Are Corn Syrup and High Fructose Corn Syrup the Same Thing?

Karo Syrup doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup according the banner across the bottle I have in my cupboard.  And it's true.

Corn syrup is a liquid made from the starch of corn in the United States (wheat, potatoes or tapioca elsewhere where corn isn't the predominant crop) and is used to prevent sugar cystallization and to create a smoother texture in prepared foods.  It has a higher percentage of glucose than it's cousin high fructose corn syrup.  Both fructose and glucose are derivatives of the sucrose molecule (or sugar).

Fructose, or fruit sugar,  and glucose are naturally occurring substances found in fruit and vegetables and essential to the function of the human body.  Fructose is substantially sweeter than glucose and is quicker at being absorbed into the blood stream.  Fructose is taken in by the liver and converted to glucose -- leading some to believe that the increase in fatty liver disease is caused by a high intake of high fructose syrups.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is most prevalent in the United States and can be found in many processed foods and drinks in the grocery store.  The sweetness of the product is addictive, perhaps driving over consumption.  Research on HFCS is inconclusive, but some have associated it to an increase in cavities, increased triglyceride levels, poor nutrition and weight gain.

Regardless of where the added sweetener is derived, the American Heart Association, recommends that women consume no more than 100 calories of added sweetener daily and men 150 calories.

If you prefer a sweetener from natural sources, consider honey that can be used 1-to-1 ratio, or replace 1 cup of light corn-syrup with 1-cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup water or 1-cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water to replace 1-cup of dark corn-syrup.  I would suggest an organic cane sugar over the less expensive (but heavily processed) beet sugar.

On a final note, some food manufacturer's separate out their corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup if both are used.  But as a caution, the United States Department of Health and Human Services doesn't require the separation and companies can label high fructose corn syrup as simply "corn syrup" is they choose.

In the end, yes there are differences between corn syrup and HFCS, but it is wise to limit the addition and consumption of any sweeteners to your foods.  HFCS is almost entirely avoided in our house.  I do have that one bottle of Karo Syrup, but it's been in our pantry for a while.  We almost always choose a natural sweetener when needed and use plenty of raw honey for that purpose.

Piloncillo or Panela = Unrefined Whole Cane Sugar

I was walking through our local grocery store (Meijer) the other day and saw a bulk bin of Piloncillo.

Never one to refrain from learning a new food (new to me), I stopped to explore.  Further grocer information about these cone shaped hard crystallized whatevers turned out to be small chunks of unrefined whole cane sugar for $1.99 per pound.

Not one to trust anything on first try, I only purchased three "cones" for about $.60.

I found that there are many names for this product including panela, rapadura, chancaca, papelon, panocha, atado dulce, gur, jaggery, nam oy or empanizao.

Why the cone shape?  There are actually many forms in which this can arrive and it depends largely on the mold used by the maker.  Watch how this natural product is traditionally made here:

The cones are very hard.  I read that in many cultures they hit these pieces of sugar with river rock to break them into smaller usable pieces.

Not wanting to risk breaking anything in our home I skipped the rock smashing and went for a fine grater we have and achieved a decent amount of sugar (think tea or coffee addition here -- not baking or jams).  If you try this you will notice a very strong -- but pleasing -- aroma of molasses as you grate the larger piece of sugar.

For larger quantities I decided to use our Vitamix dry blend container and it quickly pulverized the cone within a few seconds into a fine readily usable sugar.  I don't know that I would attempt this with an everyday blender.

Why Panela?  It isn't processed.  The vitamins, minerals and molasses are not removed and it contains natural proteins, calcium, iron and ascorbic acid.  Typical brown sugar has been processed and then had some molasses added back in to regain its brown color.

You probably won't want to use this for everything, but it is a great replacement for traditional brown sugar.  Look for it at your grocer, world market, or here.