Corn Syrup

Q: What is the difference between regular corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup? A: Both types of corn syrup start the same way: Cornstarch is treated with an acid or an enzyme, turning it into glucose syrup. To make regular corn syrup - the kind found in supermarkets and used by home bakers for candies and frostings - manufacturers clarify and reduce glucose syrup until it's the right consistency. High-fructose corn syrup is also made from corn-derived glucose syrup, but it requires additional chemical reactions that convert some of the glucose into fructose, creating a sweetener that contains both.

Hi, we're Archer Daniels Midland. We don't smell. And we make as little noise as possible. So said company representatives during a Planning Commission meeting in Falls Wednesday. ADM, the first would-be tenant for a proposed industrial park between Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway, gave commission members a presentation of its corn storage facilities, assuring township officials and about 30 residents that it would not be a detriment to the neighborhood. "This is a first-class cleanly operation that will have no negative impact on the community," said Tom Hecker, an attorney for ADM. Commission members are awaiting a decision from supervisors on Conrail's proposal to develop the 81-acre rail yard that ADM wants to move into.

All that tastes sweet isn't sugar - or at least that is what a federal judge told attorneys for Coca-Cola Co. here last week. The judge's comments were in reference to a sour, five-year court battle between 60 Cola-Cola bottlers nationwide and their parent group, the giant Cola-Cola Co., which is incorporated here. In a class-action suit filed in 1981, the bottlers alleged that they were being supplied with a mixture, called HFCS-55, containing corn syrup - and not sugar, as agreed to in a 1921 consent decree.

A typical hot fudge sundae can weigh in at 738 calories and a whopping 47 grams of fat, more than half of the daily allotment of fat if you are trying to stay within the government-recommended guidelines of less than 30 percent fat calories. Now Quaker Oats has introduced Mrs. Richardson's Fat-Free Hot Fudge and Fat-Free Caramel toppings. The fudge has only 100 calories in a two-tablespoon serving (130 for the caramel topping). The fat-free toppings have a rich, creamy "mouth feel.

THERE'S a large number of Americans (white racist tea partyers included) who, because of their blatant dislike for people of color - and thus our president - will allow the Republican Party (the modern-day KKK) to force them to lose their homes, jobs, pensions, families and even their lives to further a hateful and greedy agenda. And this party shows its disdain for these same people, the white poor, by treating them exactly the same way they treat the minorities. They appear confident that the white poor will be blinded by their anti-poor and anti-minority lies and misinformation.

Maybe she would have just one mint: "You know those pink, green and yellow melt-away mints shaped like Hershey's Kisses, with little white sugary balls on the bottom?" Maybe a bar of chocolate, or just one bite of that bar. Right at midnight. "I was fully planning on renting out a doughnut shop and having all my friends and family come," said Portland-based blogger Nicole MacDonald, who was about to end a self-imposed "Year Without Processed Sugar" as the calendar turned over to 2009.

FOOD NEWS "Nuts about George" - a 2.5-ounce package of peanuts, almonds, pecans and cashews - features a drawing of Texas Gov. George W. Bush and warns that profits will aid Republican causes. . .One Brown Mouse Co.'s new product is Heavenly Hemp Garlic Hemp 'n' Yellow Corn Chips. For information: www.hempfoods.com. . .Faded rock star Sammy Hagar has his own brand of tequila, named Cabo Wabo. The beverage is made from 100 percent blue agave roasted in wood-fired ovens. REDUCE CANCER RISK The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends these steps for reducing cancer risk when grilling meat: Choose lean cuts instead of high-fat ones, such as ribs or sausage, since fat dripping and burning in the flames can form carcinogenic substances that billow back onto the meat as smoke.

Planning Commission officials will not recommend a storage operation that Archer Daniels Midland had proposed building in the township. In a unanimous vote last night, the seven-member board said the proposed ADM facility did not meet zoning requirements. Board members also criticized Conrail for its proposals involving the ADM site. ADM, which manufactures corn syrup and other corn byproducts, wants to be the first tenant in Conrail's 81-acre industrial park between Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway.

Microwaveable desserts are rarely delicious, but Tracy Claros' English Lemon Pudding tastes like homemade. A true Brit who lives and bakes in Austin, Texas, now, Claros makes a light, moist lemon cake topped with tart lemon sauce. It took gold at New York's Fancy Food Show. All grape, all the time? Americans buy 74 million jars of grape jelly a year. So, if PB&J is a constant in your youngster's lunch box, check out the new Bonne Maman French grape jelly. No corn syrup, artificial dyes, or preservatives, so the pure fruit flavor of the Muscat grape stands out.  

Many popular packaged food products - including snack and microwavable convenience foods - now have organic equivalents competing for shelf space and customer loyalty. In the Philadelphia area's mainstream supermarkets, we found the widest selection of organic processed foods at Genuardi's, which groups them in a store-within-a-store near the produce section. When we bought several products for a taste test, every organic brand cost more than its conventional counterpart. And in most cases, we preferred the flavor of the organic product.

THERE'S a large number of Americans (white racist tea partyers included) who, because of their blatant dislike for people of color - and thus our president - will allow the Republican Party (the modern-day KKK) to force them to lose their homes, jobs, pensions, families and even their lives to further a hateful and greedy agenda. And this party shows its disdain for these same people, the white poor, by treating them exactly the same way they treat the minorities. They appear confident that the white poor will be blinded by their anti-poor and anti-minority lies and misinformation.

Q: What is the difference between regular corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup? A: Both types of corn syrup start the same way: Cornstarch is treated with an acid or an enzyme, turning it into glucose syrup. To make regular corn syrup - the kind found in supermarkets and used by home bakers for candies and frostings - manufacturers clarify and reduce glucose syrup until it's the right consistency. High-fructose corn syrup is also made from corn-derived glucose syrup, but it requires additional chemical reactions that convert some of the glucose into fructose, creating a sweetener that contains both.

Microwaveable desserts are rarely delicious, but Tracy Claros' English Lemon Pudding tastes like homemade. A true Brit who lives and bakes in Austin, Texas, now, Claros makes a light, moist lemon cake topped with tart lemon sauce. It took gold at New York's Fancy Food Show. All grape, all the time? Americans buy 74 million jars of grape jelly a year. So, if PB&J is a constant in your youngster's lunch box, check out the new Bonne Maman French grape jelly. No corn syrup, artificial dyes, or preservatives, so the pure fruit flavor of the Muscat grape stands out.  

By George Ball We live in a time that merits a new edition of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds , Charles Mackay's classic 1841 study of human follies and frenzies, including witch hunts, alchemy, and bursting financial bubbles. One delusion now in full bloom is the movement to legalize medical marijuana, which is proceeding apace without significant care or consideration on the part of the government, the medical and scientific community, or the public. With California leading, 14 states have legalized medical marijuana, and 11 others are considering doing so. New Jersey's governor and lawmakers recently wrangled over implementation of its new medical-marijuana law, while Philadelphia's current and former district attorneys argued about a push to lessen penalties for possession.

DEAR ABBY: Years ago you published your recipe for Abby's Famous Pecan Pie. I cut it out and made it often because it was the best pecan pie I ever tasted. Somehow I have misplaced my recipe. I have come across other ones, but not yours. Would you be so kind as to reprint it in your column? I have committed to bringing a couple of pies to an upcoming event. It would mean a lot to me to be able to use it again. I know everyone who tastes it will agree that it's the best they have ever eaten.

In the three centuries since the French-Irish Doyle (formerly D'Ouilli) family settled its land grant from William Penn, Doylestown has gone through a number of transformations. George Washington and his colonials tromped through on their way to beat up on the British. It became the Bucks County seat soon afterward and had some hope of rivaling Philadelphia as a center of the action in these parts. Instead, it built itself into a combination of a manufacturing and a farming center, with a prominent agricultural educational institution, now Delaware Valley College.

Maybe she would have just one mint: "You know those pink, green and yellow melt-away mints shaped like Hershey's Kisses, with little white sugary balls on the bottom?" Maybe a bar of chocolate, or just one bite of that bar. Right at midnight. "I was fully planning on renting out a doughnut shop and having all my friends and family come," said Portland-based blogger Nicole MacDonald, who was about to end a self-imposed "Year Without Processed Sugar" as the calendar turned over to 2009.

Q. I am having a party for the World Series. We are hosting about 25-40 people (not sure how many will show up) and I would like it to be fun and easy. Can you tell me some fun foods we can make to make this special? Thanks for any suggestions and for your attention. When planning a Phillies party, you have some pressure to live up to Citizens Bank Park, which was voted as Best Ballpark Food in a survey of Food Network viewers and voted No. 1 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as America's most vegetarian-friendly ballpark.

AUDRE ERICKSON, president of the Corn Refiners Association, calls the knock on high fructose corn syrup unwarranted. Since the introduction of high fructose corn syrup into the diet, there has been a significant increase in weight gain. It is as addicting as caffeine and tobacco, and is in everything from breakfast cereals to condiments, even "nutrition" bars. The only thing that could possibly worse than high fructose corn syrup is malto-dextrin, a derivative of corn starch.

Your Nov. 10 article "A soda a day ups the risk" misinforms the public about high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a natural home-grown sweetener from Midwest corn fields. The article mischaracterizes HFCS as a unique contributor to obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The article you ran about research in the Journal of the American Medical Association underscores the well-known fact that significant increases in any caloric food or beverage, if sustained over a long period, will result in weight gain.