Life in the Cheese Drawer

I went to the store and found some hfcs-free ketchup: Simply Heinz

Taste test reveals that it’s a bit sweeter, and probably more true-tasting to its ingredients. It has less “tang” and more tomato-y goodness.
I also found some hfcs-free prepackaged choco-chip cookies (mmm) which I’m HOPING didn’t use hfcs-full vanilla. False advertising if they did.
My coworker asked me today what the different between corn syrup and hi-fr corn syrup was today and I had to say, I didn’t know. SO. I did some research.
Apparently, both are broken down by using hydrocholoric/sulfiric acid. YUM think about that next Christmas when those corn-syrupy cookies are sitting out at work. Regular corn syrup has dextrose its sugar, which is about 3/4 as sweet as regular sugar. For those companies that need it SWEEEEET, they add enzymes that convert the dextrose into 42% fructose. For those that want it even sweeeeeeter (pop), I will quote this because I don’t want to condense it:
“To produce corn syrups with a fructose level above 50%, the 42% fructose syrup is passed through a series of fractionation columns, which separate and hold the fructose content. The separated portion is about 80-90% fructose and is flushed from the columns with deionized water. A portion of this is retained and sold for use in “light” foods where only a small amount of liquid sweetener is needed. The remainder is blended with other 42% fructose syrup to produce a 55% fructose syrup, which is used in soft drinks, ice cream, and frozen desserts.”
Ok now that I have the process down, I’m going to start focusing on why corn is such a hot commodity in this country. And how much of a commodity it is.

I went to the grocery store last night to look for some appropriate vanilla and to price real maple syrup. I knew I wasn’t going for ice cream 🙁
So, I traveled down the baked-goods aisle and parked in front of the vanilla rack. 5 different choices and guess which version used actual sugar instead of hfcs? That’s right. The 99¢ imitation vanilla by Valu-time. Who’d’ve thunk? Real vanilla, apparently, doesn’t use sugar. I have to use the crappy imitation stuff. You’d think it’d be the other way around.
Onward to the maple syrup section, where I was REALLY excited to see this:

Now No high fructose corn syrup!!
Woohoo! I was all excited until I looked at the ingredients list and saw the first ingredient was…. corn syrup. *Sigh* not what I was looking for. Sure, it isn’t high-fructose, but it’s still corn, which is my main concern. So, if I want to have syrup, I’ll have to dish out the $7 for 12 oz. of real stuff. I’ll jump that hurdle when I want pancakes.
I found a list of what fast-food foods contains hfcs: http://www.foodfacts.info/high-fructose-corn-syrup.shtml
I was right to nix McDonald’s; even their buns contain hfcs!!! Good grief! Which prompted me to go check out my bread, and the current loaf is safe. What a load of poo: I can’t even have a quarter pounder. Which sucks even more since there were a crap-ton of free McDonald’s coupons at work. Ugh! I really want to try their frappe, but I am positive the things are loaded with hfcs. Ah well.
I did some digging and found that one of the “enzymes” they use to break down the kernels is sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid. YUMMY. Just want I want. They don’t use a lot, but it is in there.

I quickly looked through my cupboard and fridge for foods containing high fructose corn syrup, and here’s what I pulled out: chocolate sauce, grape jelly, maple syrup, vanilla, soy sauce, barbeque sauce, Catalina salad dressing (my blue cheese was safe, whew), Worcestershire sauce, karo syrup (surprise surprise), and ketchup. Last week this would have included ice cream.

What surprised me the most? VANILLA!!! Gah!! Granted, it’s “food club” brand, so hopefully I’ll be able to find some vanilla that will work for me, but I was still surprised that “real” vanilla contained hfcs.
A disappointment, but hardly a surprise, and probably the thing I’ll have the most difficulty with: ketchup.
Another one I’ll miss: Pepsi

I drink diet all through the week, and then generally on the weekends I get a 2-liter of regular. HFCS is ingredient #2, right after carbonated water.
There were a lot of things that surprisingly used sugar: frosting, Nutella, and peanut butter to name a few. I thought I was going to have to buy organic peanut butter, but not the case.
I was also going through a mental list of places I eat out regularly: Jimmy’s Pizza, subway, Kay’s kitchen, McDonald’s, 5 Guys. The only one I think I’d have to give up completely because you just don’t know: McDonald’s. And at all places it’ll be sayonara to sugared pop. Since I generally order iced tea when available, I should be ok.
Here’s a link to the mayo clinic hfcs page: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/an01588
The health consequences are really up in the air compared to sugar. But my concern really isn’t the health issue – it’s the economic/social issues. Not to mention that when they make it, they use ingredients during which a person needs to wear safety glasses and gloves. How great is that!
I plan on starting tomorrow, Monday May 3 and go until at least the 31, unless I go insane with trying to find alternatives.