nwr - high fructose corn syrup

scottreiner

scottreiner

scott reiner
what is the opinion of the gathered of the use of hfcs in so many u.s. products? my opinion has been that products that use hfcs taste worse, sweeter and less complex, more cloying. i have always assumed that there were some negative health consequences resulting from the use of hfcs, but research has shown that there are conflicting opinions, but that most opinions pointing to no negative health consequences have been paid for and/or conducted by the soft drink industry or the ncga.

What are your thoughts, on both flavor and health?
 
Due to a significant amount of bad press the use of HFCS is either going down, or marketing of products by stating that they don't use it is going up.

While I can believe that there are negative health consequences from HFCS, I would bet that most of them could be avoided by overall moderation of consumption. The overall problem is that people eat too much and too much of it is crap. From personal experience I can say that getting a once a week box of fruit/veg from the local CSA has enabled me to drop nearly 15 pounds with no other lifestyle changes. Replace those fruits and veggies with pre-made food loaded with HFCS, sugar, carbs, fat etc and things would of course go the other way.

HFCS is one small factor - not the overall issue IMO.
 
Scott,

I look around my kitchen and I don't really see much food that uses HFCS. Is there anything that you'd actually want to eat that's made with it?
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
Scott,

I look around my kitchen and I don't really see much food that uses HFCS. Is there anything that you'd actually want to eat that's made with it?
Click to expand...

Heinz ketchup.
 
the three products that i have a big problem with are cola, baked beans and catsup.

catsup is easy, just buy organic.

baked beans are more difficult. growing up in england, one of my favorite culinary experiences at the time was a sausage, egg, beans and chips meal. translating that in the states was always difficult because the beans are so horrible here. or, at least different... there is the myers of cheswich option, but it is not always convenient. it is only recently that i figured out that the biggest difference in the products is the use of hfcs.

cola is another sore point. in the summer i love a cuba libre, but coke made with hfcs is one of the more objectionable things i know of. there is the mexican coke option, but again the convenience issue arises.

but, the larger point is not my habits, but those of the country as a whole. look around your average nyc supermarket (forget about those of the midwest) and note the number of products that use hfcs. it is overwhelming. if, for the sake of argument, we assume that there are deleterious health effects to the use of hfcs, this is an absolute disaster for the usa. the related health costs alone are alarming, if we only talk about obesity! you and i have very different diets than the average american...
 
Aside from the taste and health effects, the economic effect of widespread HFC use is pernicious, since the production of corn is subsidized in the U.S. King Corn is a passing good flick on the subject.
 
This is the kind of thread that one follows from the forlorn southwestern corner of Europe with amazement, admiration and a total lack of understanding of what it's all about...
 
OK, obviously it is quite PC to bash high-fructose corn syrup these days, but let's break down that phenomenon a little. This is an issue on at least four fronts - health, politics, taste, and what I'll call, for lack of a better term, lifestyle identification.

On health I can't comment.

Politically, yes, it is completely ridiculous that we as a nation are plundered to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize corn production solely because we have allowed, for whatever reason, the state of Iowa to claim disproportionate influence in our presidential election process. Then there are also the legions of Pollanites who have read the Omnivore's Dilemma, adopted it as a religious text, and yammer on about the environmental impact of "monocultures," which leads to the lifestyle identification point. Bitching about high-fructose corn syrup is of a way of demonstrating to others one's membership in a superior social caste (roughly coterminous with the Stuff White People Like crowd), whereupon conversation can proceed to other acceptable topics such as how much better other countries are than the United States, how TV sucks (except for Mad Men and the Wire), and the amazing experiences one had backpacking through Thailand or volunteering for Barack Obama.

On the taste issue, I would be shocked - absolutely flabbergasted - if anyone can taste the difference between the corn-syrup version and the cane-sugar version of any otherwise identical product in a side-by-side taste test, without intense familiarity (like, it's practically part of your daily diet) with each one. When it comes to cola I'm inclined to say that the corn-syrup version actually tastes somewhat *less* sweet than the sugar version, and however much one might wish to find some actual, natural, sugar-cane *flavor* in the latter, it simply ain't there. I practically have a cellar full of Coke, Mexican Coke, Passover Coke, and Pepsi Throwback if anyone wants to test the theory. Really! Frankly, the storage vessel (can vs. plastic vs. glass vs. fountain) is a far bigger factor in the final taste of the beverage than whether it was made with sugar or corn syrup.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Jim - you got a good baked beans recipe? The RG beans are like butter in burritos.
Click to expand...

Never had butter in burritos?!

No recipe but everything with Rancho Gordo beans in it is better.
Best, Jim
 
Anybody see this bit of news that made the rounds a few weeks ago? A study showed that pancreatic cancer cells looooove fructose.

Cancer cells slurp up fructose.
 
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