# Corn Syrup And/or Maltodextrin?



## foxy (30/7/06)

by the forums i read, corn syrup and maltodextrin seem to both be used for the same thing- body and head. so what is the actual differences? does one give a different flavour than the other? is one more fermentable than the other? whats the go?


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## NRB (30/7/06)

They're both the same thing as far as I know.


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## matti (30/7/06)

Yep.Yep and Yep...


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## foxy (30/7/06)

matti said:


> Yep.Yep and Yep...


What you mean? all the same as far as you know?


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## Kai (30/7/06)

They are the same thing.


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## pint of lager (30/7/06)

Corn syrup is maltodextrin. A bit like table sugar is also called sucrose.

Using the term corn syrup is misleading as it is made from starch. In Australia, the starch most commonly used to make maltodextrin is wheat starch, in America, they often use corn starch.

By treating the starch differently, the manufacturer is able to make dextrose from the same raw material.

Be very careful, often, American recipes will say use corn syrup or corn sugar in a recipe, and they mean dextrose. 

To avoid confusion, it is best to use the terms maltodextrin and dextrose, avoiding the word corn.


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## Screwtop (30/7/06)

One really big dif. Syrup is liquid and maltodex is a powdered form. Pretty sure the same extract value applies in GU's and fermentability is about the same, colour may differ between syrup and dried product though.


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## pint of lager (30/7/06)

Screwtop, that is something I could never work out. Normally syrup means a liquid, but I have always seen bags at homebrew shops labelled corn syrup and they contain a powder.


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## blackbock (31/7/06)

Screwtop said:


> One really big dif. Syrup is liquid and maltodex is a powdered form. Pretty sure the same extract value applies in GU's and fermentability is about the same, colour may differ between syrup and dried product though.



Are you guys so sure about this? I remember reading somewhere that corn syrup is a highly fermentable substance, although not quite as much as dextrose. Maltodextrin is not all that fermentable, guess that's why the commercial suppliers put it in their sugar mixes as a "body improver."


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## Hubby (31/7/06)

Just don't buy "corn syrup" in Aust unless you are absolutely sure what it is. There is (or was about 5 yrs ago) one HBS in Vic that sells maltodex under the label of "corn syrup" (in powder form :blink: ). The paket did not indicate which sugar it was. The trouble starts when you use this "corn syrup" as priming sugar thinking it is dextrose - I know from bitter experience :angry:


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## Kai (31/7/06)

generally speaking in brewer's parlance,

corn sugar = dextrose
corn syrup = maltodextrin

they are both silly terms though. just call them dextrose and maltodextrin and avoid all the confusion, like pint of lager says.


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## Screwtop (31/7/06)

pint of lager said:


> Screwtop, that is something I could never work out. Normally syrup means a liquid, but I have always seen bags at homebrew shops labelled corn syrup and they contain a powder.




Corn syrup is a liquid derivative of corn starch, used in food and beverage manufacture in the US. Available in light and dark it's often used in American recipes for jam etc.

Who knows what were served up here, Maltodextrin info Maltodextrin here.


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