Corn syrup is primarily composed of glucose, a simple sugar, and is made by treating the starch molecules from corn with an acid or enzyme. Not to be confused with the high-fructose corn syrup found in processed foods, the corn syrup available to home cooks, “is typically sold in light and dark versions,” staff writer Becky Krystal wrote. “Light corn syrup is flavored with salt and vanilla, while molasses and caramel flavor and color are added to dark.”
Compared to table sugar, corn syrup is 30 to 50 percent as sweet. Instead of flavor, corn syrup is primarily used for function, to prevent crystallization in things such as candy, ice cream and sorbet, or to add sheen to something like chocolate ganache. (Other liquid sweeteners can do the same.) “It will keep indefinitely opened or unopened at room temperature,” Krystal wrote. Corn syrup can be refrigerated, but will thicken over time.
