Someone didn't get the memo (Pepsi in Club Acela in WAS?)

[ehbowen]

Now if they'd just load Mexican Coke (the beverage) in either direction for those of us tired of corn syrup.

I was on board the battleship in the late '80s, after both the New Coke fiasco and the still-unsatisfactorily resolved HFCS substitution, when I purchased a can from one of our vending machines. I opened it...it was like canned heaven! As it turns out, we had loaded a few pallets of soda in Honolulu (Pearl) and, at the time, cane sugar was still a cash crop on Oahu (I believe the developers have run them and the pineapple plantations essentially out of business by now). It was cheaper to source real sugar to sweeten the soda than it was to import HFCS from the mainland...so they did. I have tried the Mexican sodas, but something about the taste just Isn't Quite Right AFAI'm Concerned. This Hawaiian stuff, though...it was like stepping back in time.

I'd be tempted to consider a visit to Hawaii just to stock up if they're still using the same formula...

Edit To Add: I have a special prayer in to Almighty God to deal very harshly with those corporate bigwigs who have the temerity to advertise "Original Taste" in big letters on the fountains which dispense the HFCS-adulterated atrocity.

 

[JRR]

I was on board the battleship in the late '80s, after both the New Coke fiasco and the still-unsatisfactorily resolved HFCS substitution, when I purchased a can from one of our vending machines. I opened it...it was like canned heaven! As it turns out, we had loaded a few pallets of soda in Honolulu (Pearl) and, at the time, cane sugar was still a cash crop on Oahu (I believe the developers have run them and the pineapple plantations essentially out of business by now). It was cheaper to source real sugar to sweeten the soda than it was to import HFCS from the mainland...so they did. I have tried the Mexican sodas, but something about the taste just Isn't Quite Right AFAI'm Concerned. This Hawaiian stuff, though...it was like stepping back in time.

I'd be tempted to consider a visit to Hawaii just to stock up if they're still using the same formula...

Edit To Add: I have a special prayer in to Almighty God to deal very harshly with those corporate bigwigs who have the temerity to advertise "Original Taste" in big letters on the fountains which dispense the HFCS-adulterated atrocity.

Back in the early sixties, I worked at a bottling plant in Iron Mountain, Michigan during the summer. We used real cane sugar in those days and I got a work out hefting 100 lb. bags of it when the sugar was delivered.

Mixing the batches was a real art, since one had to be very careful during the process or the batch would run "wild" during bottling (I was not a "mixer" but observed the process on several occasions.

 

[ms garrison]

At the Club Acela in Washington, they're still serving Pepsi. (or else it's Coke products coming out of a Pepsi dispenser.)
View attachment 16384

Good!

 

[ms garrison]

Good!

 

[NS VIA Fan]

And do you call it Pop or Soda? Here....if you ask for a Soda you'd probably get a strange look or they'd give you Soda Water!

 

[MARC Rider]

I believe the similar Coke product you're referring to is only made at certain times of the year for Kosher high holidays. It's sold in several delis I'm aware of in Montreal.

During the Passover season (generally in April) all coke sold in the US (and I suppose Canada) and marked as being "kosher for Passover" is made from cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. (I guess there's a chance it could be made from beet sugar, too.)

This has to do with the arcane religious laws about what's kosher for Passover and what's not. Apparently, some Jewish communities, especially those with origins in Spain and the middle east are fine with eating corn (maize) products during Passover. However, Jews with origins in Germany and eastern Europe (which is about 80-90% of American Jews) are forbidden from consuming products containing corn, rice, or beans. Thus, American kosher-certifying agencies won't certify as kosher for Passover anything made from corn. For more information, google "kitniyot."

 

[trainman74]

These days nearly everyone thinks of 1985's "New Coke" as a colossal marketing flop, but the real genius was how the uproar over the change gave cover to an ingredient switch that was overlooked by the majority of American consumers.

New Coke wasn't related to the switch to HFCS -- Coke had allowed bottlers to start producing regular Coca-Cola with a 50% HFCS blend beginning in 1980, and with 100% HFCS about six months before the New Coke introduction. (It's mentioned in this Snopes article, for example.)

 

[JRR]

And do you call it Pop or Soda? Here....if you ask for a Soda you'd probably get a strange look or they'd give you Soda Water!

I grew up in Cincinnati and we called pop or soda “coke “ as in, let’s go have a coke!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

New Coke wasn't related to the switch to HFCS -- Coke had allowed bottlers to start producing regular Coca-Cola with a 50% HFCS blend beginning in 1980, and with 100% HFCS about six months before the New Coke introduction. (It's mentioned in this Snopes article, for example.)

The change to New Coke was absolutely part of the switch to HFCS. They knew using 100% HFCS would change the texture and flavor and had to come up with a plausible explanation. Modifying core components of a product as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola requires careful cooperation and a substantial lead time between suppliers and bottlers. The uproar over what was perceived as the "Pepsi-like" flavor of New Coke was detrimental in the short term but overshadowed the long term financial benefits of switching to arbitrarily subsidized ingredients. When "COKE CLASSIC" replaced New Coke it too came with 100% HFCS. This fact was glossed over by Coke but reported in local media at the time. You could say New Coke lost the battle but HFCS still won the war. Apologies if I didn't split enough hairs over fifty percent this and six months that in my original reply.

 

[niemi24s]

Way back in the 1960's, some friends from New Hampshire called them all "phosphates". They even introduced me to Moxie!

 

[MARC Rider]

Frankly, I can't taste the difference between regular Coke with HFCS and Passover/Mexican Coke with cane sugar (sucrose). (But then, I prefer Dr. Pepper or root beer.) There was one study reported in the International Journal of Dairy Technology that claims that a 99-member "consumer panel" preferred strawberry yogurt sweetened with sucrose over that sweetened with HFCS. In the abstract it is claimed that the preference for sucrose is statistically significant (P<0.05), but the magnitude of the preference wasn't stated, and I'm not ready to pay the publisher $42 for online access to the article to find out the details.

The two kinds of sugars are chemically pretty much the same, as sucrose is basically molecules of glucose and fructose stuck together (which come apart in your stomach), whereas HFCS is a mixture of glucose and fructose. It's really the same stuff, they're both equally bad for you if you consume too much. Sugars are also found in fruit, so I guess you should be careful about fruit juices, too, even 100% fruit juices.

The only reason HFCS is used in the United States is because it's cheaper than sucrose, probably due to subsidies of corn crops and import duties on imported cane sugar. That said, cane sugar is pretty cheap anyway, so you don't see big jugs of HFCS in the baking aisle at you local supermarket.

Finally, it should go without saying that the differences in flavor between original Coke, "New Coke" ("Coke II"?),"Coke Classic" (whether regular US or Passover/Mexican), Pepsi, and minor brands like RC Cola and the various supermarket private label colas are due to more differences in the recipe than whether they use HFCS or cane sugar.

 

[Asher]

Frankly, I can't taste the difference between regular Coke with HFCS and Passover/Mexican Coke with cane sugar (sucrose). (But then, I prefer Dr. Pepper or root beer.) There was one study reported in the International Journal of Dairy Technology that claims that a 99-member "consumer panel" preferred strawberry yogurt sweetened with sucrose over that sweetened with HFCS. In the abstract it is claimed that the preference for sucrose is statistically significant (P<0.05), but the magnitude of the preference wasn't stated, and I'm not ready to pay the publisher $42 for online access to the article to find out the details.

The two kinds of sugars are chemically pretty much the same, as sucrose is basically molecules of glucose and fructose stuck together (which come apart in your stomach), whereas HFCS is a mixture of glucose and fructose. It's really the same stuff, they're both equally bad for you if you consume too much. Sugars are also found in fruit, so I guess you should be careful about fruit juices, too, even 100% fruit juices.

The only reason HFCS is used in the United States is because it's cheaper than sucrose, probably due to subsidies of corn crops and import duties on imported cane sugar. That said, cane sugar is pretty cheap anyway, so you don't see big jugs of HFCS in the baking aisle at you local supermarket.

Finally, it should go without saying that the differences in flavor between original Coke, "New Coke" ("Coke II"?),"Coke Classic" (whether regular US or Passover/Mexican), Pepsi, and minor brands like RC Cola and the various supermarket private label colas are due to more differences in the recipe than whether they use HFCS or cane sugar.

I'll agree, but, does the recipe change because of the sugar and water in the area. I don't know, I like beer.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I can't taste the difference between regular Coke with HFCS and Passover/Mexican Coke with cane sugar (sucrose).

Where I live Mexican Coke has strong demand. To the point that it's featured in supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores all over the city despite costing twice as much. Either the taste and texture are objectively different or we're suffering some sort of mass delusion.

The differences in flavor between original Coke, "New Coke" ("Coke II"?),"Coke Classic" (whether regular US or Passover/Mexican), Pepsi, and minor brands like RC Cola and the various supermarket private label colas are due to more differences in the recipe than whether they use HFCS or cane sugar.

In my experience Mexican Coke is less sweet with a crisper and cleaner finish that doesn't leave your mouth and throat with the slimy syrup feeling HFCS does. For me the real poster child for HFCS is Sprite, which has the sweetest and slimiest finish of any soda I've ever tasted.

 

[JRR]

Where I live Mexican Coke has strong demand. To the point that it's featured in supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores all over the city despite costing twice as much. Either the taste and texture are objectively different or we're suffering some sort of mass delusion.


In my experience Mexican Coke is less sweet with a crisper and cleaner finish that doesn't leave your mouth and throat with the slimy syrup feeling HFCS does. For me the real poster child for HFCS is Sprite, which has the sweetest and slimiest finish of any soda I've ever tasted.

I have always been a 7UP fan, but alas, they abandoned sugar too!

 

[Skeets]

Is Coke Zero being sold aboard the train by any chance?