Pecan Pie with no corn syrup?
My husband requested a pecan pie for Thanksgiving, and I've been perusing recipes. Most call for a lot of the dreaded corn syrup, which gives me the willies. So I'm wondering if I can make a substitution without affecting the pie's texture. Can I use agave nectar? I've seen some calling for maple syrup--maybe a combination of the two? Or some other magical syrup-like liquid I'm unaware of?
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24 Comments:
Try cane syrup.
1stmakearoux at 12:34PM on 11/13/08
brown rice syrup - I use it alll of the time. It has that thick, caramel-y texture. It's also much less expensive that agave or maple syrup, especially if you cna find it at Asian markets.
KarynMC at 12:57PM on 11/13/08
Agree with @KarynMC. I use it all the time - it's great! I buy mine from Whole Foods...
bitchincamero at 1:32PM on 11/13/08
I've been told that there are brands of corn syrup that do not contain HFCS; I've never looked, so I can't tell you which ones those might be.
Just for the fun of it, I googled for pecan pie recipes with no corn syrup, and I found a number of them. So instead of trying to substitute, maybe just find a tested recipe.
One of them used brown sugar as the sweetener; it sounded interesting. Another used brown sugar and Lyle's Golden Syrup, whatever that it. It may be a regional thing.
dbcurrie at 1:38PM on 11/13/08
There is a recipe in the Greyston Bakery Cookbook (the first one) for a pecan pie using maple syrup. I haven't had it in years, but it was yummy and not gummy/gooey like the corn syrup version.
LadyMarmalade at 2:05PM on 11/13/08
I use caramel in my pecan pies. You can probably find caramels that are made without corn syrup.
This is my my recipe. Adapted from something on All Recipes I think.
wunami at 3:04PM on 11/13/08
Steen's Pure Cane Syrup! Best pecan pie on the planet and the recipe is right on the bottle.
cajunnan at 5:07PM on 11/13/08
dbcurrie: Lyle's Golden Syrup is a British product--very similar to corn syrup.
smallblondemom at 6:44PM on 11/13/08
I always make my pecan pie with homemade caramel sauce, I'd suggest that. Although the brown rice syrup sounds like something I'm going to have to try.
phenosteve at 9:51PM on 11/13/08
dbcurrie, golden syrup is also known as treacle.
Mares at 11:20PM on 11/13/08
You can find recipes for pecan pie that use molasses.
Molasses is also called treacle in the UK.
holdthemayo at 9:09AM on 11/14/08
Thanks, everyone!
PestoGal at 12:52PM on 11/14/08
@smallblond and @mares thanks for the info on Lyles. I think I looked it up once, because the name was vaguely familiar, but not enough that I remembered exactly what it was.
That's the problem with recipes that rely on regional brands. You don't always know what a suitable substitution is. Like Steen's cane syrup. I looked all over for that stuff -- or any kind of cane syrup, and it's not sold around here. I could order it online, but that makes it an expensive ingredient.
dbcurrie at 1:21PM on 11/14/08
Lyle's is actually a brand of cane syrup, as is Steen's. (Note that treacle and cane syrup are not the same. Treacle is British for molasses.) From the Cook's Thesaurus:
golden syrup = cane juice = jus de canne = cane syrup = sugar cane juice = light treacle Notes: This amber-colored liquid sweetener is popular among British, Caribbean, and Creole cooks. It's made by evaporating sugar cane juice until it's thick and syrupy. Lyle's Golden Syrup and Steen's Pure Cane Syrup are popular brands. Substitutes: Combine two parts light corn syrup plus one part molasses OR equal parts honey and corn syrup OR maple syrup (This is thinner, and not as sweet.) OR dark corn syrup (This is thnner and not as sweet as golden syrup. If you like, try reducing the corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.) OR light corn syrup (This is thnner and not as sweet or flavorful as golden syrup. If you like, try reducing the corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.)
I strongly recommend the Cook's Thesaurus website. It is a great reference for finding substitutes or identifying odd ingredients. Entries usually have a photo.
kjgibson at 2:09PM on 11/14/08
I note that I contradicted myself in the excerpt I posted from the Cook's Thesaurus ... bad me. They call golden syrup "light treacle" -- a phrase I have never heard before. On this side of the pond, light molasses is still significantly darker than cane syrup. Live and learn, or read more closely and learn!
kjgibson at 3:56PM on 11/14/08
Lyle's sells both golden syrup and treacle. The golden syrup is available here in rural upstate NY, wherever gourmet foods are sold. But it's "invert" sugar, and I wonder whether it's healthy.
superdewa at 6:23PM on 11/14/08
Oh, and if you don't mind a LITTLE of the dreaded corn syrup, by which I believe you mean high fructose corn syrup, most brands of corns syrup I've seen are mostly pure corn syrup with only a small amount of high fructose corn syrup.
Thanksgiving comes but once a year. I use the corn syrup.
superdewa at 6:25PM on 11/14/08
I use Lyle's it has a lot of flavor.
JerzeeTomato at 6:53PM on 11/14/08
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1737,154174-235202,00.html
maple pecan pie, no corn syrup
Nonny at 11:10AM on 11/15/08
I second (third?) the use of maple syrup in pecan pie. I once just subbed out maple for corn when that's all I had in the house on "baking day" - people raved about the pie, and wanted to know why mine had "deeper" flavor than what they're used to.
Maple syrup sure isn't cheap, though.
BangieB at 1:07PM on 11/15/08
You can also get organic corn syrup, which is not HCFS.
KarynMC at 3:29PM on 11/15/08
Yes,
You can also use agave syrup. However, keep in mind that it's much sweeter than corn syrup. I found this recipe for a chocolate pecan pie w/ agave if it helps:
http://www.volcanicnectar.com/recipes/Devilish_Pecan_Pie.html
Runningwithbeaters at 11:46AM on 11/24/08
My mother is allergic to corn so I use Lyle's cane syrup instead. I follow the Karo recipe. It calls for 1c corn syrup so I use 1c cane syrup. I comes out stickier than corn syrup but tastes a lot better. You can follow any pecan pie recipe and just substitute the cane syrup equally. Enjoy!
Amanda720 at 12:08PM on 11/23/09
here's a link to john thorne's pecan pie recipe using lyle's golden syrup. i haven't made it myself but it looks really good. his essay about pecan pie in his book simple cooking is wonderful {as is all of his writing}.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/pecanpie.html
cybercita at 12:23PM on 11/23/09