My daughter's behaviour is reactive to corn syrup. Needless to say, most "kid food" has corn syrup in it. Is there anything that I can use instead of it for recipes that call for it?
Corn syrup is in a ton of the kid foods that I used to buy. Cereal bars, fruit snacks, cereals, etc. Yes, I am trying to avoid it by making my own variations of this kind of stuff.
@ Michelle, yes, she uses Tom's of Maine. Love that stuff!
How about simple syrup? (Half water, half sugar, heated to a boil and then cooled) I use it for mixed drinks, but it's very sweet and has almost the consistency of corn syrup. Just a thought!
This is from Taste of Home:
For each cup of light corn syrup in a recipe, substitute 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup water.
Honestly I bake and cook a lot and very rarely use corn syrup (I can't remember when I used it last) so it's probably not a substitute that you will need make often.
Corn syrup as a trigger is interesting...do you have any idea why corn syrup is a culprit but other sugars aren't? Is she sensitive to other corn products? Not to be nosy but I'm intrigued...
Thanks for the SWH - corn syrup (and high fructose corn syrup) is in commercial baked goods because manufacturers use it as a cheap substitute for cane sugar. Most recipes that you make at home will just call for sugar. At home, corn syrup might be in things like candy and marshmallow recipes but for granola bars, cookies and other baked snacks, chances are pretty good that plain sugar will be fine.
You know what they say about corn sugar? Whether its corn sugar or cane sugar your body can't tell the difference...sugar is sugar! Sorry had to post ;)
My child is allergic to wheat and corn and to be honest, going gluten free is so much easier than corn free. Yes, some kids react badly to corn but most parents think it could be ADD/ADHD.
Instead of corn syrup you can use brown rice syrup. Your daughter should not drink soda since it is mainly high fructose corn syrup. You have to start reading labels. There is corn-derivative in milk with vitamin D. If your daughter reacts badly to corn syrup then she may have corn allergy. You have get a test for it. Also, make sure your salt is corn free.
Depending on how sensitive your daughter is to corn honey may not be a good idea. Most beekeepers feed their bees corn syrup during winter so the honey they produced is corn derivative.
Remember, corn is not the top 8 allergens in the U.S. so that means companies do not have to disclose warning labels like wheat, soy, eggs, peanuts and so on. Most of the time, I have to write to the companies about their ingredients. To make things easier, many brand names have corn derivatives in it because corn is cheap. Citric acid in most pasta sauce such as Ragu and Prego contain citrus acid. You would think it is from some type of citrus fruit but it is actually corn derivative because corn is cheaper.
Contact me if you need more information about corn.
If you are talking about baking and candy making where liquid and solids ratios are critical us J.B.'s recomendation but if you are just trying to make your own home made versions of things like ketchup I'd try brown sugar or white cane sugar (there's also agave nectar and honey)
I have to say I have never seen it in an ingredients list for anything I have ever made except candy. What do you cook that has corn syrup as an ingredient? I'm really curious. I thought it was just a cheaper than cane sugar sweetener and thats why its in so many commercial foods and drinks (the cheaper sweetener makes for cheaper more competitive product. But at the end of the day its just a sweetener and not a critical ingredient for flavor. So substitute with cane sugar.
I feel your pain. My sister was allergic when she was a kid (outgrew that one, thankfully). You have to learn all the names for corn syrup/corn sugar to figure out what's really in there. There were (at least years ago) jellies that did not have it. Jones Soda uses sugar. You might also skip most of the "kid food" and rather than imitate, what about finding a kids' recipie book and seeing what you can bake together? I also wonder if a diabetic cookbook could help with ideas.
Agave nectar should be a safe alternative
Be careful on which sugar you use because if it doesn't specifically say sugar cane it could be made from corn. Also xanthum gum which is in almost everything is corn. I too have a corn allergy (as well as gluten, dairy and most nuts) and going gluten free is so much easier! If it is a corn allergy be careful on toothpaste. Tom's of Maine children's strawberry is the only one I can use. All others have at least 3 corn derivatives in them. There is also only one brand of gum (special order) that I have found that is corn free. I haven't worked alot with rice syrup but I did have a home bakery before all of this came about and I would suspect it would react much the same way. Amazon is a wonderful source of allergy free products. Check out www.livingwithout.com (it is a magazine) they are always running articles on kids with allergies. They may have recipes that will help. Also be careful with cereals if it is an actual corn allergy as well as vitamins almost all vitamin c and vitamin e in this country are corn derived. And be ware as another poster stated citric acid.....check everything canned and jarred.
What about honey, or Agave Nectar?
I've honestly never made a recipe that called for corn syrup, (I'm guessing you are making homemade versions to avoid it in storebought items though).
A quick google search resulted in this recipe for homemade cane syrup which can be used in it's place:
http://www.thekitchn.com/pantry-staples-diy-cane-sugar-13...
I'm not a baker, but I sweeten for my baby with pure maple syrup.
Corn and soy are genetically modified food that are in so many products. I copy some information from Dr. Mercola articles. You will find the answer why your child has allergy.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/1...
Do You Know the Truth About GM Soy, Corn and more ?
Genetically modified soybeans are designed to be "Roundup ready." This means they are chemically engineered to withstand heavy doses of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide without killing the plant! What does this mean for your health and the health of your unborn or yet-to-be-conceived children?
The long-term effects of the human consumption of genetically modified soy and soy-based products are staggering. In April 2010, researchers at Russia's Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security found that after feeding hamsters GM soy for two years over three generations, by the third generation, most lost the ability to have pups!2
A Brazilian study published in 2009 looked at the impact of soy on the reproductive system of female rats. Female rats fed GM soy for 15 months showed significant changes in their uterus and reproductive cycles, compared to rats fed organic soy or no soy.3
Extrapolating the findings to people, women who eat GM soy products may be more likely to experience severe hormonal disruptions, including an overabundance of estrogen and/or estrogenic activity, a hair-growth stimulating hormone, and damage to the pituitary gland. GM soy has also been linked to loss of libido and erectile dysfunction in men, and, disturbingly, the only published human feeding study on GM foods ever conducted verified that the gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of human gut bacteria and continues to function.
This means that years after you stop eating GM soy, you may still have a range of potentially allergenic proteins continuously being produced in your intestines. Not to mention, the intensive soy farming taking place in areas like Paraguay is subjecting residents to pesticide poisoning, and threatening biodiversity and access to locally grown produce.
If you are needing a thickener or a binder, try arrowroot powder when you are making a simple syrup with water and sugar or honey.
Are you on Pinterest? They have amazing recipes for granola bars and fruit leathers. Any of those recipes would be easy to adapt if they are not already corn free.
Good luck!
If you shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, ect, they have lots of products that don't have corn syrup. Even the line "Earth's Best" which is available everywhere has no corn syrup. They sell cereal at Trader Joes with no corn syrup. As for making things at home, I only know of pecan pie that calls for corn syrup. If you want to make granola or cereal bars use honey.
Most of the recipes for the "kid food" you will make at home will call for cane sugar rather than corn syrup, so it may be less of an issue than you imagine.
Also, it may be easier to switch to a (probably more expensive) brand of the usual store bought things than to make them at home. Unless you WANT to do all that baking etc., it may be less expensive in terms of time and sanity to just pay for what suits your needs.
If you get recipes online just put "no corn syrup" as part of your search.
If it comes down to substitution there is a sugar and water ratio that will work. Should be listed in the substitutions section of your cookbook.
