Do you remember Coca-Cola?
Back in the 1970s it was a mass of chemicals and pure cane sugar. Tasty.
Now, in the U.S. at least, it's loaded with chemicals and High Fructose Corn Syrup. Some people maintain that HFCS is contributing to the obesity problem in our kids – partially because the same amount of HFCS has 10% more calories than cane sugar.
I believe it tastes different than the Cokes of my childhood.
So I started pondering the whole issue, and you know how dangerous that can be. It's like I'm supposed to be studying for a calculus test or something…
Remember when Coke phased in New Coke as "a better tasting Coke"? then within a couple of years they went back to "Coke Classic" that never really tasted like the original Coke, but still tasted better than New Coke?
I am wondering if the Coca-Cola Company wasn't just yanking our collective chain as they corrupted their formula with HFCS.
Fact : in 1983 – Coca-Cola began taste tests of New Coke in an effort to retire the old formula.
Fact: by 1985, you couldn't get original Coca-Cola any more. It was all New Coke, and everyone hated it. So the Coca-Cola company re-issued the "original" Coca-Cola as "Coke Classic".
Fact: 1985 – Return of the Jedi was released at the movie theatre where I worked and we still had some of the original coke syrup to compare to the new "Classic Coke" in taste tests with our patrons. We got some free local publicity from that one. Ironically, the Coke Classic tasted sweeter than the original Coca-Cola in side-by-side taste tests.
Fact: Soft drink makers such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi use sugar in other nations, but switched to HFCS in the U.S. in 1984 (thank you wikipedia for that). Notice how that fits right in the middle of the switch to New Coke and then to Coke Classic debacle?
Hypothesis: The whole bait and switch thing with New Coke and Coke Classic was just so they could slide HFCS in on us when we weren't looking.
Dammit. I wish I had been paying more attention back then.
Oh and here's another fun fact: According to Coca-Cola authorities, the best Coca-Cola is made in Skopje, Macedonia, where the company has granted the Skopje Brewery its "Best Bottling Company" award. (also from Wikipedia)
Even though they know Coke is better with cane sugar, they continue to flood the biggest market with HFCS.
One Comment
HFCS is in everything these days. Corn is one of those crops that are heavily subsidized, and they have a pretty strong lobby. After all, the latest ethanol-as-fuel push yielded lots of money for Con-Agra, right?
Coke isn't the only thing that had a recipe change. I used to love Cream of Tomato soup – one of those comfort foods I grew up with. The last time I had some, I noticed it tasted very different. Sure enough, the first item listed in the ingredients was high-fructose corn syrup. I couldn't believe it! I know they changed their recipe because I had an older can stuck way back in the pantry. The first ingredient on that can was tomato. It's been years since I've had tomato soup from a can.
I've pretty much given up all soft drinks – even the diet ones. Those things are very expensive when you eat out these days. $3 for a coke and no refill? Plus, the sweetener (artificial) in diet drinks are actually an appetite stimulate.
I still cook with butter. I gotta have at least one vice.