Pepsi has taken advantage of the growing trend against high-fructose corn syrup and introduced sugar sweetened alternatives under the “Throwback” label for two of their HFCS laden flagship beverages. Yes, in certain areas, there have been Kosher versions of both Coke and Pepsi available for some time – and Coke and Pepsi imported from Mexico (that not only use sugar, but come in glass bottles) remains a popular alternative (if you can find it – and it sells for $1.29 – $1.99 per 12 ounce bottle). There are regional brands that still use sugar to sweeten their drinks, but those also sell at a premium. Hopefully, the nationwide exposure causes this to do so well in the next 6-8 weeks that Pepsi sees the light and keeps this as a permanent option.
I have tried the Pepsi Throwback and the taste is definitely superior to HFCS Pepsi.
Review of Pepsi Throwback (notice the difference in the carbonation)
Review of Mountain Dew Throwback
Review of Mexican Coke (quotes a 3 year old article where Coca-Cola insists that sugar and HFCS taste exactly the same)
Why can’t we go back to the good old days, and make Coca-cola with cocaine. And Pepsi with heroin?
(You gotta get up to get down…)
#16, bobbo, very good point you bring up, but unfortunately, even well understood economic theories don’t always win out over on-the-ground interests. It’s not popular to tell an American farmer that we would be better off importing the crop he makes a living from, and so should put his land to different, more productive use.
The United States has many different climate zones within it, so that kinda complicates the discussion, when dealing with what is best to trade and with whom.
gee i wonder if someone make a less sugared soda pop..??? hhmm i’d buy that..
at least i’d buy more then once in a blue moon, as i drink lightly (very lightly) sweetened tea.. not that diabetic coma inducing stuff from the south.. (usa)
The use of HFCS is mostly due to the high tariff on sugar. Note that one of the largest sugar growers is Cuba.
But as far as it goes, the term “cane sugar” is somewhat misleading. Regular white sugar (sucrose) can also and is also made from sugar beets, which can be grown in moderate climates…even in places like Minnesota.
Oh, and for the record, you find more Kosher Pepsi than Kosher Coke because Jewish people have a preference for Pepsi. I think it has to do with the Atlanta vs. Purchase, New York company base thing.
I more or less gave up sugared soda about 12 years ago when they finally started to get some of the diet drinks to be palatable again. Back when cyclamate was still legal in the USA, they tasted okay. Once they got rid of the saccharin, things began to improve. The benefits are, of course mega fewer calories, and the added advantage that spills aren’t sticky.
My favorite for more than 10 years has been diet Mt. Dew. I’ll try some of the throwback, if I can find it, but once you wean yourself off the sugar, it always tastes absurdly sweet when you go back.
I’ve tried both Pepsi Throwback and Mt. Dew. Throwback and I don’t care what Coke or Pepsi try to claim, there is definitely a difference in taste. The biggest difference I found isn’t in flavor (thought that is better too), but rather in the lack of chemical aftertaste and that “gritty” feeling that Pepsi usually leaves on your teeth. It’s just pure good flavor from first sip all the way down. Enjoy it while it is here.
#24, Pepsi-cola originates from North Carolina.
@Pedro:
Let me all know when you catch the difference between pepsi & coke too.
Pepsi has a higher level of caramel in the soda. I know this because my metabolism does not like caramel, so I can ‘taste’ the slight acidic difference, and cannot consume as many Pepsis as Cokes, because it will upset my stomach.
J/P=?
20, I never meant to imply you can’t get fructose elsewhere. The point being is you’re ingesting small doses of fructose when eating fruit.
HFCS is highly concentrated. And it is in damn near everything you eat nowadays from breads, crackers, dips, etc. It is really hard to eat a diet absent of HFCS unless you make your own meals. It would be interesting to see if a person could eat enough fructose naturally to be equivalent to what a person can ingest through foods containing HFCS.
The woman who had her liver transplant did not drink alcohol. What they found was her diet was rich in HFCS and they believe that’s what caused her affliction…. it’s still being looked into.
The CDC used to have a graph on their website which showed the obesity rate mirroring the food industry’s use of HFCS. That graph mysteriously disappeared and can no longer be found. The CDC did put a disclaimer out at the time saying the graph was not trying to imply any sort of causal relationship and that further research was needed.
I guess I won’t be drinking any more Glaceau Vitamin Water: http://tinyurl.com/cubc6w
#24 Was cuba. Past tense. The “revolution” took care of that.
#28 You’d need higher ammounts of sugar to get the same level of sweetness you get from concentrated fructose, so that point of calling it high concentrated in kinda moot, since you’d need less to get the same “sugary taste” level.
And again, the US is not the only place were people and kids are getting fatter, so pointing fructose as the source of obesity is like claiming that insecurity is up because the house next to yours was robbed.
I will switch. I tried the Mountain Dew. I will try letting it start to get warm and see if I get the same awful warm Dew taste.
30, I think there is a misunderstanding. I’m not saying if you eat foods containing regular sugar that you won’t get fat. Fructose seems to help you accumulate body fat more easily than other sugars according to these two links below:
http://tinyurl.com/cgvp8b
http://tinyurl.com/cpa4e6
In general, too much sugar (of any kind) is going to cause problems. Drinking sodas used to be reserved for holidays and special occasions. Nowadays people drink it everyday.
On the matter of HFCS since it’s sweeter, the food companies get more bang for their buck. But our bodies more readily turn it into body fat than other sugars.
It’s my understanding that other sugars quickl become available in our bloodstream waiting to be used by our muscles. The more fit we are, the more our muscles use up this blood sugar. At the end of the day when we all fall asleep, any leftover blood sugar gets converted over to body fat… at the end of the day when you are sleeping. This is a stark contrast to how fructose is handled. Fructose goes to our livers and starts turning to fatty deposits.
I’m not a doctor, so this is my general understanding of it.
#32 Your general understanding is quite good.
Bobbo – Try Googling cane suger vs hfcs.
#34 I bet that he won’t get the results he’s looking for
As I am to this blog, Mexican Coke is superior to American Coke. And, they sell it at Costco.
36, Not in every Costco. Maybe the ones in California and Texas.
Thanks Hop.
After correcting for your speeeling error, google turned up the always reliable wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup
Which confirms the information in this excellent thread, except for Pedro’s insistance that HFCS and sugar are the same. Evidently they are the same only in that they should both be avoided whenever possible.
Until the next marketing campaign, I’m sticking with this:
Avoid HFCS–makes you eat more and gives you diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver, AND
Avoid Sugar–makes you fat and rots your teeth.
I don’t care what the truth is, my mind is made up.
38, I think Pedro’s point was that people are fooling themselves if they think “pure cane sugar” is somehow “healthy”. He was illustrating that there are other people out there who consume lots of pure cane sugar products and they still get fat.
“Sugar” is a broad term which includes HFCS under its umbrella.
To point out something you may not KNOW..
There is a LARGE IMPORT TAX on all Sugar cane, SUGAR based products brought into the USA.
ITS NOT that HFCS is cheaper, its the TAX on the imported sugar products, WHICH includes Alcohol BASED on Sugar generation.
On the alcohol its $1 per gallon import tax. WHICH is more then the FUEL tax already USEd in most states.
The Sugar tax is so that ONLY 1-2 places in the USA, does not have to compete with WORLD prices of sugar. WHICH ARE CHEAP.