High Fructose Corn Syrup vs Sugar - Uses and Benefits
Sweetener Use in the Products You Eat and Drink
High Fructose Corn Syrup | Table Sugar |
| High fructose corn syrup enhances fruit and spice flavors in yogurts, marinades and other products, prolongs product freshness in breads, provides product stability in condiments, promotes cooked flavors in sauces and retains moisture in products such as bran cereals and granola bars. In salad dressings and spaghetti sauces, high fructose corn syrup improves flavor by reducing the harsh vinegar or acid bite while enhancing spices. In canned fruits and applesauce, high fructose corn syrup serves as a preservative keeping color and texture intact and enhancing fruit flavors. In addition, high fructose corn syrup is a highly fermentable nutritive sweetener for breads and baked goods. | Depending on the food in which it is used, table sugar can preserve, enhance the flavor of, aid fermentation in, or add color to food. It helps give baked goods texture, structure and a golden brown color and also helps maintain freshness and prevents spoilage. Sugar adds bulk and texture to ice cream and baked goods, preserves jams and fruits and, in beverages, imparts a satisfying body or “mouthfeel.” Breads rise when sugar is fermented by yeast. It enhances flavor and balances the natural acidity of tomato and vinegar-based products such as salad dressings, sauces and condiments. |
Unique Benefits of HFCS and Table Sugar
High Fructose Corn Syrup | Table Sugar |
| High fructose corn syrup enhances fruit and spice flavors. It is described as having an “early” sweetness profile, which enhances flavors in foods and beverages. This means that when high fructose corn syrup is consumed, the sweetness is detected rapidly by human taste buds, or “early” in the tasting process, but the sweetness does not linger. As the sweetness of high fructose corn syrup subsides, other flavors such as fruit, citrus and spice are experienced more clearly and completely.It is the crispness and clarity of its sweetness profile that allows high fructose corn syrup to enhance other flavors. Chewy cookies, snack bars and other baked goods derive their soft and moist texture from high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup retains moisture and resists crystallization after baking. High fructose corn syrup promotes freshness, inhibiting microbial spoilage by reducing water activity and extending shelf life through superior moisture control. | Here are some unique ways sugar enhances food preparation: Some cookies are better crunchy than soft, such as ginger snaps. Sugar crystallizes on the surface and helps produce the desirable surface cracking of some cookies. The shape of sugar crystals is an important characteristic during the creaming process in baking. When shortening and sugar are creamed together, air is trapped on the face of the sugar crystals creating very small air cells. The cells expand during baking creating a light and airy cake or cookie. |
See generally White PJ and Johnson LA. 2003. “Corn Sweeteners,” in Corn Chemistry and Technology, 2nd Edition; Corn Refiners Association. 2006. Nutritive Sweeteners from Corn, 8th Edition; Alexander RJ. 1998. Sweeteners: Nutritive. Eagan Press; Coulston AM, Johnson RK. 2002. Sugar and sugars: Myths and realities. J Am Diet Assoc 102(3):351-353; International Food Information Council. November 2006. Carbohydrates and Sugars Backgrounder.