I thought I've seen a thread called "How do you make your truffles" (or something similar), but I could not find it.I am very new to bonbon and truffle making (got yet to get started), but during a class I took at ICE in NYC, we were told that although their recipes called for corn syrup, we could make the ganaches without it.Do you use corn syrup? Why (or why not)? I would like a better understanding on this ingredient.Thanks,Andre CostaChocolatier-to-be
updated by @andre-costa: 04/11/15 11:06:37

So basically if a recipe asks for corn syrup, I can simply disregard the ingredient? Or should I replace it with something else - it does add sweetness, correct?

Oh my gosh, you certainly don't want to omit it. Doing so would drastically alter the balance of the recipe and reduce the shelf-life as well.Typically, you can substitute glucose roughly 1:1. You can try substituting other sweeteners, but you'll have to rebalance the level of sweetness. Honey, for example, can be used but it shifts the flavor profile in a direction that may not be desirable since honey is not very neutral.

I guess my major concern is whether corn syrup can be bad for one's health. I hear different things from different people.

Water is bad for your health if you drink too much of it.The amount of corn syrup you're talking about in a single piece is fractions of a gram. In that amount is it better or worse (considered solely from a health perspective) than refined white sugar?Probably not.You're over thinking this. There are far more important things to worry about when it comes to chocolate.


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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Well I'm no doctor but I don't subscribe to the notion that corn syrup is bad for you. Unless you put it in just about every single item on the grocery shelves, which is exactly what we do in the U.S. :-(For the average person, the key to good health is to have lots of variety in your diet and conscientiously stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Moderation in all things.What does Michael Pollan say? "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants."There's a place for chocolate bonbons in ones' diet but it shouldn't be a major food group.Just my opinion. :-)

Clay,I agree with 100% with you. I believe that anything in excess is bad for you.My point is, if you look at almost any product made in the USA, you are bound to find corn syrup in it.So, even though I expect people to eat chocolate (or anything else, for that matter) in moderation, I was wondering if I can get the same results in my chocolate-making without being another product manufacturer that includes corn syrup in my products. So, if there is an alternative, I would love to know what it is and to experiment with it.I believe that's a very reasonable question.

Hi Lana.Thank you for the explanation. That's quite helpful.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/27/high-fructose-corn-syrup-mercury guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 January 2009 16.10 GMTUS researchers find traces of toxic mercury in high-fructose corn syrup Mercury linked to learning disabilities and heart disease Study published in peer-reviewed journal Environmental HealthA swig of soda or bite of a candy bar might be sweet, but a new study suggests that food made with corn syrup also could be delivering tiny doses of toxic mercury.For the first time, researchers say they have detected traces of the silvery metal in samples of high-fructose corn syrup, a widely used sweetener that has replaced sugar in many processed foods. The study was published yesterday in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health.Eating high-mercury fish is the chief source of exposure for most people. The new study raises concerns about a previously unknown dietary source of mercury, which has been linked to learning disabilities in children and heart disease in adults.The source of the metal appears to be caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, which manufacturers of corn syrup use to help convert corn kernels into the food additive.A handful of plants across the US still make the soda and acid by mixing a briny solution in electrified vats of mercury. Some of the toxic metal ends up in the final product, according to industry documents cited in the study.Corn syrup manufacturers insisted their products are mercury-free. But the study noted that at least one maker of caustic soda that has used the mercury-based technology listed the corn syrup industry as a client."This seems like an avoidable source of mercury that we didn't know was out there," said David Wallinga, one of the study's co-authors and a researcher at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a Minnesota-based advocacy group.The researchers cautioned that their study was limited. Only 20 samples were analyzed; mercury was detected in nine.Still, the impact of the findings could be significant. High-fructose corn syrup has become such a staple in processed foods that the average American consumes about 12 teaspoons of it daily, according to federal estimates. Teenagers and young children tend to eat more of it than adults.There is no established safe dose for elemental mercury, the type discovered in corn syrup. But the US Environmental Protection Agency says an average-sized woman should limit her exposure to 5.5 micrograms a day of methylmercury, the kind found in fish.If that same woman regularly ate corn syrup contaminated at the highest level detected in the study - 0.57 micrograms per gram - the researchers estimated that she could end up consuming an amount of mercury that is five times higher than the EPA's safe dose.One former EPA scientist who reviewed the paper said more study is needed to establish the risk, if any, posed by contaminated corn syrup. She urged the Food and Drug Administration to conduct a review of food made with the sweetener."For the most part, previous studies haven't found mercury in foods other than fish," said Kathryn Mahaffey, a former EPA scientist who co-wrote a landmark report to Congress on the perils of mercury contamination. "Is this an outlier or something we didn't know about before?"In response to a 2005 Chicago Tribune series about mercury hazards, then-senator Barack Obama introduced legislation that would force chlorine plants to phase out its use or shut down. One plant in Wisconsin later vowed to switch to a mercury-free process by this year, leaving four others - in Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia - that still use the older technology.The new study's lead author, Renee Dufault, began her research while investigating the Wisconsin plant for the FDA in the mid-2000s. But her results weren't published until now, a year after she retired from the agency.An FDA spokesman said he still was waiting for a response to the study. Industry representatives, meanwhile, said the study was outdated."It is important that Americans are provided accurate, science-based information," Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, said in a statement. "They should know that high-fructose corn syrup is safe."In another statement, the Chlorine Institute said: "It is conceivable that measurable mercury content can be found in high-fructose corn syrup regardless of how it is processed."

I use glucose and invert sugar.

I buy premade glucose and invert sugar.

The majority of my truffles do not use corn syrup. The most basic truffle is simply chocolate, cream and butter. Since I sell my truffles direct to the public at either the farmer's market or craft shows, I tell them that they have a limited shelf life and need to be eaten within the next 2 weeks. Most of the time, people laugh and say that they will be gone by the end of the day. I don't use it, because I don't see the need for it, most of the time. One of the recipes that has corn syrup, I'm actually using as a sweetener because the flavor is lime and I didn't think the white chocolate had enough sweetness to counter the lime juice.Now, I do use corn syrup in the other confections I make, such as caramels and marshmallows.

Hi Clay,Have you tried concentrated coconut nectar? Its almost like a honey but a lot better it has a low GI and healthier than a lot of sweetener. It is 100% coconut nectar. However it is expensive. Here in the Philippines it is being retailed at 8 usd per kg.Jun

So, I do not use corn syrup in my ganaches or toffees but I do use a little in caramels. I have looked for other options-- steen's cane syrup (too distinct a flavor), rice syrup (meh!) and honey (too sweet). I would like another option but I like my recipes- the flavor, the texture. Anybody substitute something eles and if, so what?Also, I'd love a source for Organic corn syrup. I had one-- no more.

Sarah:Try Marroquin Organic Commodity Services out of Santa Cruz, CA. They sell a number of different organic corn sweeteners .:: Clay


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Marroquin is a great company. BUT...you have to buy a pallet. 2000lbs of corn syrup is a lot of corn syrup.

Lana, if you're planning to order some organic corn syrup in large quantities, I'd definitely recommend trying a sample first. You just never know...

Don't use it! It's completely unnecessary and just sounds cheap when listed on an ingredient label. The high fructose variety is definitely bad for you. If you're worried about binding active water to extend the shelf life, invert sugar is a confectioner's secret weapon and so are culinary antioxidants like rosemary extract. But you can get by without either of these as long as the chocolates are eaten within a week or so. The fresher the better anyway...

Unfortunately, unless you're just making them for friends and family, a "week or so" shelf-life isn't going to work.Invert sugar certainly has its place, but I'm pretty sure I won't be using rosemary extract to extend shelf-life.

Hello AndreI think alternatively you could use glycose syrup.

I have another question or two about corn syrup.

We've been using Karo corn syrup - the small 32 oz bottles because they don't have High Fructose Corn Syrup.

In an effort to bring my costs down, I picked up a pail of corn syrup. - Liquidose 434 (42 D.E. / 43 Baume')

This corn syrup is much more viscous (thick) than the Karo. The Karo has the consistency of maple syrup and the Liquidose has the consistency of.... very cold honey.

I'm guessing that a major difference between the two is the amount of water in the syrup. Karo has more relative to the Liquidose 434. This would also mean that if measuring by volume there are more corn syrup solids per unit in the Liquidose.

Am I right to believe this may also mean there is more anti-crystalization and AW reduction effect per unit of volume for the liquidose?

Do you think I should adjust my recipes? Will this change in corn syrup help increase my shelf life? Has anyone else encountered this?

updated by @larry2: 09/08/15 03:52:36