1. Where are they from?
Corn syrup is made from corn starch. Corn starch is first cooked with water to create a flavourless substance. An acid or an enzyme is then added to break apart the starch (which is a long chain of glucose molecules attached together) and release glucose, the sugar that gives the syrup its sweet flavour. Corn syrup also contains water and small, flavourless glucose chains that give it its viscosity. Some syrups also contain fructose.
2. What do they taste like?
There exists both clear and dark corn syrup. They can be used interchangeably in recipes. Both contain a bit of vanilla and salt to enhance their lightly sweet taste. Dark corn syrup also contains refiner’s syrup, a byproduct of sugar refinement, that gives it its brown colour and subtle caramel taste.
3. How can I cook with them?
It can be used in small amounts as an interfering agent, in order to prevent crystallization, in candy (fudge, caramel, lollipops) and ganache (to which it provides shine) recipes, and is essential in pecan pie, as it provides gooeyness and holds everything together. If you were to make these recipes using only white sugar and brown sugar, the sugar would crystallize and the texture would become grainy.
4. Are they good for me?
The food industry uses high-fructose corn syrup (also known as glucose-fructose), a very sweet and controversial product. Our body doesn’t treat fructose the same way it does glucose. Consumed in large quantities, it can increase triglyceride levels in the blood and cause an accumulation of fat in the liver. Using corn syrup occasionally in recipes isn’t of great concern, and you can opt for a corn syrup whose list of ingredients contains glucose and not glucose-fructose as its main ingredient.
Want to cook with corn syrup? Here are a few recipes for you to try: