The starchy seeds of certain plants can be transformed into sweeteners by using the enzymes formed during germination or from bacterian cultures. Corn is the most popular type of seed sweetener and high fructose corn syrup can be found in a wide range of foods. Some studies link HFCS to health problems, with fructose as the culprit. HFCS has more fructose than regular cane sugar which is a mix of fructose and glucose. This article, on the Scientific American website, gives more info -- How Corn Syrup Might Be Making Us Hungry -- And Fat. Since I don't eat much processed food anymore, I don't have to worry so much about HFCS!
Some other sweeteners made with seed starch are barley malt syrup, which is made from germinated barley grains and brown rice malt syrup, made from rice grains cooked and then cultured with malt enzymes. Amazake is made from rice fermented with Koji (Aspergillus oryzae).
The juice extracted from the tuberous roots of certain plants is, much like sap, can be concentrated to make sweeteners, usually through drying or boiling. Sugar beet syrup is made from the tuberous roots of the sugar beet. Sugar beet molasses, a by-product of the processing to make refined sugar, also exists but is mainly used for animal feed. Yacón syrup is made from the tuberous roots of yacón.
Tomorrow, I'll look at sweeteners that come from nectar and flowers, and fruits and leaves.
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