488970 Tue Feb 12 11:33:04 -0800 2008 20 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3390081 IMO, skip the extra rich light blueberry cheesecake. The corn syrup in it makes it way too sweet. Also ... while I can find the information on the carton in fine print ... the label is deceptive. Caloring saving 11%. Calories per serving 230. Fat is cut 50% but I'm guessing they are using the corn syrup for thickening to make it seem 'extra rich' ... yeah .. and 'extra sweet. Haagen-Daz started using corn syrup in 2006 starting with the Mayan chocolate flavor. When I am paying premium prices for ice cream I want SUGAR not cheap, government-subsidized corn syrup. Stop it, Haagen-Daz. Just stop it. Tue Feb 12 11:33:04 -0800 2008 10264 rworange 1 3390245 Yikes- are they using it in all types of flavors, or just in "light" ones? I happened to treat myself to a bowl of HD Vanilla the other night, and it was delicious as always. I checked the ingredients; thankfully, they still consist of eggs, sugar, cream and vanilla... I am pretty sure that my favorite, HD Coffee, still has a similarly short list of all-natural ingredients, also. I hope so! Tue Feb 12 12:08:58 -0800 2008 3390081 102095 vvvindaloo 2 3390762 So far ... so far ... the classic long-time flavors don't have corn syrup. It is the newer ones that need to be checked, especially those with swirls like the Mayan chocolate. So it is not only the light flavors. Tue Feb 12 14:08:37 -0800 2008 3390245 10264 rworange 3 3392294 Just for clarification, the ingredient list for the HD Mayan Chocolate includes corn syrup as a partial ingredient as part of the MAYAN CHOCOLATE SWIRL instead of in the main ice cream base. This probably helps the swirl melt faster than the base to enhance the mouth feel. The addition of corn syrup in ice cream is often necessary when dealing with certain ingredients that may or may not behave nicely when frozen. Regular corn syrup is not very sweet and is therefore a poor sugar replacement unless other characteristics are desired. High-fructose corn syrup is much sweeter, but lacks some of the vital properties of regular corn syrup. Tue Feb 12 22:51:31 -0800 2008 3390762 35837 Sacto_Damkier 1 3390450 Well, if they are using corn syrup, it's not on the ingredient list at their website. What is listed are 'Sugars 28g'. I haven't bought H-D in ages let alone looked at a label, so I can't say if the labeling is different than the ingredient 'link' at the website. Further I don't know what is really meant by 'Surgars'. Usually if corn syrup is an ingredient in a food product it's my experience that it's usually listed as such. If it's not on the packaged product and you want to confirm your suspiciousions, you might want to contact them via their website 'contact us' link and ask them flat out. Tue Feb 12 12:57:00 -0800 2008 3390081 141261 crt 2 3390737 From the website ... http://www.haagen-dazs.com/products/product.aspx?id=332 "Ingredients: SKIM MILK, BLUEBERRY SWIRL (SUGAR, BLUEBERRY PUREE, WATER, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, PECTIN), SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, GRAHAM CRUST PIECES (SUGAR, WHEAT FLOUR, BUTTER [CREAM, SALT], GRAHAM FLOUR, COCONUT OIL, CORN SYRUP, MOLASSES, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, BAKING SODA), CREAM, CREAM CHEESE (MILK, CREAM, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), EGG YOLKS, NATURAL FLAVOR, SALT, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE. " Tue Feb 12 14:02:52 -0800 2008 3390450 10264 rworange 3 3391471 Oops. I didn't 'elevator' down to see the entire nutritional facts. You're absolutely right. Tue Feb 12 17:18:56 -0800 2008 3390737 141261 crt 3 3393292 I see sugar 3 times in that list. Even where it is listed by itself, it is before the corn syrup. How do you know that the corn syrup is the culprit? Or that it is being used just because of low cost? As discussed in the big HFCS thread, plain corn syrup is mostly glucose. It can be changed to 90% fructose (agave syrup is also close to 90% fructose). In many cases where corn syrup is substituted for sugar, they use a blend that has about the same sweetness as sugar, about equal parts fructose and glucose. For baked goods they often use a blend that is higher in glucose, because glucose adds moisture keeping qualities. Just because the use of corn syrup is limited by law in Europe, does not mean that they do not use glucose derived from other sources, or invert sugars (which split sucrose into fructose and glucose). If the corn syrup in this ice cream is the plain type, then it is there mainly because glucose improves texture and in particular, reduces crystallization. A low fat recipe like this lacks the butterfat and yoke fat that keeps crystals from forming. So they have use something else. paulj Wed Feb 13 09:16:54 -0800 2008 3390737 12139 paulj 4 3393963 The flavors that have corn syrup have been consistantly sweeter than those without. True, I don't know if it is because HD is being cheap or trying to achieve texture. I do know I haven't liked the flavors that use it as much as those with plain sugar. Wed Feb 13 11:36:06 -0800 2008 3393292 10264 rworange 5 3394217 Hi rworange, I've tried the light Blueberry Cheesecake flavor and like you, I didn't enjoy it as it was cloyingly sweet. That said, looking at the ingredients list, the corn syrup is used in the graham crust pieces ... which makes me wonder, does Haagen-Dazs make their graham crusts from scratch or use some other brand? Wed Feb 13 12:31:51 -0800 2008 3393963 87028 dreamsicle 5 3394226 HD isn't just being "cheap." There's a sensible explanation here. Ice cream is meant to be frozen. Lots of add-ins, like blueberry cheesecake, aren't meant to be frozen so in order to keep them from breaking your teeth, they have to have things added to them to lower the temperature at which they will freeze solidly. That's usually sugar of some sort or alcohol. (Nix the booze for mass market products.) Whatever sugar they use is going to hype the sweetness of all of the froo-froo ice creams with add-ins. Why do you think that Americans love these? The Great American Sweet Tooth. We can't get enough. If you don't like that much sweetness but still love the flavor combos, buy plain ice cream and put it on top of unfrozen blueberry cheesecake. Wed Feb 13 12:35:08 -0800 2008 3393963 32444 MakingSense 1 3390756 oh man, that's terrible news. i guess i haven't bought hagen dazs for awhile... too bad, as i used to really enjoy the light mint chip, mango, and the regular caramel cone flavours.... i had believed them to be the best mass marketed ice cream out there for a long time. Tue Feb 12 14:06:44 -0800 2008 3390081 52834 tinymango 1 3390968 Regular corn syrup (ie, it's not HFCS) seems to me to be a completely reasonable ingredient. It shows up in many candies (including homemade candies) and deserts in restaurants and so on. The light ice cream clearly exchanges fat for sugar (high sugar content overall in the light, but much less fat than regular). I would think it's not the presence of the corn syrup making it too sweet for you, its the fact that there is significantly more sugar total in the ice cream and if they did take out the corn syrup, they'd replace it with sugar in some other form and it'd be just as sweet. In fact, regular corn syrup (again, not HFCS) is less sweet than regular sugar. Are there studies showing that regular corn syrup is worse than sugar or fruit concentrates (which are in other Haagen Dazs flavors)? Tue Feb 12 14:57:38 -0800 2008 3390081 80141 ccbweb 2 3391228 i believe the issue is that it is completely unnecessary in ice cream and also, it has a sickly sweet, cloying taste, as it is an inferior product, used solely because the cost is so much less than sugar. not to mention the health issues it can present. though it does have its place in many traditional confections, it isn't traditional in icecream. Tue Feb 12 16:11:03 -0800 2008 3390968 52834 tinymango 3 3391368 Exactly. And there are other discussions on the board about how necessary it is to other confections. It is not available in Europe and they seem just fine in terms of making the same confections. No need at all for it in ice cream and that decription "sickly sweet, cloying taste" is perfect. I don't really like anything with corn syrup in it. There is no need for it in ice cream other than to save the ice cream maker some money. Tue Feb 12 16:50:23 -0800 2008 3391228 10264 rworange 4 3392141 Sooner or later, I might just have to resort to sticking to only products from Europe. If only I could :) Tue Feb 12 21:19:00 -0800 2008 3391368 18015 tarteaucitron 4 3392220 in low-fat ice creams, its purpose is to create a texture that is more similar to full fat ice cream. And, to that end, ice cream itself isn't exactly necessary. Tue Feb 12 22:06:24 -0800 2008 3391368 80141 ccbweb 3 3392217 The health issues you're referencing are, I believe, about High Fructose Corn Syrup not regular corn syrup. If there is any literature regarding regular corn syrup posing more or different health risks than ordinary refined white sugar, I'd love to see them. Tue Feb 12 22:05:41 -0800 2008 3391228 80141 ccbweb 1 3391662 i'm assuming the corn syrup is more for texture .....i'm not sure how they maintain texture in both low fat AND low sugar varieties, but i'm guessing it might involve some not so natural ingredients. it seems too often that products replace sugar for fat to keep texture. lower fat peanut butter is a prime example. I can't stand that stuff either. Tue Feb 12 18:16:59 -0800 2008 3390081 153184 im_nomad 2 3392134 You are right, corn syrup can add to the "soft and moist" texture which would be especially useful for lower-fat products. Together with the cheaper costs, no wonder it is becoming a conspiracy that food-product producers are trying to sneak in more and more of that stuff into all the ice-creams, cakes, pastries, cookies, soft-drinks and juices, frozen entrees... basically anything. I don't know how "sickly sweet" the stuff is, because I have been forever trying to avoid anything made with it, for health reasons. Which amounts to some 80% of all factory made desserts and baked goods. Very disappointed that Hagen Daaz has lowered itself in doing the same. The lesson: Read all labels! Tue Feb 12 21:16:02 -0800 2008 3391662 18015 tarteaucitron 1 3392171 If it's not homemade ice cream I'm not eating it. Period. IMHO commercial ice cream is overpriced and goes bad (crystallizes and gets dark) very quickly. Kind of off topic, my husband and I make homemade BBQ sauce and sugar does not work but corn syrup does. Tue Feb 12 21:36:07 -0800 2008 3390081 100727 hipquest