Corn syrup is made from the starch of maize (also referred to as corn). It contains varied quantities of maltose as well as higher oligosaccharides. Its main use lies in food products, in which it adds volume, softens the texture, improves flavor and prevents sugar from crystallizing. Confectioners often call corn syrup as glucose syrup. The widely used high-fructose corn syrup is derived from corn syrup. A large proportion of the glucose from the corn syrup gets converted into fructose in order to manufacture high-fructose corn syrup.
In today’s times, corn syrup is produced via a multi-step bioprocess. Its basic raw material is the number 2 yellow dent corn. About 2,300 liters of corn is estimated to give a tone of corn syrup. A majority of the commercially-used corn syrups comprise close to one-third glucose by weight.
High consumption of processed foods around the world is anticipated to aid growth of the corn syrup industry. China is an important market for corn syrup.