Food Science: The Low-Down on High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Corn syrup, and especially high-fructose corn syrup, is our nation's dietary villain du jour - and not without some good reasons. In all the debates surrounding this ingredient, it's usually assumed that we already know what corn syrup is and where it comes from. Here's an explanation for those of us who've never been quite certain:

Corn syrup is made by heating corn starch along with an acid or malt enzyme. During this process, the long chains of glucose molecules in the starch are broken apart into individual glucose molecules, which our tongues taste and perceive as sweet. This process was actually developed in the early 1800's using potato starch and wasn't applied to corn starch until later in the century.

High-fructose corn syrup was developed in the 1960's, almost a century later. This syrup undergoes an additional enzymatic process that converts some of those glucose molecules into fructose. This is the sweetest of all the sugar molecules and makes corn syrup equally as sweet as table sugar.

The key thing to understand is that not all corn syrup is high-fructose, and it's the high-fructose version that is the primary subject of debate. It's possible to find regular corn syrup to use in your own cooking and candy-making, though it might take some searching. Karo, the most popular supermarket brand of corn syrup, is unfortunately high-fructose.

Does anyone know a good brand of regular corn syrup available on the market?

(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)

Comments (23)

I still don't understand why people have an issue with corn syrup, high fructose or otherwise.

Thanks for pointing that out about Karo. I've noticed a distinct lack of hypoglemic moments since I've switched off HFCS (thank heavens for Mexican Coke) and since Pecan Pie season is upon us I was about to start using that stuff.

I'll search and if I can find one, I'll let you know!

http://embritadesign.blogspot.com

Some time ago (last Christmas, I think), I picked up a bottle of Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Corn Syrup ( http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/brands/Wholesome_Sweeteners/Organic_Corn_Syrup.html ) at my local Whole Foods. Unfortunately I haven't seen it there since, but my Whole Foods is rather small and the stock changes every week depending on what's popular and what they think is worth keeping in stock. I've been keeping an eye out for it, though (apparently it's available at Shopper's and Target)...

Aimi - I am just finishing "In Defense of Food" which has a great section (large, I won't summarize, but will recommend reading) laying out the problems with highly processed food products like HFCS. I didn't exactly understand it either before I read this book, and found it definitely helped. Obviously, it's still a debate, so you'll still hear both sides argued persuasively, but I don't necessarily trust the propaghanda advertising of sweetsurprise.com (the obvious self-serving incentives of food developers/processors in shaping our opinions on the "health" of their products is also discussed in the book)

Aimi, one of the reasons that I actually retained from reading about it is that high fructose corn syrup inhibits production of leptin, a hormone produced by our fat cells that tells us we're full and to stop eating.

What I took away from Pollan's book was that it isn't so much corn syrup itself that's the problem, it's the fact that it's in freakin' everything.

It would be one thing if the only time we ever ingested corn syrup was when we made something with the Karo syrup in the cupboard (pralines, pecan pie, etc.). But there has been an incredible push over time to get corn syrup used as a big ingredient in juices, sodas, sauces, soups, canned goods, breads, etc. So you're not just having corn syrup in your pralines, you're having it in your cocktails (it's in the cranberry juice in your Seabreeze), your welsh rarebit (it's in the Worcestershire sauce), your Kung Pao Chicken (it's in the duck sauce and the soy sauce), your tomato soup....

The reason why it's in everything is because it is cheap as all hell, and the reason why it is cheap as all hell is because there is a glut of corn on the market; and the reason there is a glut of corn on the market is because of government farm lobbies that actually PREVENT farmers from saying "you know what, how about I take just one acre of the cornfield and grow watermelons on it instead?" In moderation it's not evil, but ANYTHING eaten to the excess that we are encouraged to eat high fructose corn syrup isn't great for us.

The documentary King Korn has an excellent section devoted to the production of HFCS. Nasty.

And those new adds are just creepy.

We don't purchase products that contain HFCS because it is synonymous with "highly processed junk you shouldn't eat." And we figure we get enough of it in our diets when we eat out, etc.

um...that should say hypoglycemic episodes. Yay for spelling!

Because it's not a natural sugar, people with blood-sugar issues react radically to HFCS. Example: I used to have an American Coke a day (often not even a full one) - which has HFCS - I noticed by lunch my sugar had crashed and it was unpleasant. I discovered that Costco carries Mexican Coke (sugar cane, yay!) and I still have my (almost) one coke a day but my sugar does not crash anymore. All other things being equal - honestly.

What has followed has been an HFCS purge, which is easier than you'd think.

Whole Foods does sell Karo that does not have HFCS, but you have to look closely at the label because there's nothing to distinguish it from the Karo that does have HFCS.

I agree with what empresscallipygos said. It's not that I expect to never eat HFCS. I just don't feel comfortable with it in EVERYTHING, as it pretty much is these days. I have a really hard time finding sandwich bread that doesn't have it in it. I agree in everything in moderation. So I will indulge in an occasional dessert that has it in it, just not in 2 of the 3 things I eat in one meal alone!

HFCS is bad because the extreme sugar highs and lows we get from them really wear out your pancreas (which relases insulin into your blood to help body absorb and digest food and nutrients)....wear that out and you've got diabetes.
Like the new HFCS commercials point out that it might be ok in moderation, the problem with that is that it's impossible to have in moderation - because so many things list it in their first 5 (rule of thumb: anything bad listed within the first 5 ingredients is a bad thing to consume) so you can't really moderate and keep levels down.

Another thing that's really bad for you is "partially hydrogenated __________ (fill in the blank) oil"
Chemistry adds hydrogen, making the liquid plant oil a solid at room temperature (good for long shelf life) bad for arteries - same affect on arteries as saturated fat/animal fat which is hard at room temp. Also partially hydrogenated oils impare the chemicals in the brain that RECIEVE the "i'm full" messengers your stomach sends out for you to stop eating. Thus we have over eating, thus obesity.

The dark Karo doesn't have HFCS, just the light stuff.

Griffin's brand corn syrup does not contain HFCS. Look for it at Big Lots, of all places.

Interesting conversation, both ways. I'm not sure that any of the negative stuff is enough to put me totally off it, but it's good to know why all this fuss is going on.

Emily

In Defense of Foods also talked about how there's always a food villain. HFCS is just posing as the current villain. As far as I'm concerned, HFCS is just a henchman of industrial food, not the mastermind. It's into everything, but it doesn't have any superpowers.

And getting type 2 diabetes isn't as simple as drinking too many cokes. I have type 1, and trust me, my body doesn't know the difference between a coke and a baked potato.

Emmie B, next time you want Pecan pie, substitute maple syrup for corn syrup. Delicious.

It's also interesting to note that the rise in obesity rates coincides with the development and rise in use of HFCS.

Uptown Girl I had the same problem finding bread sans HFCS. Roman Meal has several breads that are sweetened with molasses, honey or brown sugar. I've listed a few you might like to try.

Natural Double Fiber
All Natural Honey & Oat Bran
Roman Meal Honey Wheatberry

Does HFCS look like anything other than HFCS in ingredient lists? Because I'm seeing much less often than I would imagine so I'm starting to wonder if I'm missing something...

Thanks!

In addition to the issues of HFCS being in way too many places - i think one issue that doesn't get the attention it should is that the corn producers get a lot of federal subsidies, and that a very large portion of what they're subsidized to grow gets made into HCFS. So - the problem is that HFCS and thus many overly processed foods are cheaper than they should be because we use tax dollars to subsidize them... anyway - just another side of the issue regarding HFCS...

All the reasons stated are the reasons I got away from HFCS. I mean it's like white sugar on steroids, supersweet with no nutritional value and some possibly bad internal reactions. So it's just not worth it. I still give in on occasion for a soda, candy or unhealthy snack.

More and more products are touting "No HFCS" so I like to check the ingredients to see if there is anything else weird.
There are a few common grocery store breads that use honey, molasses, and other natural sweeteners. That may vary between varieties under the same brand though.

ALSO
I noticed in the grocery store the Mexican Coke now has a label that says may or may not contain high fructose corn syrup! I wonder if this is true, or Coca-Cola just trying to combat brand cannibalism.

really glad I found this post... not so glad that I just checked my favorite healthy whole-wheat bread and found that HFCS is in it! :(

Check out Omnivore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, it's not just about HFCS, it's about getting away from highly processed foods. As Mr. Pollan says, don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't eat or something that a 3rd grader could not pronounce the ingredients. Companies are finally starting to get the message and take some of the junk out of our foods.