page_title: Corn syrup
section_title: Uses
hierarchical_section_title: Corn syrup / Uses
caption_attribution_description: Full page Karo advert, 1917
context_page_description: Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup, also known as glucose syrup to confectioners, is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor. Corn syrup is distinct from high-fructose corn syrup, which is manufactured from corn syrup by converting a large proportion of its glucose into fructose using the enzyme D-xylose isomerase, thus producing a sweeter compound due to higher levels of fructose.
  The more general term glucose syrup is often used synonymously with corn syrup, since glucose syrup in the United States is most commonly made from corn starch. Technically, glucose syrup is any liquid starch hydrolysate of mono-, di-, and higher-saccharides and can be made from any source of starch; wheat, tapioca and potatoes are the most common other sources.
context_section_description: Corn syrup's major uses in commercially prepared foods are as a thickener, a sweetener, and as a humectant – an ingredient that retains moisture and thus maintains a food's freshness. Corn syrup (or HFCS) is the primary ingredient in most brands of commercial "pancake syrup", as a less expensive substitute for maple syrup.
  In the United States, cane sugar quotas raise the price of sugar; hence, domestically produced corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup are less costly alternatives that are often used in American-made processed and mass-produced foods, candies, soft drinks, and fruit drinks.
  Glucose syrup was the primary corn sweetener in the United States prior to the expanded use of high fructose corn syrup production. HFCS is a variant in which other enzymes are used to convert some of the glucose into fructose. The resulting syrup is sweeter and more soluble.
  If mixed with sugar, water, and cream of tartar, corn syrup can be used to make sugar glass.
caption: Karo advertisement, 1917.
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