Glucose Syrup substitute

Best substitute

Light Corn Syrup

Use the same amount as the glucose syrup you are replacing

Best for caramels

Close match

Light corn syrup is the direct substitute at a straight 1:1 and is the same class of ingredient, which is why American recipes use it where French ones say sirop de glucose. Golden syrup also works at 1:1 but is sweeter and adds a caramel colour and flavour, so it is fine in nougat and toffee and wrong in a pale sorbet. Honey works at 1:1 in a pinch but tastes clearly of honey and browns faster. If you have none of those, you can make invert sugar at home by simmering sugar, water and a pinch of citric acid or a squeeze of lemon, which does the same anti-crystallising job.

Other glucose syrup substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Golden Syrup or Light Treacle
Different taste
Use the same amount
A British inverted sugar syrup with a warm amber colour and buttery caramel flavour.
What changes
Best for
toffee, nougat, flapjacks, gingerbread, caramel sauce, brittle
Functionally excellent because it is an invert syrup and therefore genuinely prevents crystallisation, which is the whole point of glucose. The catch is flavour and colour: it tastes distinctly of caramel and butterscotch and it tints everything a warm gold. In a chewy caramel or a nougat that is a bonus. In a clear sugar glaze, a pale fruit sorbet or a white chocolate ganache it is obvious, turning the finished item beige and adding a flavour that competes with the fruit or the chocolate. It is also noticeably sweeter, so consider cutting the recipe's sugar by about ten percent.
3Homemade Invert Sugar Syrup
Different texture
Use the same amount
Sugar simmered with water and a small amount of acid, which splits some of the sucrose and produces a syrup that resists crystallising.
What changes
Best for
sorbet, ice cream, ganache, caramels, fondant, cocktail syrups
The best option if you cannot buy any commercial syrup, and closer to real glucose than honey or maple in both taste and behaviour. Combine two cups sugar with three quarters of a cup of water and an eighth of a teaspoon of citric acid or a teaspoon of lemon juice, bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for about twenty minutes, then cool. The result is clear, thick and almost neutral, with a very faint tartness from the acid. It is thinner than commercial glucose, so drain a tablespoon of liquid elsewhere in the recipe if the formula is tight.
4Honey
Different taste
Use the same amount or ¾ the quantity if you want less sweetness
A natural invert sugar that behaves similarly in the pan but tastes strongly of itself.
What changes
Best for
nougat, brittle, granola bars, caramel sauce, sorbet where honey is welcome
Chemically well suited, because honey is largely glucose and fructose already and it genuinely stops crystals forming. The problem is that you can always taste it. In torrone or a honey nougat that is traditional and lovely. In a neutral ganache or a raspberry sorbet the honey flavour sits on top of the fruit and reads as a mistake. Honey also browns considerably faster than glucose, so anything baked or cooked to temperature will darken sooner and can catch, and a caramel made with it will taste more bitter at the same colour.
5Agave Syrup or Rice Syrup
Different taste
Use the same amount for agave, 1:1 for rice syrup
Two milder liquid sweeteners that are closer to neutral than honey.
What changes
Best for
sorbet, ganache, no-bake fillings, cold syrups, vegan confectionery
Agave is very neutral in flavour, which is its advantage, but it is mostly fructose, so it is much sweeter than glucose and it browns aggressively when heated, making it a poor choice for anything cooked to a hard-crack stage. Brown rice syrup is the more interesting option: it is genuinely glucose-based, thick, only mildly sweet with a faint malty note, and it behaves well in caramels and nougat. Rice syrup is also stickier and stiffer straight from the jar, so warm it before measuring.
6Extra Sugar plus a Squeeze of Lemon
Different texture
For ¼ cup glucose, use ¼ cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons water and ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
The last-resort version, adding acid so the sugar you already have partly inverts in the pan.
What changes
Best for
caramel sauce, simple syrups, toffee, candied nuts
This works only in recipes that involve cooking sugar with liquid, where the acid has time and heat to do its job. It will not work in a no-cook ganache or a chilled sorbet base, because nothing inverts. Be honest about the risk: this is the version most likely to give you a grainy caramel or a sorbet that turns icy after two days in the freezer, because you are relying on partial inversion rather than a syrup that is already there. Use it when you have no alternative, and do not use it for pulled sugar or anything where crystallisation is fatal.

What is Glucose Syrup?

Glucose Syrup is A thick, almost flavourless sugar syrup made from starch, sold as liquid glucose or confectioners glucose, used in sweets and pastry to stop sugar crystallising rather than to add sweetness.

Cooking tips

Glucose is in the recipe to prevent crystallisation, not to sweeten. Sugar crystals want to form as a syrup cools, and glucose molecules get in the way, which is what keeps a caramel chewy instead of gritty, a ganache glossy instead of grainy and a sorbet smooth instead of icy. Any substitute must be an invert or glucose syrup to do that job. Simply adding more granulated sugar does the opposite.
Weigh glucose rather than measuring it by volume, and oil the spoon or the bowl first. It is far thicker and stickier than corn syrup, so a good third of it stays behind in the measuring cup, which throws off a confectionery formula badly.
Warm glucose for twenty seconds in the microwave or set the tub in hot water before you try to scoop it. Cold glucose is nearly solid and fighting it is how people end up with too little in the pan.
In sorbet and ice cream, glucose is also controlling texture by lowering the freezing point, so the result stays scoopable. If you substitute something sweeter such as honey or agave, the base will be softer and sweeter and may not set as firmly, and you should cut the recipe's sugar slightly to compensate.
For clear sugar work, glass-like sugar cages, spun sugar or a mirror glaze, use glucose or light corn syrup and nothing else. Golden syrup, honey and maple all carry colour and will make a clear showpiece look muddy, and they scorch at lower temperatures.

Frequently asked questions

Is glucose syrup the same as corn syrup?

Very nearly, and for home baking you can treat them as the same thing. Both are syrups made by breaking starch down into simpler sugars, and both stop sugar crystallising. The differences are technical: European glucose syrup is typically thicker, made from wheat as often as corn, and sold at a specific degree of conversion, while American light corn syrup is a little thinner and slightly sweeter. Neither difference matters in caramels, ganache, sorbet or marshmallow. Note that light corn syrup is not the same as high-fructose corn syrup, which is a different product.

Can I just leave the glucose syrup out?

Usually not, and this is one of the few ingredients where omitting it genuinely breaks the recipe. Without it a caramel is likely to turn grainy, a ganache can go dull and split, a fondant sets rock hard and a sorbet freezes into a solid block of ice crystals. It is functional rather than decorative. If you truly have nothing, the homemade invert sugar syrup above takes twenty minutes and will save the recipe. In a small role, a tablespoon in a large batch of cookie dough, omitting it is survivable.

Where do I buy glucose syrup in the United States?

It is rarely on supermarket shelves under that name, which is why so many French pastry recipes seem impossible. Look for it in cake decorating and baking supply shops, restaurant supply stores, or online. In practice most American bakers simply use light corn syrup, which sits in every grocery store and works at 1:1. If a recipe was written in France or the UK and calls for sirop de glucose or liquid glucose, reach for light corn syrup and carry on.

What is the difference between glucose syrup and glucose powder or dextrose?

Powdered dextrose is crystalline glucose with the water removed and it is not a drop-in swap for the syrup. If a recipe calls for glucose syrup and you only have dextrose powder, use about eighty percent of the weight and add water to make up the difference, roughly one part water to four parts powder by weight. Dextrose is also less effective at preventing crystallisation than a true syrup, so it is a compromise in caramels and sugar work.

Which substitute should I use for a ganache or a mirror glaze?

Light corn syrup, without hesitation. Ganache and mirror glaze both depend on a neutral, colourless syrup for shine and for a stable emulsion, and golden syrup or honey will tint the surface and add a competing flavour that is very obvious against white chocolate or a fruit glaze. Homemade invert sugar syrup is the second choice and works well. Keep honey and maple for nougat, brittle and toffee where their flavour belongs.

Related substitutes

More sweeteners substitutes

Glucose Syrup substitute

Other glucose syrup substitutes

2Golden Syrup or Light Treacle

3Homemade Invert Sugar Syrup

4Honey

5Agave Syrup or Rice Syrup

6Extra Sugar plus a Squeeze of Lemon