4 ms·

> The only difference is that the ratio of fructose:sucrose is slightly (~5%) higher in corn syrup. HFCS used in soda is 55% fructose. HFCS used in e.g. baked

> The only difference is that the ratio of fructose:sucrose is slightly (~5%) higher in corn syrup. HFCS used in soda is 55% fructose. HFCS used in e.g. baked goods is usually 42% fructose, so it can have lower fructose levels than sugar.

gorkish 2y ago
HFCS is made by enzymatically converting glucose in corn syrup to fructose, so it stands to reason that the product can have any glucose:fructose ratio needed. Since humans categorically taste fructose as sweeter than glucose, it makes sense that HFCS is tuned differently for different applications and in situations where the ratio is very far away from 1:1 I do contend that HFCS could taste different than sucrose. Perhaps it was unwise for me to assume that most HFCS used is close to the 1:1 ratio of sucrose.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
tptacek 2y ago
"High fructose" corn syrup is "high" in fructose relative to normal corn syrup. Table sugar is naturally high in fructose already. The corn syrup you're suggesting is used in baked goods has less fructose than table sugar does.
- mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
  Table sugar is “Nearly pure sucrose”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sugar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sugar
  - tptacek 2y ago
    ... yes? Table sugar is sucrose.
    - mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
      But you said table sugar had a high fructose content: “Table sugar is naturally high in fructose already”. Are you going to walk that back?
      - jandrewrogers 2y ago
        Table sugar is 50% fructose. That’s just basic chemistry, sucrose is a disaccharide that is trivially cleaved upon ingestion. I am confused by your confusion. How high does it need to be to be “high”?
        mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
        You’re right, and I learned something. Sucrose breaks down into a 50/50 mix of glucose and fructose in the gut. It’s not 50% fructose until you eat it though…
        tptacek 2y ago
        HFCS is 42% fructose if it's in food, and 55% if it's in a can of soda, and in that can of soda sucrose is dissociated into glucose and fructose within something like a week of being canned, because the acid in the beverage breaks the bond too. There is simply no useful distinction to make between sucrose and HFCS. High fructose corn syrup is called that because normal corn syrup has essentially no fructose, unlike table sugar.
  - gorkish 2y ago
    Sucrose is a disaccharide formed from a glucose and a fructose molecule bound with an oxygen atom. in the presence of an acid (or in your stomach when you eat it) it will undergo hydrolysis and disassociate into its component sugars. Sucrose and high fructose corn syrup made in the same 1:1 ratio are from a practical standpoint, identical.

gorkish 2y ago

HFCS is made by enzymatically converting glucose in corn syrup to fructose, so it stands to reason that the product can have any glucose:fructose ratio needed. Since humans categorically taste fructose as sweeter than glucose, it makes sense that HFCS is tuned differently for different applications and in situations where the ratio is very far away from 1:1 I do contend that HFCS could taste different than sucrose. Perhaps it was unwise for me to assume that most HFCS used is close to the 1:1 ratio of sucrose.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

tptacek 2y ago

"High fructose" corn syrup is "high" in fructose relative to normal corn syrup. Table sugar is naturally high in fructose already. The corn syrup you're suggesting is used in baked goods has less fructose than table sugar does.

mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
Table sugar is “Nearly pure sucrose”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sugar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sugar
- tptacek 2y ago
  ... yes? Table sugar is sucrose.
  - mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
    But you said table sugar had a high fructose content: “Table sugar is naturally high in fructose already”. Are you going to walk that back?
    - jandrewrogers 2y ago
      Table sugar is 50% fructose. That’s just basic chemistry, sucrose is a disaccharide that is trivially cleaved upon ingestion. I am confused by your confusion. How high does it need to be to be “high”?
      - mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
        You’re right, and I learned something. Sucrose breaks down into a 50/50 mix of glucose and fructose in the gut. It’s not 50% fructose until you eat it though…
        tptacek 2y ago
        HFCS is 42% fructose if it's in food, and 55% if it's in a can of soda, and in that can of soda sucrose is dissociated into glucose and fructose within something like a week of being canned, because the acid in the beverage breaks the bond too. There is simply no useful distinction to make between sucrose and HFCS. High fructose corn syrup is called that because normal corn syrup has essentially no fructose, unlike table sugar.
- gorkish 2y ago
  Sucrose is a disaccharide formed from a glucose and a fructose molecule bound with an oxygen atom. in the presence of an acid (or in your stomach when you eat it) it will undergo hydrolysis and disassociate into its component sugars. Sucrose and high fructose corn syrup made in the same 1:1 ratio are from a practical standpoint, identical.