Finding a Substitute for Corn Syrup...

[Katie Meadow]

I admit my question was partly inspired by comments in the pecan pie thread, in which it was noted that Rose Levy Beranbaum uses Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of Karo or corn syrup. I love Lyle's, but the only thing I ever use it for is Laurie Colwin's recipe for "Damp Gingerbread." Now I'm thinking of making a pecan pie, but that's beside the point, too.

Okay, so I make a knockout meatloaf which gets a "frosting" of home-made ketchup-type sauce before getting a decorative bacon wrap and going into to the oven. The recipe for the ketchup includes, among many other things, corn syrup. It's the only time I ever use corn syrup, and although I have made this ketchup a million times, until the other day I never even tasted the corn syrup by itself. It's rather icky, isn't it?

So, here's what I want to do. I want to sub something for the one-third cup of corn syrup in my ketchup. Subbing Lyle's would never have occured to me for a savory dish, but it doesn't have a super strong flavor of its own, which is why it might work--and if you can sub it in a sweet thing, why not in a savory? Maple syrup and shagbark hickory syrup might be interesting, but they have so much of their own flavor they would risk changing this into something that isn't essentially ketchup, although it does already have a subtle bbq / smoky nature. What about using brown sugar? Surely the proportions are changed if using a granular product vs. a syrup--and frankly, I need help with that one. What do you think I should use to get Karo out of my Ketchup?

[Tri2Cook]

If you don't have an objection to the corn syrup other than it doesn't taste good on it's own and you don't want to sub in anything that does have a bold flavor of it's own why not just stick with the corn syrup? Did I misunderstand your post? If so, ignore this. If not, this seems like a poster case for "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

[prasantrin]

David Lebovitz wrote about corn syrup recently for his blog. Although he writes about substituting corn syrup in sweets, you can get some idea of how corn syrup works, and what you might be able to use for your situation.

[HungryC]

Honey or brown sugar should be perfectly acceptable substitutes for corn syrup in a ketchup recipe. In the case of the brown sugar, you might need a little more liquid to reach the appropriate consistency. Since ketchup stays liquid, doesn't need to harden or crystallize, and is kept refrigerated, any other sweetener should work fine in place of the corn syrup. Baked goods substitutions are harder due to the chemistry, but no such problems with ketchup. One thing to note is that you're gonna need less of most any sweetener when subbed with corn syrup, as it isn't as sweet as sucrose or honey.

[Katie Meadow]

  One thing to note is that you're gonna need less of most any sweetener when subbed with corn syrup, as it isn't as sweet as sucrose or honey.

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You mean "subbed for" right? In other words, if I decided to use Lyle's or Maple syrup I would need less of it than the recipe calls for karo? Okay, good. I don't want the end result to taste sweet.

Tri2: yes, you read me right. Don't ask me why I want to dump the karo, I just do. I think I want a new mystery taste. But I don't want whatever I sub for the karo to overwhelm the ketchup.

[mexigaf]

If you are using it as an inverted sugar, you can use agave nectar.

I keep a jug at home to use for when I make caramels

[Tri2Cook]

Tri2: yes, you read me right. Don't ask me why I want to dump the karo, I just do. I think I want a new mystery taste. But I don't want whatever I sub for the karo to overwhelm the ketchup.

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That's as good a reason as any. Maybe try dark corn syrup? The molasses note in that isn't very strong. Maybe a really mild honey. The lighter agave nectars aren't aggressive in flavor so that was a good suggestion as well. I don't find Lyle's golden syrup to be all that aggressive either. Or you could go creative and make your own syrup with sugar, water and a little glucose or corn syrup and infuse it with herbs, spices, chiles, etc.

[kalypso]

If you are using it as an inverted sugar, you can use agave nectar. 

I keep a jug at home to use for when I make caramels

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I've gotta second this recommendation. Agave nectar can be substituted 1:1 in any recipe using liquid sweeteners such as honey, simple syrup, Lyle's, etc. The flavor is pretty neutral. You could definitely use it in the ketchup mixture you use on your meatloaf.

It is very cool stuff. This web site will give you more information about agave nectar.

[kitchenhacker]

It might help if we knew what was in the rest of your ketchup recipe. Alternately, you might consider simply turning to another ketchup recipe that doesn't use corn syrup. There are plenty of them out there.

That said, if you just want to sub something in for the corn syrup, agave nectar isn't a bad choice. You could also mix up your own syrup with sugar and water.

[Katie Meadow]

Agave nectar sounds like an interesting idea. How available is it? I'll check it out. It sounds fairly neutral in flavor, so I guess if I wanted to introduce a hint of maple flavor I could just back off the nectar and add a little maple syrup. It's a pretty good recipe--great on burgers and has the right consistency for use as a meatloaf frosting; I'll never go back to store-bought ketchup. so I'm not after an overhaul, just a new twist.

What is inverted sugar and when is it used?

[kitchenhacker]

The recipe here seems pretty popular on the Internet as a corn syrup substitute. It is basically a simple syrup variant made with a bit of cream of tartar and salt. I'm not sure what the purpose of cream of tartar and salt are in this. Anyone know?

[Tri2Cook]

The cream of tartar creates an acid enviroment to help with converting the sugar to an invert sugar which is basically just breaking the sucrose down into glucose and fructose. Lemon juice or citric acid works too.

[kalypso]

Agave nectar sounds like an interesting idea. How available is it? I'll check it out. It sounds fairly neutral in flavor, so I guess if I wanted to introduce a hint of maple flavor I could just back off the nectar and add a little maple syrup. It's a pretty good recipe--great on burgers and has the right consistency for use as a meatloaf frosting; I'll never go back to store-bought ketchup. so I'm not after an overhaul, just a new twist.

What is inverted sugar and when is it used?

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Katie, agave nectar is in wide distribution. The easiest place to find it is Whole Foods, but if you don't want to pay their prices you can usually find it at the healthy foods grocery stores and health food shops. Some well stocked mainstream grocery stores are stocking it as well.

You can also do a Google search for you particular area to see who stocks it. In my neck of the woods (San Diego, CA) it's about $5-6 for a 16 oz bottle. A little can go a long way since it's actually sweeter than sugar.

[HungryC]

[Tri2Cook]

That's as good a reason as any. Maybe try dark corn syrup? The molasses note in that isn't very strong.

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Karo IS corn syrup, whether light or dark varities.

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Yeah but she didn't raise any particular objections to corn syrup other than the light version didn't taste too good on it's own. The dark tastes a little better.

[Pierogi]

Agave nectar sounds like an interesting idea. How available is it? I'll check it out. It sounds fairly neutral in flavor, so I guess if I wanted to introduce a hint of maple flavor I could just back off the nectar and add a little maple syrup. It's a pretty good recipe--great on burgers and has the right consistency for use as a meatloaf frosting; I'll never go back to store-bought ketchup. so I'm not after an overhaul, just a new twist.

...

Katie, I've seen jugs of agave nectar at Trader Joe's...gotta be cheaper than Whole Foods !

[Katie Meadow]

Just about any place is cheaper than Whole Foods. I will check it out next time I am at TJs. Thanks!

Tri2, I didn't even know a dark corn syrup existed. I don't get out much, do I? This ketchup recipe is the only thing I make that calls for corn syrup, so it's the only reason I buy it.