When you start to cook something and suddenly you realized that you are missing the main ingredient i.e. Corn Syrup. You may get irritated sometimes or you would start finding something related to this so that your dishes don’t go waste. The first thing you would do is please! calm yourself. It happens with everyone. You don’t need to worry because everything has a substitute. Here we are going to talk about the Corn Syrup Substitute.
Before ahead and know the substitute for corn syrup. We need to know what actually is corn syrup?
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What is Corn Syrup, Actually?
Basically, Corn Syrup is a food syrup that is made from starch extracting from corn and has a varying amount of maltose. There are two types of corn syrup light and dark. You might be thinking that Light Corn Syrup is the more processed form of Dark Corn Syrup. No, you are wrong 😀 Let us tell you what is light corn syrup.
Light Corn Syrup Substitute:
Light Corn Syrup is a sugar syrup extracted from cornstarch. It is clear in color. It also includes vanilla flavoring. Light corn syrup is added to the ingredient list of candy, caramel popcorn, frosting, and sweet sauces. You can cook it at high temperatures because it doesn’t crystallize like sugar. If you don’t have Light Corn syrup, you don’t need to go to the store in hurry. We are going to tell you about the Light Corn Syrup Substitutes. There are several substitutes for Light Corn Syrup, which you may find in your kitchen.
You can replace 1 cup of corn syrup with these simple substitutes for light corn syrup.
- 1 cup sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup light molasses
- 1 cup maple-flavored syrup (pancake syrup)
- 1 cup agave nectar
- 1 cup brown rice syrup
Dark Corn Syrup Substitute:
Dark Corn Syrup is made from the same ingredient as Light Corn Syrup mostly. The dark version of Corn Syrup has an addition of refiner’s sugar, which is a type of molasses. The dark color of the Dark Corn Syrup is due to the use of refiner’s sugar.
Corn Syrup remains liquid at room temperature and doesn’t form a crystallized form. It is mostly used in candy making. It gives a shiny texture to the dishes and a creamy texture to frozen desserts like chocolate sauce. If you are making these kinds of dishes and you have missed the Corn Syrup as the main ingredient. We got you some substitutes for Corn Syrup right here. You can choose accordingly.
What Can You Substitute for Corn Syrup?
1. Glucose Syrup: There is plenty of starch that breaks down into glucose. Glucose syrup sources like wheat and potatoes are more common outside the United States.
2. Honey: Like modern corn syrup you used in the kitchen, honey adds the enzymatic digestion of complex sugars into simple sugars. whereas Corn Syrup makes use of extracted fungal and bacterial enzymes, nectar is converted into honey by way of bees repeatedly recapitulating it.
Unlike regular Corn Syrup, honey contains both fructose and glucose. It is the same as another simple sugar because it can’t prevent crystallization. So, it can’t be the best choice for making candies and caramel. You can use this for other recipes/dishes and won’t mind its distinctive taste. The lighter the honey, the milder the flavor.
3. Golden Syrup: Golden Syrup is made from inverted sugar which means that sucrose has been broken into glucose and fructose. It doesn’t have honey’s complexity of flavor, but you can use it as a Corn Syrup alternative. Golden Syrup can be used for making candies and caramel.
4. Birch Syrup: Birch syrup is delicious in taste and similar to maple syrup. It is made from glucose and fructose instead of complex sucrose. It is more costly than maple syrup, but it is the best substitute for Corn Syrup. It requires more sap than maple syrup to produce birch syrup.
5. Date Honey: Date honey is extracted from the fruit date palm. It is mostly used in the Middle East region of the world. It is dark, rich, and sweeter in taste. Yes, it can be used as a substitute for dark corn syrup. It is also rich in fructose as well as glucose. As you know it is sweeter in taste, so we are suggesting you pour a small amount of it so that your dish won’t be oversweet.
6. Cream: Cream can disrupt the formation of crystallization in making candies, so it can be used as a corn syrup substitute if you are making candies.
7. Lemon Juice: If cane sugar is the only option you have in your hands, do some hydrolysis of your own. Generally, hydrolyzing a starch takes time, pressure, and needs powerful acid, but it’s easier to hydrolyze the sucrose. You just need to do one simple thing, just put some water in a pan or add some sugar with a little amount of lemon juice, and wait until it turns into a golden color and you will be good to go. So, it can also be used as a Corn Syrup alternative.
8. Cream of Tartar: Tartar is another acidic substance. It can be used to invert sugar into fructose and glucose. Lemon juice and cream of tartar are used together to invert the sugar.
9. Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is costly, but it is rich, smooth, and sexy. Your local restaurant serves pancakes with corn syrup because corn syrup is not costly as maple syrup. Corn syrup is gloopy and sickly sweet in taste. There is not much difference between maple syrup and corn syrup, so you don’t need to compare both of these. Please! don’t replace Corn Syrup with maple syrup for making candies.
10. Cane Syrup: This popular southern ingredient tastes similar to molasses. It can be used as a substitute for Corn Syrup when used in the same amount of corn syrup. This can’t be able to prevent crystallization, so you can’t use cane syrup for making candies. This can be the best Corn Syrup replacement.
FAQ:
What does corn syrup do in baking?
If you cooking some baked goods, it helps to bind water to prevent moisture loss in the whole recipe and increase the shelf life. It also helps to prevent the formation of large crystals of honey and sugar.
Is honey healthier than corn syrup?
You may think choosing honey in place of corn syrup is healthy, but the truth is both honey and corn syrup has the same effect on the body.
Now, you know the best Corn Syrup substitute. You can choose according to what you have in the kitchen or you can also buy from amazon. Please! comment down below your questions, and let us know how much informative is this article for you. 🙂
