Corn Syrup

[Delmonico]

Our recent discussions on sweets has got me doing some research again.  The same question that has bugged me for 7 years has came up again.  "When did corn syrup reach the market?"    Some of those nice recipes Duch Limbach posted call for it so I PMed him and they are from a newer book. 
They are very perriod and I thank him for posting them.

That corn syrup is used in updated versions of old recipes is fine, it meets my standard of it does the same thing as the original product and is easier to get and costs less.  A very similar product called cane syrup was in use, it and the dark corn syrup are basically the same.  It can still sometimes be found, but in my area at least it is far more expensive.

Another I checked out was "simple syrup" it turns out that is nothing but equal parts water and white sugar boiled together, it will do the same thing as corn syrup in a recipe. 

What I am searching for is documentation of corn syrup being used in either an Industrial situation such as a candy manufactor or a verifed original recipe not one updated.  I am 99% sure it existed, it had to of because corn starch and sugar made from corn date from before the ACW. 

No industry perrsonel can date it to before 1904 when Karo Syrup Company founded as a spinoff of the Great American Sugar company.  I had a lady from UNL with a PHD in Home Ec look for 3 days, even the Corn Board comes up nil, we can't even find a patent date, I could pay for a patent search, but really don't want to know that bad.  Google and several other search enigines show nothing definate. 

I have my theroys as to why, but just can't prove them.   I can't even prove it existed before 1904 and even Karo can't, they have no records of when it was invented.  One note and this is no reflection on Karo syrup and the present owners, but in 1904 the law was put into effect called by most, "The Pure Food and Drug Act" this made it illeagal to sell an item as something it wasn't.

A conspiracy, maybe, but a minor one compared to many far worse, more costly and life threatening ones from the time and thats still meaning the food industry.

But if you have any piece to this puzzle let me know.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Was the "cane syrup" made from sugar cane or sorghum, or both?

Slim

[Silver Creek Slim]

I just got off the phone with a fellar at the ADM corn processing plant in Decatur, IL. He has a book published in the 1880's that "describes the corn processing plants in the east". He said the title is something like "Corn Starch and Syrup". His feeling is that corn syrup has been around since at least the 1700's. He said all ya had to do to make it is grind the corn, boil it with the right type of acid, and ya would get a crude form of corn syrup.
Hope this helps.

Slim

[Delmonico]

Cane syrup is very similar to corn syrup and it comes from sugar cane.

Yes that is another small piece in the puzzle.  That kind of goes with Matt and my theroy that it was there, but was sold as something else.  This is in a time period that beet sugar and sugar made from corn were being made but were resisted by the general public as inferior.  With out controls it was easy I believe to sell it off as something else.  We know corn starch, often know as corn flour was around in comercial production from at least the early 1850's, so what was done with the corn syrup that was a by-product? 

Matt and I call it the "Corn Syrup Conspiracy" not really that important considering no one would have died from it, just a bit humorus. 

Thanks pard, this simple task of resarch on food has gotten more complicated.  Times were not as simple as we have been lead to believe.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Cane syrup is very similar to corn syrup and it comes from sugar cane.

Yes that is another small piece in the puzzle.  That kind of goes with Matt and my theroy that it was there, but was sold as something else.  This is in a time period that beet sugar and sugar made from corn were being made but were resisted by the general public as inferior.  With out controls it was easy I believe to sell it off as something else.  We know corn starch, often know as corn flour was around in comercial production from at least the early 1850's, so what was done with the corn syrup that was a by-product? 

Matt and I call it the "Corn Syrup Conspiracy" not really that important considering no one would have died from it, just a bit humorus. 

Thanks pard, this simple task of resarch on food has gotten more complicated.  Times were not as simple as we have been lead to believe.

You are very welcome.

Slim