I was just looking over rum ball recipes.
What do you suppose the purpose of corn syrup in a rum ball recipe is?
It’s not like any more sweetness is needed.
Is it just to add stickiness? Like glue?
Is it to act as a humectant? To keep those morsels from turning into hard dry rocks?
We’re thinking of substitutions. Honey or agave nectar. Hmm, maybe molasses?
Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Hot Buttered Rum Cookies: Did you know that you can make cookies by adding flour and baking powder to homemade hot buttered rum mixes?
- Candied Orange Peel Biscotti: Very crunchy and firm (these are primo for dunking!), these biscotti carry a wonderful light orange flavor that is both fruity and floral.
- Ribbon Layer Cookies: These cookies have informed my adult sweet tooth, contributing to my craving for the combination of almond, raspberry and chocolate swirled together in a single bite.
- Chocolate Rum Balls: My grown up palate has also brought newer cherished flavor combinations to my holiday celebration, alcohol flavors I didn’t appreciate as a youngster. Chocolate Rum Balls are one of these favorites.
11 Comments
It will definitely have a humectant sort of quality, helping to keep the balls nicely textured. It will also help with shelf life - sugar binds water and reduces the possibility of bad things growing (although the alcohol content of rum balls would probably keep that from happening anyway).
You could substitute honey. Honey is sweeter than corn syrup, though, so keep that in mind. And of course, it will add a flavor while corn syrup is neutral.
According to Alton Brown, corn syrup in addition to sugar will help keep the sugar from crystallizing into hard lumps because it is a different kind of sugar.
This only applies when you are dissolving the sugar and heating it as in candy making (making caramel and fudge). The additional sugar will dissrupt the crystalline shape. Rum ball recipes don’t heat the sugar to dissolve it.
–McAuliflower
I would never put corn syrup in a recipe? If you want, you could use golden syrup, made by Tate and Lyle, or maple syrup which goes well with rum. Neither will crystallize
Great suggestions! Thanks
–McAuliflower
I have replaced corn syrup with agave in several recipes, and never had a problem. Just yesterday I did this when making peppermint patties (a homemade York, basically), and it worked just fine.
Was so happy to find this post, as I am gearing up to make my yearly rum balls and definitely did not want to use corn syrup again. I think I’ll try the agave route!
Yes, I second the option for Lyle’s Golden Syrup…it’s pure cane syrup, so all-natural (woo hoo!) and is a great substitute. Though, I did read somewhere (Nigella Lawson?) that because the GS is thicker than Corn Syrup, you’d want to thin it with water…but, that wouldn’t work in all recipes, if you’re worried that the water may cause seizing.
Not sure about the food science on this one, but my vote is for molasses…molasses + rum…rum + molasses. mmmmmmmmm!
I think there are a lot of recipes out there that have CS in them just because. I have 2 recipes that need to have it in there because, in a large scale (restaurant) setting Lyle’s Golden Syrup (which is, yes, the best substitution if you want to avoid Corn syrup) is cost prohibitive.
If you need to protect caramel you may also use a squeeze of lemon juice in the pot of sugar-water.
I have used agave as well, although I must point out that agave has a strong flavor and a bitter aftertaste, which will be more apparent in some recipes over others.
And lastly, making your own 1:1 simple syrup can oftentimes be substituted for corn syrup if it’s not a major ingredient.
good luck!
HAVE BEEN SEARCHING THE NET FOR A DAIRY FREE RUM BALL RECEIPE. FOUND SOME RECEIPES THAT USE CORN SYRUP INSTEAD OF SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK.AFTER READING SOME OF THE ABOVE RESPONSED MAY TRY GOLDEN SYRUP OR MOLASSES. THANKS.
This question and these comments were extemely helpful! I can’t stand using corn syrup, so I’m going to try a bit of each - honey, agave and maple syrup! Thanks again.
Does anyone know if brown rice syrup would work?
