javasaurus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
javasaurus) wrote2006-05-26 04:48 pm
javasaurus) wrote2006-05-26 04:48 pm
High fructose corn syrup
Some people absolutely hate high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Why?
I can understand that some people can actually taste the difference between HFCS and sucrose, but I have trouble understanding why they find the difference to be so strong as to really get upset about it.
Before I continue, here's trivia that some people may not know: Sucrose is 50:50 glucose/fructose. HFCS is 45:55 glucose/fructose. There is very little difference between them!
Also, some people blame HFCS for the increasing gut size in the US. Why? HFCS can actually achieve the same sweetness as sucrose with slightly fewer calories! Fructose is sweeter than glucose, so upping the ratio means you can use less sugar. If you use the same amount of sugar, you get the same calories. HFCS is no worse for you calorie-wise than sucrose.
This doesn't really mean that HFCS has no role in the increasing waist size. HFCS is somewhat cheaper to produce than sucrose, so soda manufacturers can use the savings to keep prices down and/or increase serving size. If people are getting fat, it's from drinking more soda, not because the HFCS soda has more calories.
I can understand that some people can actually taste the difference between HFCS and sucrose, but I have trouble understanding why they find the difference to be so strong as to really get upset about it.
Before I continue, here's trivia that some people may not know: Sucrose is 50:50 glucose/fructose. HFCS is 45:55 glucose/fructose. There is very little difference between them!
Also, some people blame HFCS for the increasing gut size in the US. Why? HFCS can actually achieve the same sweetness as sucrose with slightly fewer calories! Fructose is sweeter than glucose, so upping the ratio means you can use less sugar. If you use the same amount of sugar, you get the same calories. HFCS is no worse for you calorie-wise than sucrose.
This doesn't really mean that HFCS has no role in the increasing waist size. HFCS is somewhat cheaper to produce than sucrose, so soda manufacturers can use the savings to keep prices down and/or increase serving size. If people are getting fat, it's from drinking more soda, not because the HFCS soda has more calories.
no subject
But sugar in drinks tastes *so* much better. Not just the apparent taste of the sweetener, but what it does to the taste of the drink. As Acroyear said up there, the difference between everyday Coke and kosher for Passover Coke is *huge*... identifiable by both appearance (both sitting there and how it "fizzes") and taste/aftertaste (a "cleaner/crisper" taste, less oddish aftertaste, and ... something else I can't bring to mind right now... only got to have it one day this year :-( )
Most of the difference is how whatever it's mixed with clings to your mouth... the corn syrup is just that much more "sticky". And if something you don't like happens to be what sticks to your mouth, it's not quite as pleasant an experience.
no subject
Oh, for what it's worth, "real" corn syrup is almost pure glucose (and water, of course). The current Karo syrup uses a combination of glucose syrup and HFCS to increase sweetness.