Buy the world a coke . . .I'd try to embed but YT will just disable it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfU17niXOG8Then, this, not surprised. Especially at the last sentence.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/04/293411 ... syrup.htmlCane sugar challenges corn syrup in soft-drink formulas
By Chris Macias
cmacias@sacbee.comPublished: Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010 - 12:00 am
Take a stroll down the soda aisle, and you'll see a slew of products taking a more natural approach to sweetness. The selling point: "Made with real cane sugar."
Cane sugar sodas are meant to be an antidote to soft drinks that are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. The idea is that cane sugar offers a more balanced and natural taste than its corn syrup counterpart.
Think of it as the difference between Mexican Coca-Cola, which is made with cane sugar, and its American sibling with high fructose corn syrup. To Aaron Moreno, who writes the Sacramento Food in the Hood blog, it's Mexican Coke that's the real thing.
"Mexican Coke tastes sweeter, with more of a hint of caramel and it's brighter," said Moreno. "The aftertaste is different, and it seems to be less fizzy."
In the United States, Coca-Cola switched to using high fructose corn syrup from sugar in the early 1980s. But in some parts of the world, such as Mexico, cane sugar remains readily available and still rules for soft drinks. Some countries also might not have the right kind of manufacturing capacity for making high fructose corn syrup.
"Coca-Cola products are produced locally everywhere in the world and, as a result, locally sourced sweeteners and other ingredients are used in the local manufacturing process," said Diana Ciarlante, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola. "Consumers in Mexico have come to prefer (cane sugar) over other sweeteners. That said, our research shows that there is no perceptible taste difference between the products."
In the United States, the prices for high fructose corn syrup are much sweeter, compared with real sugar.
According to Milling & Baking news, which covers grain-based food industries, current prices for high fructose corn syrup are about 20 cents per pound. Compare that with 33 cents per pound for raw sugar – and that's a price break. Raw sugar has sometimes shot as high as 40 cents per pound, in figures from the New York Board of Trade.
For producers of small batch sodas, cane sugar remains key. That's the case for River City Root Beer, which is manufactured in Sacramento by Blue Dog Beverages. The company distributes 450 other old-fashioned sodas, and Blue Dog Beverages owner Janet Lake estimates that 99 percent of them use cane sugar.
Lake feels her River City Root Beer would just be the same ol' soda if it didn't have cane sugar.
"It's worth it to us to have a good quality product and not spare expense," said Lake. "We never even considered using fructose. Cane sugar has different taste and a much cleaner flavor. If you're going to do a handcrafted old-fashioned soda, why use fructose like everyone else?"
From a nutritional point of view, there's not much difference between cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Cane sugar might save a few calories, but your blood sugar levels won't be any better off.
"Between the two, they're compositionally almost the exact same as far as glucose and other content," said Marlia Braun, a dietitian at the UC Davis Medical Center. "The sweetness between the two is about the same. A lot of the concern is that fructose is present, and that might be a cause in the increase in obesity rates, among other things."
Cola conglomerates are meanwhile experimenting with limited runs of cane sugar sodas. Pepsi introduced a line of "throwback" sodas that were in stores from Dec. 28 through Feb. 22. Dubbed "refreshingly retro," the soda line featured Pepsi and Mountain Dew with their vintage logos and formulas made with sugar.
A spokesperson for Pepsi said consumer demand was strong enough that the company's planning another run.
You can also find a kosher version of Coca-Cola during Passover. Observant Jews aren't allowed to consume corn-based products during Passover, though cane sugar is deemed kosher. A yellow bottle cap signifies the Kosher Coke.
For others, cane sugar sodas will remain a year-round deal.
"Mexican Coke just tastes like a Coke's supposed to taste," said Moreno.
COKE VS. COKE
Cola connoisseurs tend to favor Coca-Cola produced in Mexico, which is sweetened with cane sugar, over the American version that's formulated with high fructose corn syrup. Can you truly taste the difference?
We set up a blind tasting to see if our panel could tell them apart. Both Cokes were poured into a plastic cup with no ice. The Mexican Coke came in a bottle while the American version was poured from a can. That could spring a whole debate between bottled vs. canned soda, but for now, just chill and have a Coke and a smile.
Which Coke reigned supreme in our test? Here are the results:
Mexican Coca-Cola
$1.69 for 355- milliliter bottle
150 calories, 85 mg sodium, 39 mg sugars
Panel comments: "Nice carbonation," "hints of caramel," "reminds me of evenings on my grandma's patio in Guadalajara"
American Coca-Cola
About 90 cents per 12-ounce can, in vending machines
140 calories, 45 mg sodium, 39g sugars
Panel comments: "Bitter-ish aftertaste," "sweet, lacking in carbonation," "syrupy at first"
The results:
6 out of 8 tasters could tell the difference between Mexican and American Coca-Cola
7 out of 8 tasters preferred the Mexican Coca-Cola. (One preferred neither.)
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