# Why is there corn syrup, but no granulated corn sugar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138 "2006-10-12T01:29:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/1 "2006-10-12T01:29:35Z")
There’s granulated cane sugar, but corn “sugar” seems to come in syrup form only. Why is this? Why is there no granulated “corn sugar”? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/2 "2006-10-12T01:40:33Z")
There is; it’s called [dextrose](http://www.evenyoucanbrew.com/product_p/ext-sug.htm). I don’t know why it isn’t commonly sold for household use like cane sugar, though. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/3 "2006-10-12T01:51:03Z")
You add a bit of corn syrup to candy made with granulated sugar to help keep it from crystalizing out of a super saturated solution. An example is fudge. A tablespoon goes into frosting to make it a bit smoother. You can cook corn syrup into a hard candy, but it doesn’t crystalize into small individual crystals like beet or cane sugar. Someone that can explain why it won’t do this will have to take over from here. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/4 "2006-10-12T01:54:34Z")
Well I guess it can be made granular, but it still does work to help prevent the granulation of candy. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/5 "2006-10-12T12:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=Kimstu] I don’t know why it isn’t commonly sold for household use like cane sugar, though. [/QUOTE] Because it is not as sweet as common table sugar (sucrose). You need about 50% dextrose more to equal the sweetness of sucrose. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/6 "2006-10-12T12:15:41Z")
50% more dextrose :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/7 "2006-10-12T12:26:53Z")
You can buy corn sugar in powered form from beer and wine making supply shops. It absorbs water and turns into a hard lump very quickly if you don’t keep it well sealed. If you put it in a sugar bowl, in about 2 days you probably couldn’t get it back out. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/8 "2006-10-12T14:07:41Z")
[QUOTE=Bewildebeest] You can buy corn sugar in powered form from beer and wine making supply shops. It absorbs water and turns into a hard lump very quickly if you don’t keep it well sealed. If you put it in a sugar bowl, in about 2 days you probably couldn’t get it back out. [/QUOTE] I’ve not had the problem. I buy ingredient kits which always come with way too much corn sugar. Rather than throw it out, I keep adding it to a big tupperware (little-t) bowl in my basement. It’s still mostly granular. Given that, anyone have a good use for corn sugar aside from making beer? I can’t bear to throw it out, as I said. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/9 "2006-10-12T14:12:38Z")
I thought that granulated sugar, for table use, was also made from sugar beets, not so? ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/10 "2006-10-12T14:22:22Z")
[QUOTE=A.R. Cane] I thought that granulated sugar, for table use, was also made from sugar beets, not so? [/QUOTE] Table sugar could be either cane or beet sugar. The container should say which it is. ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-corn-syrup-but-no-granulated-corn-sugar/376138/11 "2006-10-12T14:28:14Z")
powDered form