Corn syrup?

Hub-UK2 · March 6, 2003

The other day I was asked where you could get Corn Syrup in the UK. I have always been aware of corn syrup in a lot of the recipes I have received from the states but it suddenly struck me that I really had no idea about the different syrups.

I have always used Lyle's Golden Syrup over my pancakes and that is it! I don't even know what it is made from.

Can anyone start enlightening me about corn syrup and anything else you think I should know about syrup.

**Dave the Cook** · March 6, 2003

Lyle's is cane syrup. Though the taste will be different, the consensus is that it can be substitued, measure-for measure, for corn syrup. Light corn syrup usually has vanilla added, so take that into account.

Jump into the middle of this thread for information and links about cane syrup and molasses.

Precis on corn syrup here.

- Dave the Sugar Geek

Thomas Secor · March 6, 2003

I dont know much of anything about corn syrup, but I know the following:

I never used it in the States;

I definitely wouldnt put it on my pancakes (unless its the stuff in the Aunt Jemima bottles, in which case I have been unwillingly exposed on a number of occassions);

It is a key ingredient in sticky toffee pudding (or maybe for the sauce, cant remember which, since I never did end up making the sticky toffee pudding as planned);

That Lyle's stuff is everywhere.

Are you from the U.S.? Did you use it there? maybe its a regional thing. In the northeast, we stick to the maple, generally. Good old vermont maple syrup.

**Dave the Cook** · March 6, 2003

Thomas et al,

It would be pretty hard to completely avoid corn syrup these days. I don't have a specimen in front of me, so I'm not sure what Auntie puts in her syrup, but most of the "-- flavored" syrups are based on corn, with maple or fruit extracts or other flavorings added. And corn syrup, in its high-fructose version, is the sweetener of choice for soft drinks.

Corn syrup (especially light versions) is widely applied because it is relatively neutral in taste, especially in comercial circumstances, and it's a cheap form of liquid sugar. hen you consider the general overproduction of corn in the US, its ubiquity should not be a shock. I haven't looked, but I'd bet that corn syrup is quite common in processed foods the world over. But given the role that tradition plays in home baking and pancake toppers, corn syrup is probably passed over in the supermarket for something more familiar.

=Mark · March 6, 2003

And corn syrup, in its high-fructose version, is the sweetener of choice for soft drinks.

This may be true from the perspective of the soft drink industry due to it's low price compared to imported cane sugar, but I think that from the consumers point of view (taste?) cane sugar is much preferred. Having tasted soft drinks that were sweetened with cane sugar instead of corn syrup it was obviously a better product.

**Dave the Cook** · March 6, 2003

And corn syrup, in its high-fructose version, is the sweetener of choice for soft drinks.

This may be true from the perspective of the soft drink industry due to it's low price compared to imported cane sugar, but I think that from the consumers point of view (taste?) cane sugar is much preferred. Having tasted soft drinks that were sweetened with cane sugar instead of corn syrup it was obviously a better product.

You're right. I didn't put it very well. The "choice" is made by food processors.

But given the public sensitivity to dietary sugar, it will be a while before you see a mass market soft drink advertise that it's "made with Real Sugar!" No one wants to draw attention to how much sweetener is in say, a 12-ounce can of Coke. The HFCS (because it is sweeter than granulated sugar) is equivalent to about 16 teaspoons (~ 65 grams) of table sugar.

Passover is coming soon. Time to stock up on Kosher Coke.

Jaymes · March 6, 2003

I always have corn syrup in the house. Always. Always have. As have all the "cooks" in my family. Both light and dark corn syrup.

But I know absolutely no one that puts it over pancakes, waffles, etc. It's not (to my knowledge) an "eating" syrup; but rather, a "cooking" syrup. Think of it more like simple syrup.

For example, I've never seen a recipe for Pecan Pie that doesn't have it in there. Also many other pies and candies.

My recipe in the Caramel Corn thread calls for it as well.

I think that the whole point of corn syrup is to have a neutral-flavored, concentrated sweetener.

I'm no food chemist, but I'd think a thick simple syrup would be a much better substitute for corn syrup than any flavored variety.

Edited March 6, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

**Dave the Cook** · March 6, 2003

I always have corn syrup in the house. Always. Always have. As have all the "cooks" in my family. Both light and dark corn syrup.

Same here, though I have a Southern lady acquaintance who carries a childhood memory of Karo syrup (the light version, not their pancke syrup) on pancakes. Personally, I don't get it.

I think that the whole point of corn syrup is to have a neutral-flavored, concentrated sweetener.
I'm no food chemist, but I'd think a thick simple syrup would be a much better substitute for corn syrup than any flavored variety

As usual, Jaymes is right.

But most light corn syrups do include vanilla, which nudges them a bit off the neutral track -- one of those things you don't notice explicitly, but would miss if it weren't there.

For convenience and chemistry, just about any syrup will do, as long as the sugar concentration is reasonable -- and avoid things with lots of gums and thickeners.

Hub-UK2 · March 7, 2003

Where could I buy corn syrup in the UK?

Is there a particular brand sold in the UK?

Jaymes · March 7, 2003

most light corn syrups do include vanilla...

As usual, D the C, when it comes to all things sweet, you are the definitive authority.