Not-so-obvious Corn Ingredient Details
(return to the corn free shopping guide)
Baking powder: Cornstarch is a key ingredient in baking powder as it is responsible for adding acid, preventing drying/caking of the powder and helping the product bulk for easier measuring. This is also true when it comes to biscuit, pancake and other bread mixes. Some varieties of baking powder are instead made with potato starch.
Caramel: Caramel is a sweet little candy that is derived from caramelizing sugars for use in candies, sodas and food coloring. While it can be made from beet or cane sugar, the caramel is also often times made from corn sugar. The corn sugar variety is the most likely to be used in sodas.
Confectioner's sugar: This is an extra finely powdered sugar designed for the use on candies and other sweets. In the process of making it, the sugar is mixed with cornstarch which helps prevent caking. This is sometimes called powdered sugar or icing sugar.
Grits: Common southern food also sometimes referred to as hominy grits, grits are corn. It is typically a coarsely ground corn that is fried. No matter how it is cooked, it still contains corn.
Treacle: A sweet, thick juice often used in the process of sweetening many foods. It is in fact another word for molasses. However, treacle in particular can contain corn syrup, unlike other varieties of molasses.
Xanthan gum: Used in many processed foods as a thickening agent. While it doesn't contain corn, corn may have been used to grow the xanthan gum and as a result some traces of corn may remain. If the ingredient list doesn't make clear whether it does, it may be best to avoid foods with xanthan gum.
