James Lileks: A Drink That Implies Flavor

The Minneapolis/St Paul Star Tribune ^ | June 29, 2005 | James Lileks

[kevkrom]

One of these days, restaurants are going to figure out that sometimes people are willing to buy a diet soft drink that is caffeine-free

Every time I fill out a comment cart, I add a comment to this effect. Still waiting for it to become the norm (I know of one place where I can get a regular or C/F Diet Coke, but, as a pizza joint, it's particulaly Atkins-friendly...)

[LonePalm]

Can you actually still get cane sugar in anything anymore?

In the US, unless it specificly says "Cane Sugar" on the package it is probably beet sugar. They're both sucrose.

Glucose and Fructose (fruit sugar) are monosaccharides. They have the same chemical formula (C₆H₁₂O₆) but different shapes.

Two monosaccharides combine to form a disaccharide and a water molecule is released. For example, one glucose and one fructose combine to form one sucrose (table sugar). Other disaccharides are lactose(milk sugar) and maltose(precursor to beer).

'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[LexBaird]

It's part of a random string of words I got in a spam e-mail, but it almost seems to make sense.

Somebody set you up the bomb.

[LexBaird]

In the US, unless it specificly says "Cane Sugar" on the package it is probably beet sugar.

Not likely. All the beet sugar plants in the area I grew up in went out of business long ago. The more productive cane sugar is cheaper to import than beet sugar is to produce domestically. Corn syrup is even cheaper.

[LonePalm]

Actually domestic sugar beet production is 3-4 times sugar cane production as of FY'04. (Source: USDA)

'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[LexBaird]

Could be so now, but all the beet sugar processing plants in Idaho and Utah went belly up in the 70's. The only beet farmers there now grow them for cattle feed. I do know that beets produce less sugar per ton than cane.

See this article. In part: "To ensure high sugar prices, the Department of Agriculture constrains the supply by designating the overall domestic sugar consumption in advance. FY 2005's allotment is about 8.1 million tons. The 2002 Farm Bill set the foreign import ceiling at 1.53 million tons, but the administration only allowed 1.23 million tons for FY 2005, which is the amount determined by the WTO Uruguay Round Agreement. As Kudlow suggested, CAFTA's 109,000 tons increase is nothing compared to the 300,000 tons the administration could add. The Farm Bill also mandated a fixed proportion between the cane sugar and beet sugar production of 54.35 percent to 45.65 percent, respectively."

In short, domestic beet production is being propped up by subsidies and import controls on foreign cane sugar.

[LonePalm]

I have no arguement with what you posted.

I approach the subject from a culinary standpoint. Either way its not as sweet as a winning lottery ticket.

'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[Aquinasfan]

I'm talking about the stuff we buy at Target because it's three bucks for a 12-pack.

Now you're talking. But I just got five 12-packs for five bucks this weekend at Shaws, including a 12-pack of Coke Zero. I like it. Hard to tell the difference between it and Diet Coke, except the initial sip tastes a little bit more like real Coke.

[Aquinasfan]

If you want to lose some weight, try going cold turkey on anything containing high-fructose corn syrup, and go easy on the cane sugar as well.

I watched my 16-yr-old nephew down a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi and half a blueberry pie at a family gathering last Thanksgiving. You might be surprised that he's a fat pig.

[Cecily]

I hope he will shape up some day. I can't believe that schools now allow vending machines on the premises, but I suppose they make some money from it.

[Junior_G]

At least everyone here knows that they didn't get the same make and model of tongue.
I tried Diet Coke with Splenda and absolutely loved it. It's sweeter than regular diet coke but isn't close to the gross, syrupy sweetness of regular coke.

[toothfairy86]

I tried the Diet Coke with Splenda recently. (It was on sale, and I had a coupon, so it came out free.) It wasn't bad, but I still like the regular diet Coke better. Have you ever noticed that the caffeine-free stuff doesn't seem to have as much carbonation?