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Does liquid glucose contain fructose in the same ratio as high fructose corn syrup?

Mien
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Bob Lister
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    I removed the health aspect of your question, since that's off-topic here (see the [faq]). And.. am I missing something? Isn't liquid glucose just glucose? – Cascabel Jun 13 '12 at 15:03
  • Glucose and fructose are different substances. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose – Mischa Arefiev Jun 13 '12 at 16:06

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All right, I'll say it as an answer: fructose is one sugar, glucose is another. High fructose corn syrup contains plenty of fructose (but not just that) - it's made by taking corn syrup and converting some glucose to fructose to make it taste sweeter.

The exact sugar makeup of glucose syrup varies (see also this previous question), but it certainly hasn't had glucose deliberately converted to fructose, and the primary sugar should be glucose. If the difference between fructose and glucose is a concern for you, hopefully you're buying a type of glucose syrup with known glucose content. (If you're talking about pure liquid glucose, then it's all glucose - which means no fructose.)

Finally, this is most definitely not a medical advice site, so if this is related to diabetic concerns, please talk to professionals who can help you with your diet.

Community
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Cascabel
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As mentioned above, glucose and fructose are very different kinds of sugar. Glucose is the six-carbon simple sugar molecule that is the most basic form of energy our bodies use for aerobic metabolism (glucose + oxygen --> CO + H2O +energy). Fructose is a different sugar, that has to be metabolized mostly in the liver, and is not the "clean" burning fuel for our bodies that glucose is.

Fructose, however, is what gives table sugar (sucrose molecule = 1 glucose + 1 fructose, chemically joined) more of the "sweet" flavor. Unless the glucose syrup has a little bit of fructose added for flavor, it would have almost no fructose in it.

Industrial glucose syrups (used for fermentation) are about 90% glucose. Commercial glucose syrups for cooking have anywhere from 10% to just under half glucose, the rest of the sugars being maltose and polysaccharides.

So, definitely, nowhere near the fructose content of high-fructose corn syrup.

PoloHoleSet
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Glucose is a simple basic sugar, the one your body uses for fuel. Fructose is a complex sugar that will break down into simpler components, including glucose. Therefore, glucose has no fructose in it, but fructose has glucose in it.

Shalryn
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    Not correct. Fructose is also a simple sugar (aka monosaccharide). Glucose is a six-carbon sugar, fructose is the five-carbon simple sugar. I think you are thinking of table sugar, sucrose (a disaccharide), which is a glucose and a fructose, combined. – PoloHoleSet Aug 12 '16 at 16:02