amounts and make what suits your own taste.

Lyle's Golden Syrup, manufactured by the British sugar company Tate & Lyle, has just been honored by the Guinness Book of World Records with the title of world's oldest brand. The sweet syrup is a byproduct of sugar refining and was first put into the distinctive green and gold tin in 1885. The packaging and the syrup have remained almost completely unchanged since that time. The product is found in more than 85% of British households and is popular in countries all over the world.

In the US, the syrup is found at some specialty stores, but is not terribly easy to come by. It has the consistency of corn syrup, but a much more unique flavor that carries over into whatever it is used to sweeten. There are any number of recipes that the syrup can be used in, but treacle tart and ANZAC biscuits are two that are well loved world wide.

Waffles make appearances at the breakfast table slightly less often than other foods, like eggs, cereals and pancakes. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that they require a separate appliance and, unless you are fortunate enough to have a surplus of counter space, you probably have to spend some time tracking it down before you can cook. Waffles are not really any more difficult to make than any other breakfast food - and these particular waffles are easy and delicious.

The recipe comes from one I saw in Sunset magazine and called for blue cornmeal and a whipped cream topping. I replaced the whipped cream with maple syrup, which seemed more appropriate for breakfast, and used yellow cornmeal. In seconds, the batter comes together in one bowl and the waffles begin to dook in the iron. The waffles are crisp outside and moist and tender within. The cornmeal gives the a fantastic and satisfying texture.

This French toast and bacon sandwich could just be the ultimate breakfast sandwich - assuming that you aren't in the least bit worried about your weight and that you enjoy indulging in the morning, of course. It starts off with two thick slices of bread, soaked in an egg and milk mixture then fried into perfectly cooked french toast. The toast is then topped with a generous amount of lightly crisped bacon, allowing the pieces of overlap and for two layers. Once the bacon is in place, pour on some maple syrup and add the top piece of french toast. Eat with a knife and fork.

The end product is salty, sweet, filling and in no way can be considered health food. Ah well. You can't win them all, right?

Replacing the fat in baked goods is something that we have done a few times now, but for some people fat is not the issue that they want to tackle - it's sugar. Baking without sugar is much harder than baking without fat because fats contribute to the texture of the finished product, but not as much to the flavor. Granted, a buttery flavor can be nice, but I have had fat free cookies (made with applesauce) on numerous occasions that have tasted quite good, even if they are lacking in the texture department.

As was discussed on Slashfood recently, stevia is a great alternative to the White Demon, refined table sugar. One method of refining sugarcane involves a step where the liquid is filtered through a cattle bone charcoal mixture, with a little albumen thrown in. Not remotely vegan. While stevia is a good, strong, sweetener for that shade grown soy latte, you might also try: Brown Rice Syrup, less sweet than honey and bakes well. Sucanat, organic sugar cane juice with the essence of the sugarcane sans water. Sucanat is good in hot liquids, but lumps up oatmeal and is not ideal for baking. Maple Sugar/Maple Syrup, organic, pure, expensive, but worth it. Pure maple syrup is graded A-C, A being lightest, C the most robust and similar to restaurant grade corn syrup knockoffs. Nothing wrong with C, it's just meant to be the dominant flavor of the food.

Then, there's always Blackstrap molasses. Anyone who's trained with triathletes, especially in the '90s, knows that Blackstrap is believed to (lots of potassium, B vits.) help flush lactic acid from muscles and speed overall recovery from heavy exertion. Whatever your sweet needs, don't turn to the White Demon-- it's no good. Period. Check all this out, and more here.

Celebrities are touting the maple syrup diet, which is a type of detox diet that is also known as the Master Cleanse diet, or the lemonade diet. Essentially, you drink a mixture of water, maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper (a very small amount) for about 10 days. Without getting into the sticky issue of whether or not you are really cleansing your body, if you even need to, the diet is a way to drop a few pounds quickly, for better or worse. It works because you take in relatively few calories and a lot of liquids.

All in all, it seems to result in a relatively quick weight loss of a few pounds, but certainly neither a long term solution nor a substitute for a more traditionally healthy diet. It is great for the sales of maple syrup, though, since some stores are reporting that their sales have more than doubled in the past few months.

One woman's account of her time on the diet can be read here if you're interested in getting the daily details of the "cleanse."

Shaved ice doesn't seem to be quite as popular as it once was, perhaps due to the huge surge in popularity that ice cream enjoyed when the concept of mix-ins became popular. After all, you can't really mix smashed up candy bars into a bunch of ice and get the same effect. Shaved ice is still a great summer treat, though. A pile of ice doused with flavored syrup is tasty, cooling and (in what seems to be a huge selling point for kids) will often turn your tongue different colors. This electric ice cream shaver allows you to make shaved ice at home, quickly grating ice cubes into fluffy ice shavings waiting for flavorings.

The biggest drawback to making this treat at home is that it can be hard to find syrups. Torani syrups can be used to make great snow cones and come in over 50 flavors. Get watermelon and root beer for the kids and something more grown up, like creme de cacao or amaretto, for yourself. You can also try making shaved ice without syrups using a fresh berry topping or a vodka-spiked flavoring.

The 18th (I think) round of Sugar High Friday is being hosted by Chandra of Lick The Spoon. The theme is one not unfamiliar to us here at Slashfood: cooking with booze. The official title is "Candy is Dandy...But Liquor is Quicker." My contribution is a sweet potato pie with bourbon, topped with pecans and maple syrup. The recipe comes from Alton Brown and his episode of Good Eats dedicated to sweet potatoes. A transcript of the episode, including the pie recipe, is available through the Good Eats Fan Page. That recipe doesn't include bourbon, but I happened to have a bottle of Baker's on the shelf, and, well, you know, it seemed like a good idea. Since this was the first time I made this recipe (or sweet potato pie, for that matter), I didn't want to tinker with it too much, so I only used two tablespoons of bourbon, around half a shot. It could probably have used a little more, as the bourbon flavor is rather faint. Still, it's one of the best sweet potato pies I've tasted. I'm not ashamed to say that the crust was store-bought. I'm still an amateur in the baking department, and, since I always manage to make a huge mess anyway, I figured I'd make it easier on myself. Truth be told, I still managed to scorch a pot and dirty an extra pie pan. But that's all in the past now. What I'm left with is my favorite type of pie, and a killer version at that.

[Photo: Nick Vagnoni]

Who could resist seeing a couple of adorable bunny pancakes on their plate of Easter morning? Best of all, these little guys take no longer to prepare than ordinary pancakes - which is to say that they take about 5 minutes from start to plate. I used this recipe for buttermilk pancakes and, instead of dropping the batter into one large round, I used a smaller spoon to "pour" the batter into shape. Bunnies are a fairly simple shape, so there is no need for a mold to form them. I used chocolate chips to make eyes and noses, but fruit slices would work just as well. If you do want chocolate chips and three isn't enough for you, you could always try adding a few chocolate chips into the batter. And, of course, serve with maple syrup!