Corn is not chametz. Chametz can only come from wheat, barley, oats, rye or spelt.
Corn, however, falls under a class of items known as kitniyos (mostly [but not exclusively] legumes) from which a grain can be made. Ashkenazic Jews accepted a ban on kitniyos out of fear that one may come to eat actual [ichametz on Passover by means of confusion. Sephardic Jews never accepted this ban and, to this day, do eat kitniyos. However, since the vast majority of Jews in the United States are Ashkenazic, products marketed as Kosher for Passover do not have kitniyos in them.
Both Europe and the US have set up trade barriers to prevent sugar imports. The political reasons may vary, but the barriers end up supporting domestic producers and artificially raise the price of sugar. In Europe the details of the legislation effectively makes corn syrup substitution uneconomic. The converse is true in the US. Take away price support (i.e. outside of Europe and the U.S.), then the cost differential between sugar and corn syrup is probably somewhat marginal. An unfortunate side effect of the US and European sugar regimes is the impact it has on third world producers (anti Castro politicians may disagree). European sugar producers, for example, are guaranteed an EU retail price in excess of double the world market price of c.$400/Te. They therefore have a very profitable business. The details of the legislation, however, encourages over production. Excess production must be sold outside the EU at whatever price the market will pay. The result is bankrupt thirld world producers.
Even if the sugar embargoes, price supports, import restrictions, and everything else were to evaporate overnight, I doubt that the corn syrup manufacturers would just give up. Guaranteed they’d demand their own set of embargoes, price supports, and import restrictions to prevent low-priced cane sugar from eating into their profits, and corn syrup would still be cheaper.
Unless, you know, you add your taxes into the cost of that Coke you’re buying.
As P.J. O’Rourke has written, when laws control buying and selling, the first thing bought and sold is legislators.
Me too. It gives me a chance to say “Umm, what else do you have?” Like Coke, can’t stand Pepsi.
That said, I bought several 2 liter bottles of Kosher-for-Passover-Coke last year, and planned to do a blind taste test. I never got that far, because I didn’t notice a difference between the KFP and non-KFP versions, even knowing which was which. But who knows, maybe the “regular” Coke was a trial run and had sugar, but just wasn’t certified KFP.
At the store here, I found it in the Kosher foods aisle, not with the rest of the Coke products. Yellow cap with a couple of Hebrew characters, as others have said.
By the way, I don’t trust that the Mexican Coke tastes different just because of the sugar. The water used at the bottling plant may have different qualities (e.g. dissolved minerals) that affect the taste. If anyone can get all three (regular, Mexican, and KFP), and do a taste test, I’d be interested in hearing what results you get.
Interesting, if slightly tangential, note: According to the far-ranging Farhad Manjoo in this article on Salon (you probably have to watch an ad to read the whole thing if you really want to), Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Blink, has something to say about blind taste tests.
That may explain why people couldn’t tell the difference between Sprite and Coke in the (possibly apocryphal) study I mentioned earlier: Blind, with just one sip, maybe you can’t. I mean, I personally think Sprite tastes like soap, but that’s just me.
Or, you could avoid the whole mess and just get Boylan’s Cane Cola, made with cane sugar and no corn syrup. I find it highly superior to both Coke and Pepsi for my rum and cola needs.
I’m a big fan of soda containing real kola nut extract. The best one I’ve ever had was RC Draft, but RC stopped making it, I assume because they made no inroads into Coke and Pepsi’s market share. There may be kola nut in the “natural flavors” in both major cola brands, but having tasted it for sure in RC Draft, I don’t find it in either of the Big Two.
I just finished a Dr. Whatever from Journey and I find their cola excellent as well. No corn syrup, real kola flavor.
Boylan’s is okay. Their red birch beer, however, is exceptional.
I stand corrected. It does in fact have aspartame in it… why I’m not sure, as some sodas available where I live contain no aspartame, substituting it with sucralose (which I like, but it comes caffiene free)
Crywalt, I’ve had that checked too… the reason I say I’m not diabetic, is that it’s usually the first thing folks say when they hear I drink that much fluid in a day. It’s more boredom, and I substitute no calorie fluids for food. The excess water is to rebalance the hydration lost due to the amount of caffeine I ingest daily.
Granted, I’m in the bathroom nearly every hour on the hour, but it’s an easy price to pay.
Just stay on top of it. I have always been one to drink anywhere from a gallon to two gallons of liquid a day, usually iced tea (with sugar). I only became glucose intolerant this year, as far as I know, and I’m sure I had it checked before that. I just turned 34.
So, you know, keep on top of it. Diabetes isn’t fun – I watched my grandmother and great-uncle die from it. It’s slow going.
Dublin’s claim in this respect is a tad overstated; they very carefully use the words “pure Imperial Cane Sugar” whenever they make it. I can’t determine whether the “Imperial” is a brand name, obscure jargon of the sugar industry, or pure bafflegab.
Just like Coke, Dr Pepper (there is no period) is made with sugar for Passover, and sometimes just because of a momentary price turn.
Wow. That looks really interesting. I’m going to give it a try. I’m a big fan of vinegar anyway.
I wonder if the type of vinegar matters. I wonder specifically if this ties in with the health benefits of drinking wine. If I drink red wine vinegar, will that help twice as much? Will I become Super-Salad-Man? Will I be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but no one will talk to me because of my bad breath?
Imperial’s a brand. You can buy it in the grocery store, at least in Texas. I think it is, in fact, a Texas-based brand, which would explain why Dr Pepper and other regional beverages make such a big deal out of it - Texas like to support their own. Loudly.
It’s the acetic acid that works. Has nothing to do with wine, altho wine is fine. Concerning the bad breath, I always use garlic in my salad and I don’t have bad breath. At least I don’t notice it.
Well, if you let the wine oxidize enough, it will turn into vinegar, but I don’t think wine itself contains acetic acid. I think its a chemical reaction with oxygen, but a chemist can chime in here to enlighten us.
