Karo Syrup

Southern cuisine owes much to the Corn Products Refining Company of New York and Chicago, inventor of Karo Corn Syrup, a liquid sugar produced from cornstarch. The bottled flavoring, not as sweet as cane sugar, with the consistency of honey, is essential to numerous down-home recipes. Pecan pie cannot be made without it. Before its introduction in 1902, housewives carried jugs to the grocery store for refilling from barrels. These barrels contained various regional brands of corn syrup, but not the crystal-clear Karo we know today. The origins of the name are shrouded in mystery. Some company historians believe the chemist who invented it named it after his wife, Caroline. Others trace the name back to an earlier brand name, Kairomel.