Corn Syrup: Is It the Same as High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Corn syrup is in pecan pie, candy, frosting, ice cream, cereal bars and many packaged snacks. Its name sounds a lot like high fructose corn syrup, so many people think they’re the same thing. They’re not – but both are sugar.

The short answer: corn syrup is a sugar syrup made from corn starch. It’s mostly glucose, with about 62 calories per tablespoon and almost no nutrients. It’s not the same as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS): regular corn syrup has almost no fructose, while HFCS is made by turning part of the glucose into fructose. Corn syrup isn’t more dangerous than table sugar. But it’s still added sugar, and it raises blood sugar quickly.

What is corn syrup?

Corn syrup is made in a few steps:

1. Starch is taken out of corn kernels.
2. Enzymes or acid break the starch into smaller sugars – mainly glucose and maltose.
3. The liquid is filtered and boiled down into a clear, thick syrup.

US rules treat corn syrup as a kind of glucose syrup made from corn (FDA, 21 CFR 168.120). In Europe, the same kind of syrup is usually made from wheat or potato starch and is sold as glucose syrup.

You can buy two kinds in a bottle:

• Light corn syrup – clear, mildly sweet, often with vanilla and salt
• Dark corn syrup – darker and stronger in taste, often mixed with molasses or caramel color

On ingredient lists you’ll see corn syrup, glucose syrup or corn syrup solids (the dried powder form).

Corn syrup vs high fructose corn syrup

	Corn syrup	High fructose corn syrup
Made from	Corn starch	Corn syrup, with an extra enzyme step
Mostly made of	Glucose and maltose	Glucose and fructose (42% or 55% fructose)
Where you’ll find it	Baking, candy, frostings, ice cream, bars	Soft drinks, sauces, cereal, packaged baked goods
Sweetness	Less sweet than sugar	About as sweet as sugar
Calories per tablespoon	about 62	about 53

To make high fructose corn syrup, factories take regular corn syrup and use an enzyme that turns part of the glucose into fructose. That makes it sweeter. It’s also cheaper than sugar, so it ended up in many soft drinks. Large amounts of fructose are linked to fatty liver and higher blood fats, so HFCS gets more attention than plain corn syrup.

Corn syrup nutrition

Values for light corn syrup, from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA FoodData Central).

Amount	Calories	Sugar
1 teaspoon (7 g)	20 kcal	5 g
1 tablespoon (22 g)	62 kcal	17 g
¼ cup (85 g)	241 kcal	65 g
100 g	283 kcal	77 g

Corn syrup has no fiber, fat or protein, and only traces of minerals. A slice of pecan pie can have 2–3 tablespoons of corn syrup. That’s about 35–50 g of sugar from the syrup alone.

Where you’ll find corn syrup

• Pecan pie, caramel, toffee and marshmallows – it stops sugar from forming crystals
• Hard candy, gummies and lollipops
• Frostings, glazes and syrups for pancakes (many “pancake syrups” are corn syrup with maple flavor)
• Ice cream and frozen desserts – keeps them smooth
• Cereal bars, granola and protein bars – sticks everything together
• Ketchup, barbecue sauce and salad dressings
• Coffee creamers and powdered drinks – as corn syrup solids

See our guides to the healthiest protein bars and is granola healthy?

Is corn syrup bad for you?

Corn syrup isn’t toxic, and it isn’t worse than table sugar. The problem is the same as with any added sugar: most people already eat too much of it. Diets high in added sugar are linked to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, heart disease and tooth decay.

• Blood sugar: corn syrup is mostly glucose and maltose, which are absorbed fast. It raises blood sugar a bit faster than table sugar. If you have diabetes, count it like any other sugar. Read more about low glycemic index foods.
• Daily limit: the American Heart Association suggests no more than 25 g of added sugar a day for most women and 36 g for most men (AHA). One tablespoon of corn syrup has 17 g.
• A sign of ultra-processed food: corn syrup often shows up in products with many other additives. Read more about ultra-processed food.

How to eat less corn syrup

1. Read the ingredient list – look for corn syrup, glucose syrup, corn syrup solids and high fructose corn syrup.
2. Check “added sugars” on the US Nutrition Facts label – corn syrup counts as added sugar.
3. Count all the sweeteners: many products use two or three (corn syrup, sugar, dextrose…). Read about dextrose and maltodextrin.
4. Use real maple syrup in smaller amounts instead of corn-syrup “pancake syrup”.
5. Choose bars and cereals with less than 5–6 g of added sugar per serving.

Spot corn syrup on any label in seconds. With NutriSmart, you photograph the ingredient list or scan the barcode, and the app tells you right away if the product has corn syrup – it counts it as sugar. Turn on an alert for sugar or high fructose corn syrup, and the app warns you every time a product you scan contains it. You’ll also see every other additive, the risks of each one and a health score out of 100.Get the app free

You can also read about other sugar syrups: tapioca syrup, agave syrup and invert sugar.

The bottom line

Corn syrup is a glucose syrup made from corn starch. It’s not the same as high fructose corn syrup, which has extra fructose and is used mostly in soft drinks. Corn syrup has about 62 calories per tablespoon and almost no nutrients, and it raises blood sugar quickly. It isn’t more dangerous than sugar, but it’s still added sugar – so read labels and keep the total low.