The plot thickens, the wikipedia entry for Invert Sugar claim that Golden Syrup is 56% invert sugar!
I guess there is no right or wrong answer - and I guess its a reminder not to believe everything we read online!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_sugar_syrup
lol, now that you mention it, I have read those articles.
And it just goes to show just how innacurate, inconsistant, and contradictory Wikipedia can be. And kids nowadays think its the be all and bloody end all. If its on Wikipedia, it must be true
I found that the golden syrup wiki entry was a little bit biased toward Lyles as a product, instead of talking about syrup in general. I notice that the Invert sugar wiki article is referring to golden syrup in general, and not lyles specifically. Further thickening of the plot comes from the sugar.ca link. On re reading it, even though most canadian sugar production is beet based, the golden syrup definition there refers to it being a cane product. :huh: Rogers Golden Syrup from Canada is almost word for word what the sugar.ca says, that its a blend of cane sugars. Interesting......
As far as CSR is concerned....well, that will be a cane product. Thats a no-brainer. As for invert/non invert? I can only make supposition on this. Having used both Lyles and CSR extensively (in baking), I have made the following observations.....
CSR is more prone to crystilisation in storage. CSR is harsher in flavour, and less sweet than lyles, with a slight bitter endnote on the palate. So from this, I would make the conclusion that not only is CSR a blend of invert/non invert, but that it has a lower percentage of invert sugar than lyles does, due to the fact that invert sugar is less likely to crystalise, and is sweeter than sucrose. As I said, this is all observational, with no empirical data, but logic leads me to those conlusions.
I find it interesting that all the manufacturers websites (at least the ones that I have been to) either state that it is a blend of invert and non inverted, or make no statement at all about the nature of their product. I have yet to find one that says it is 100% inverted.
But just to satisfy my somewhat perverse curiosity (because I hate an un-answered question) I have just sent a request to CSR through teir online contact to find out if it is 100% invert or a blend :lol:
I will post the response, if they deign to reply.