So THAT'S why coke tastes different in the USA

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

The kids and I miss marble cheese too Laura, they also dont like the lunch meat here either.

We are not big pop drinkers but I am addicted to kool-aid hehe good old sugar is what i add. I do try to avoid the HFCS but its so hard. We do tend to notice if something has that ####### in it kinda ruins it for us. I have a list for my mom to bring us our goodies and a bigger list for when we go back.

We buy our lunch meat from a local market and it's made there, pretty good.

[cieloazul 0]

I'm not a big soft drink person, but I always enjoyed a coke here and there until I went to school in the USA and totally lost my taste for it. I thought it was just me until a friend recently came to visit me in Canada and said, "I have to have a Coke while I'm here!" I asked why and he told me that it tastes better in Canada because we use sugar where in the USA they replace much of the sugar with high-fructose corn syrup! This is because the USA has tariffs on sugar which make it too expensive to produce soft drinks with so much sugar.

Apparently this is the case with many products including ketchup! Who knew? Just thought I'd share because there are probably a few people who find thing taste just a little different in the USA. Next time check the label... maybe it is the corn syrup!

Yes, Coke here is definately different, as is ketchup and in fact most things that have sugar in them, we have had quite a few conversations about it, including this one:

What the heck did they do to the Heinz Ketchup???

If you are into pop, you find some other brands like Jones which uses sugar instead of HFCS.

[to_hope 0]

Activia is great here....that's what we eat too.

Ketchup, I have enough of Canadian Ketchup for a year...my best friend Kristie made me a ketchup gift basket before I moved....I'm set with ketchup!

Ketchup gift basket?! That is hilarious! And awesome.

[Cassie 8]

HFCS is the bane of my existence. I can't drink my favourite Ocean Spray juice because there's too much added ####### to it, and if I want it "lite" -- well, shall I have chemical sweetener with my 100% juice?????? Blah! The damn stuff is in everything and it drives me nuts.

Ocean Spray is now HFCS free. Check the front label.

Yeah, but have they put in something else in its place??? yeah, I'm skeptical. I'll have to check it out when I go grocery shopping this afternoon.

Ok Reba, I take it back -- no HFCS, no aspartame, no nothing -- just juice! yay! Now to wait until it goes on sale!

[Reba 2]

You're welcome I noticed it a couple of weeks ago when Food Lion here had it on sale twofer. A couple of the "discount" (Fred's, Dollar General etc.) stores carry it here too, maybe check some of those around you.

Again though, sometimes the store brands will cost less and also don't have HFCS in them, just plain ol' sugar.

Hubby thinks I'm crazy, and sometimes a single grocery trip can take over an hour because I'm reading all the labels, but I just can't stand the stuff. Sometimes though, you just have to break down and give in. I can't find any tomato soup without it in, and I can't afford the shipping costs from Canadian Favourites. I also haven't been able to get home in over a year, and I don't think anyone is coming to visit any time soon

[Cassie 8]

You're welcome I noticed it a couple of weeks ago when Food Lion here had it on sale twofer. A couple of the "discount" (Fred's, Dollar General etc.) stores carry it here too, maybe check some of those around you.

Again though, sometimes the store brands will cost less and also don't have HFCS in them, just plain ol' sugar.

Hubby thinks I'm crazy, and sometimes a single grocery trip can take over an hour because I'm reading all the labels, but I just can't stand the stuff. Sometimes though, you just have to break down and give in. I can't find any tomato soup without it in, and I can't afford the shipping costs from Canadian Favourites. I also haven't been able to get home in over a year, and I don't think anyone is coming to visit any time soon

I will have to start doing some scouting around, because I refuse to pay more than $2 for a bottle of juice, and I miss my Ocean Spray. We usually drink straight up apple juice (no added sugar), but there are times that I hanker for cran-grape!

I hear you, grocery shopping used to be fun for me, now it's a big drag because all the time spent squinting at the fine print on the labels.

[bluegreen 0]

It takes me forever to go grocery shopping because I'm always reading the labels. One thing that has disappointed me is yogurt because most brands have HFCS in it. I didn't know how much it was bothering me until I found some Liberte yogurt in Wegman's. I literally teared up when I saw it. Oh yogurt, how I have missed thee! I felt like kissing it right then and there, but I waited until I got home.

I think I would burst into tears of joy if I saw Liberte yoghurt here in So Cal. I am so disappointed at the variety of yoghurt available here, even in places like Whole Foods and Henry's. Even Activia only has a few boring flavours (no prune, or pear, or anything except standard berry peach, vanilla, etc). Boo hoo.

[Marilyn. 340]

here in LA area there are a tonne of different varieties and flavours of yogurt....

[EED 0]

I'm not a big soft drink person, but I always enjoyed a coke here and there until I went to school in the USA and totally lost my taste for it. I thought it was just me until a friend recently came to visit me in Canada and said, "I have to have a Coke while I'm here!" I asked why and he told me that it tastes better in Canada because we use sugar where in the USA they replace much of the sugar with high-fructose corn syrup! This is because the USA has tariffs on sugar which make it too expensive to produce soft drinks with so much sugar.

Apparently this is the case with many products including ketchup! Who knew? Just thought I'd share because there are probably a few people who find thing taste just a little different in the USA. Next time check the label... maybe it is the corn syrup!

Yes, Coke here is definately different, as is ketchup and in fact most things that have sugar in them, we have had quite a few conversations about it, including this one:

What the heck did they do to the Heinz Ketchup???

If you are into pop, you find some other brands like Jones which uses sugar instead of HFCS.

I agree with Jones cola. Hansen's is also good. Both uses cane sugar.

[thetreble 19]

I also buy Arnolds.

I'm pretty sure that HCFS is the cause of my US weight gain. I have put on a considerable amount of weight since I h ave been here, but not eating much differently at all.

When I go to Canada for Christmas I will be bringing a ton of stuff back.

[Reba 2]

I think it had a lot to do with my weight gain as well, but I also had/have a thyroid disease that gave me a lot of problems, so I dunno. My doctor says I shouldn't have gained as much as I did, just from the thyroid problem, so I'll blame the rest of it on HFCS

Yeah, I've noticed a lack of yogurt flavours here too with Danone Activia has a lot more flavours in Canada and the UK, but here they only have 4 flavours. Vanilla, Peach (yuck), blue berry and strawberry. They have rhubarb flavour in the UK! I LOVE rhubarb flavour! And in the big containers, they only have Vanilla. The big containers are cheaper and less waste. I'd like more than just vanilla though.

Weight Watchers yogurt has a lot of flavours though, and Yoplait (I don't particularly like Yoplait though for some reason I've not quite been able to pinpoint). And a couple of store brands have a lot of flavours.

The "Light" versions do not contain HFCS, but they use artificial sweeteners like Splenda or aspartame instead.

I've been thinking of buying a yogurt maker and just making my own. Its actually cheaper. If I just had some more counter space for another appliance!

[bluegreen 0]

I think it had a lot to do with my weight gain as well, but I also had/have a thyroid disease that gave me a lot of problems, so I dunno. My doctor says I shouldn't have gained as much as I did, just from the thyroid problem, so I'll blame the rest of it on HFCS

Yeah, I've noticed a lack of yogurt flavours here too with Danone Activia has a lot more flavours in Canada and the UK, but here they only have 4 flavours. Vanilla, Peach (yuck), blue berry and strawberry. They have rhubarb flavour in the UK! I LOVE rhubarb flavour! And in the big containers, they only have Vanilla. The big containers are cheaper and less waste. I'd like more than just vanilla though.

Weight Watchers yogurt has a lot of flavours though, and Yoplait (I don't particularly like Yoplait though for some reason I've not quite been able to pinpoint). And a couple of store brands have a lot of flavours.

The "Light" versions do not contain HFCS, but they use artificial sweeteners like Splenda or aspartame instead.

I've been thinking of buying a yogurt maker and just making my own. Its actually cheaper. If I just had some more counter space for another appliance!

Hmm, I will look for the Weight Watchers ones! I've tried some of the organic ones (I can't remember the names—the ones with the kangaroo, Stoneycreek and High Mountain—their Vanilla is yummy but the flavors not so much). I don't like Yoplait either. I didn't know about yogut makers! Hmmmmmmmm. A good wedding registry item (we're having a family wedding next summer).

[Reba 2]

Linens 'n' Things is going out of business and everything is on sale of course. I saw on their website they have a yogurt maker for $23.99, so I might check out the store in Hickory on the weekend to see what the store price is. it may be less, who knows. At least I won't have to pay shipping.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Sometimes I can't believe the craziness that goes on here over HFCS.

You guys do realize that HFCS has no more or less effect than sugar, right? Perhaps in some cases it can taste different (there are actually different varieties of HFCS, some of which taste sweeter and others that don't), but weight gain can -- and does -- happen whether or not someone is using sugar or HFCS. If you're eating a lot of sugar, expect to put on the pounds and the same is true of HFCS.

To claim that HFCS is the reason for weight gain and/or is "evil incarnate" is ludicrous. If you prefer one taste over the other, that's different.

Perhaps I should note that HFCS or sugar by themselves aren't anything to worry about. If you combine the two -- as is the case in some U.S. products -- that's where the negative effects can occur.

I'm sure I'll meet with resistance here and be told how HFCS is the reason for poverty, war, famine and so on. That's fine. If even so much as one person listens and understands what I'm saying (instead of having a knee-jerk reaction and launching off on a tirade), then perhaps it's worth it.

Edited November 16, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[MrsCat 6]

Sometimes I can't believe the craziness that goes on here over HFCS.

You guys do realize that HFCS has no more or less effect than sugar, right? Perhaps in some cases it can taste different (there are actually different varieties of HFCS, some of which taste sweeter and others that don't), but weight gain can -- and does -- happen whether or not someone is using sugar or HFCS. If you're eating a lot of sugar, expect to put on the pounds and the same is true of HFCS.

To claim that HFCS is the reason for weight gain and/or is "evil incarnate" is ludicrous. If you prefer one taste over the other, that's different.

Perhaps I should note that HFCS or sugar by themselves aren't anything to worry about. If you combine the two -- as is the case in some U.S. products -- that's where the negative effects can occur.

I'm sure I'll meet with resistance here and be told how HFCS is the reason for poverty, war, famine and so on. That's fine. If even so much as one person listens and understands what I'm saying (instead of having a knee-jerk reaction and launching off on a tirade), then perhaps it's worth it.

DPX, if you start to lose weight in Canada, I think the other side wins.