People who restore old machinery sometimes place rusty items in a large barrel of molasses, the syrup from cane sugar for several months. Explain why they do this?!
Molasses contain glucose, which just so happens to be what's called a 'reducing sugar', that is, it's got an aldehyde group as part of the molecule, and this can lets it act as a reducing agent. Rust, on the other hand, is a sign of iron being oxidised, and makes it difficult to use whatever tool it is that's been rusted. To combat this then, putting rusted tools in molasses for a while lets the glucose get to work reversing the oxidation process and effectively 'un-rusting' the iron, going some way to getting the items back to their former glory.
