What Is in Corn Syrup?
It's clear, sticky and sweet. It's an indispensable ingredient in some of your favorite treats. But exactly what is in corn syrup, and how does it get there? It all starts with corn starch, which is the carbohydrate left after the gluten in corn is removed for animal feed. Does this Spark an idea?
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Beginnings
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To make corn syrup, a corn starch solution is processed with a series of acids and enzymes that help break down the starch--which is made of long chains of carbon molecules--into shorter carbon chains, which are sugars.
Refinement
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The corn starch solution contains a variety of sugars, mostly disaccharides such as sucrose, but also some monosaccharides such as maltose, glucose and dextrose. The more refined the syrup becomes, the sweeter it is. Refiners can stop the conversion at any point, to create a less-sweet corn syrup, or they can allow the enzymes to keep converting until almost all of the corn syrup is super-sweet dextrose.
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Bottling
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When the syrup contains the exact proportion of sugars desired, it is filtered, centrifuged and put through ion-exchange processes that help remove water and any impurities. Then it can be bottled and sold to consumers directly, for cooking and baking purposes. Most grocery store brands of corn syrup contain between 15 and 20 percent dextrose along with maltose, glucose, sucrose, vanilla and preservatives.
Uses
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Corn syrup helps preserve the moistness of home-baked products better than cane sugar can, and it does not crystallize at low temperatures. Its particular consistency and level of sweetness, plus the way it reacts when heated, make corn syrup a key ingredient in pecan pie, popcorn balls, peanut brittle, fudge and other treats. Corn syrup can be substituted for honey in recipes without changing the texture of the finished product, although it does not contribute exactly the same flavor. As a side note, corn syrup dyed with red food coloring is the substance most often used to simulate blood in movies and theatrical productions.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup
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Some corn syrup is processed even further to create high-fructose corn syrup. The corn industry formulated high-fructose corn syrup to have the same sweetness concentration as cane sugar. High-fructose corn syrup is widely used in commercially prepared foods, including soft drinks, because it is less expensive than sugars made from sugar cane or sugar beets.
Considerations
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Some individuals have difficulty digesting high-fructose corn syrup; a few experts blame this form of sweetener for the elevated incidence of Type 2 diabetes among those who drink canned soda. Many people find it easier to drink more sugar calories in corn syrup-sweetened foods than in cane sugar-sweetened foods. For example, if you put 12 teaspoons of granulated sugar in a large cup of coffee, it might seem too sweet to drink--but the same size serving of cola contains the equivalent of that many sugar calories in high fructose corn syrup.
Warnings
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In past generations, corn syrup was sometimes recommended as a cure for infant constipation. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic now say corn syrup should not be given to babies because it is not a sterile food.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit KJace
