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I am not talking about the chemical difference (sugar is chemically a molecule formed by two monosaccarides: glucose and fructose). I am wondering about the difference from the cooking point of view in using pure glucose syrup vs. a syrup made of simple kitchen sugar dissolved in water.

Stefano Borini
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    Sugar is actually a class of molecules including glucose, fructose, and many other sugars. Sucrose is what you were thinking of, which is specifically a disaccharide consisting of glucose and fructose. – Michael Mior Sep 27 '10 at 20:31
  • I still have the same problem regarding using liquid glucose in my fondant recipe, the answer that it has the consistancy of peanut butter, does the consistancy of corn syrup work? –  Dec 08 '11 at 01:04

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Pure glucose is significantly thicker than a sugar syrup you would make on your own. It's even thicker than honey. At the previous restaurant I was at, we would use glucose in some limited applications when making certain kinds of caramel sauces (sorry, I didn't steal any recipes before I left), as (if I recall correctly) it has a higher tolerance for heat, and provides sweetness without caramelizing at the same temperatures as table sugar.

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    Oh look, another person came along to downvote without providing a single reason why. Well done--you do know that doing this makes people _less_ interested in participating, yes? –  Sep 30 '10 at 09:49
  • Is there still a difference (apart from the caramelizing part), if you would have a syrup that is as thick as glucose? Is there a difference in taste or consistency? – Mien May 09 '11 at 15:44
  • I don't think it's possible to make a sucrose syrup as thick as pure glucose without caramelization. Glucose is purely sweet, there's no flavour that we normally associate with table sugar. I don't understand why you're asking about consistency; if it were the same thickness it would be the same consistency. Pure glucose has the consistency of something somewhere between peanut butter and chewy toffee. –  May 09 '11 at 23:12