We know that Coca Cola sold in the US is sweetened with corn syrup, and that Coke Zero is formulated to be as close as possible to the standard recipe.
But… Coca Cola here in the UK has always been sweetened with cane sugar.
Is the UK version of Coke Zero formulated differently to imitate the flavour of cane sugar instead? Or do we get a Coke Zero that’s trying to imitate HFCS?
(Side note: I’m aware a certain president recently decided Coke US should be made with cane sugar too, but that fact makes my question less interesting so I’m choosing to ignore it.)
If I remember correctly, sodas tend to be made sweeter in the US because Americans usually drink them super cold, which makes taste buds less sensitive, while elsewhere drinking more room temperature soda is more common.
This is interesting! But sadly does not answer my question.
They’re sweeter because they use high fructose corn syrup where as other places like Mexico still use cane sugar. To get a good Coke in the US, you have to go to a Mexican market or taco truck and get it in a glass bottle. We have a gluttony of corn here so it gets forced into everything from plastic to gasoline to soda.
You don’t have to go all the way into Mexico. Just closer to the boarder. You can get Mexico coke just about anywhere here in south Texas. I’m sure the same is true for Southern California or any other boarder state.
Much like cocaine, Mexico coke is far easier to get than most people realize. You just have to ask for it and a lot of people don’t.
As popcornpizza called out, most of the answers in this thread unfortunately seem unrelated to your question.
I live in the US and haven’t been to the UK in years, but I do visit Romania every year or two. I don’t notice a big difference between Coke Zero sold in the US versus Romania. I’m certainly not a Coke Zero expert, but they taste pretty much the same to me. My hunch is that Coke Zero tastes the same across Europe, but I’m happy to be corrected.
Interesting! And thanks for actually reading the question properly.
If that’s true it might suggest Coke Zero tastes the same worldwide? In which case I wonder which original Coca Cola it’s closest to?
Do they call it Coke Naught?
Coke Love 🎾
Coke Nil, actually ⚽️
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Semi-related - we had salt and vinegar pringles in Europe and they were good, but then when we got back to the US they were just much more intense and flavorful. We did not compare ingredients.
We love salt and vinegar in the UK. I think statistically it’s the second most popular flavour of crisps here, after cheese and onion.
Sorry to hear the US somehow ruined it, although I’ve had pickle flavour crisps from the USA and enjoyed them, so I think there is hope.
I assumed it was just more chemicals and additives in the US
US has some good salt and vinegar chips, you just gotta get the right brand.
At risk of wading into a larger conflict about naming conventions for fried potato snacks, Pringles aren’t really considered “chips” over here, but “potato crisps” due to their district texture and flavor.
If you get a good brand of salt and vinegar (preferably kettle cooked imo) chips here, they can be very strong.
Though I have had some issues with consistency in the past where one bag will just have hardly any flavoring, but I guess that’s bound to happen one or two times when you eat literal tons of potato chips.
Personally, I’m a fan of jalapeno kettle cooked chips.