Sugar vs HFCS - The Experiment

[Addie]

That's what I buy AND it is less expensive than Heinz!

So do I. I just figure Kerry's wife doesn't need my few dollars. And it states right on the front label, "No HFCS". Sure catches my eye. I really think we are going to be seeing more of "No HFCS" labels in the very near future. With the corn shortage, natural sugar is going to look much better to our food producers. Now let's just hope that our main cane growers don't get hit with a BIG storm.

 

[CWS4322]

A friend is a beekeeper and forward this link:

Your Honey Isn’t Honey | Food Renegade

Besides buying garlic at the garlic festival, I picked up some local honey (having recalled that because of the drought, honey production will be down come honey-harvesting time).

Note the comment about HFCS in imported honey and that the single-serving sizes in restaurants is not usually honey, but is honey-flavored corn syrup.

 

[Dawgluver]

I read the label on Kraft Low Fat Catalina Dressing, and was surprised to find it's sweetened with sugar, not HFCS.

 

[Addie]

I read the label on Kraft Low Fat Catalina Dressing, and was surprised to find it's sweetened with sugar, not HFCS.

I checked my Hidden Valley Parmsean Dressing. Sugar was the third listed ingredient. But way near the bottom of the list of ingredients was corn syrup. No ....oses in the list.

 

[taxlady]

A friend is a beekeeper and forward this link:

Your Honey Isn’t Honey | Food Renegade

Besides buying garlic at the garlic festival, I picked up some local honey (having recalled that because of the drought, honey production will be down come honey-harvesting time).

Note the comment about HFCS in imported honey and that the single-serving sizes in restaurants is not usually honey, but is honey-flavored corn syrup.

I just read that article. I'm glad I almost always buy my honey at the health food store. I became skeptical of grocery store honey when I saw it was pasteurized. Why would you pasteurize a naturally sterile product? Made me wary. Turns out that pasteurized honey looks prettier longer.

I don't need food to be pretty. E.g., I prefer the lumpy, non-uniform tomatoes. Loblaws has very pretty, uniform fruits and vegis. I find that scary. I don't buy fruits and veg form Loblaws, except occasionally some that is organic.

edit: As Andy M. has pointed out, honey is not sterile. It has anti-microbial properties. Pasteurizing does not kill botulism spores, which can grow in the digestive tract of infants.

 

[Addie]

When I was a kid and we had the cranberry bog, we had a bee hive. We used to pull out a frame, peel back the wax and suck out the honey right from the comb. And it was unfiltered. The bees would hve laughed at us if we suggested that they filter it first.

 

[taxlady]

Now I'm ticked off. Did some Googling of "fructose glucose" and read that "glucose-fructose" is the Canadian term for HFCS.

According to the Canadian Sugar Institute, "The term “glucose-fructose” is the common name used on Canadian food ingredient lists for high fructose corn syrup, described in the Food and Drug Regulations as “glucose syrups and isomerized glucose syrups, singly or in combination, where the fructose fraction does not exceed 60 percent of the sweetener on a dry basis”. All of these ingredients contribute to the total sugars (naturally occurring and added) and total carbohydrate listed in the Nutrition Facts Table." Canadian Sugar Institute - Nutrition Labelling and Claims

And, according to Wikipedia, "High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)—also called glucose-fructose syrup[1][2] in the UK, glucose/fructose[3] in Canada, and high-fructose maize syrup in other countries..." High-fructose corn syrup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No more Minute Maid lemonade for me.

 

[CWS4322]

No more Minute Maid lemonade for me.

I quit frozen juices about 2 years ago because of the sugar. I squeeze my own citrus juices. Much better tasting. True, I only get a glass at a time, but that is usually all I need. It doesn't take long to press enough grapefruit or orange juice for a glass, and, it gives my wrist a work out. I have an electric juice, but why bother unless I plan on doing a dozen or so grapefruit or oranges.

 

[Hoot]

I try to buy only local honey....sometimes it is a tick pricey but I think it's worth it.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Just sos ya knows, Hunts Ketchup is made with sugar. I just read the label.

That must've changed recently. According to LabelWatch.com, it contains HFCS.

http://www.labelwatch.com/prod_results.php?pid=321003

I buy either Annie's or Muir Glen, though I prefer Muir Glen. Annie's has kind of a weird aftertaste.

 

[taxlady]

I quit frozen juices about 2 years ago because of the sugar. I squeeze my own citrus juices. Much better tasting. True, I only get a glass at a time, but that is usually all I need. It doesn't take long to press enough grapefruit or orange juice for a glass, and, it gives my wrist a work out. I have an electric juice, but why bother unless I plan on doing a dozen or so grapefruit or oranges.

But Minute Maid is cheaper than homemade and it tastes better than the lemonade that I make. I won't get a lot of practice making lemonade 'cause it isn't something I drink often. It's nice in a beer on a hot day. Oh heck, I have to go read some more about HFCS / glucose-sucrose. I really don't drink lemonade very often.

I buy frozen orange juice, but we don't drink it very often. It's nice to have it handy when sick and in need of lots of fluids and vitamin C. The best tasting OJ that I have tasted here in Canada is Minute Maid in the blender with one entire, peeled orange.

I never bought sweetened frozen juices. Most fruit doesn't need any sweetening and I have been cautious of added sugar since, um, let's see ... I guess my early twenties.

 

[Andy M.]

...Why would you pasteurize a naturally sterile product?...

Honey is not sterile. Honey can contain botulism. The rule to never feed honey to infants is because of this.

 

[Addie]

I buy Florida's Natural orange juice. It has no sugar and is pure squeezed juice. I buy it with the pulp. I want the whole orange. I like the idea that the oranges all come from the same soil. That has a lot to do with the taste of any food. The taste remains the same in all the containers. All the oranges are from Florida and there are no imported oranges mixed with them. I do keep a container of frozen orange juice in the freezer when I need it for baking and don't have an orange on hand. The orange flavor is more intense than just plain orange juice.

 

[Addie]

Honey is not sterile. Honey can contain botulism. The rule to never feed honey to infants is because of this.

Now you tell me. And to think of all the honey I sucked right from the comb as a kid.

 

[taxlady]

OMG, I have a box of that in my cupboard that a friend gave me when she moved! I'm going to make some now.

Did you find the rosehip-hibiscus tea? Was it the same brand?

I have now checked two local heath food stores and they didn't have any brand of rosehip tea. One store had ~30 grams of hibiscus for ~$8. I think most of the flavour comes from the rosehips. I guess I better start checking the ethnic stores in my area. I'm down to 3 teabags.

 

[taxlady]

Honey is not sterile. Honey can contain botulism. The rule to never feed honey to infants is because of this.

You are quite right, but I was told it was sterile back in the '70s. However, pasteurization doesn't kill the botulism spores.

 

[taxlady]

Now you tell me. And to think of all the honey I sucked right from the comb as a kid.

It's botulism spores that can start growing in an infant's intestinal tract. By the age of one year, almost all children have the protective intestinal fauna that prevent that.

 

[Addie]

It's botulism spores that can start growing in an infant's intestinal tract. By the age of one year, almost all children have the protective intestinal fauna that prevent that.

When my first two kids were born they didn't have baby formula. You made the formula with whole milk, water and syrup. All new mothers were told to never use honey in the formula and why. We used Karo clear syrup.

 

[Andy M.]

It's botulism spores that can start growing in an infant's intestinal tract. By the age of one year, almost all children have the protective intestinal fauna that prevent that.

Which is why they call it infant botulism. Definitely not a sterile product.

 

[CWS4322]

Did you find the rosehip-hibiscus tea? Was it the same brand?

I have now checked two local heath food stores and they didn't have any brand of rosehip tea. One store had ~30 grams of hibiscus for ~$8. I think most of the flavour comes from the rosehips. I guess I better start checking the ethnic stores in my area. I'm down to 3 teabags.

I have some in my cupboard--didn't look for it. I inherited it from a friend.