Diet Coke, a sugar-free variant of the classic Coca-Cola, is celebrated for its crisp and refreshing taste. Available in a convenient 2.5-gallon Bag-In-Box (BIB), it caters to both commercial and home use, offering versatility in beverage creation. This article delves into the ingredients of Diet Coke syrup, exploring its composition, variations, and the secrecy surrounding its formula.
The Allure of Diet Coke in a Bag-In-Box
The Diet Coke 2.5 Gallon BIB provides a convenient way to enjoy the beverage. Whether for satisfying customers in a business setting or crafting favorite soda creations at home, this BIB delivers the taste of Diet Coke.
The Mystery of the Coca-Cola Formula
The Coca-Cola Company's formula for its syrup remains a closely guarded trade secret. This strategy, initiated by company founder Asa Candler in 1891, serves as a means of publicity, marketing, and intellectual property protection. While Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton shared his original formula with a few individuals before his death in 1888, Candler, upon purchasing the rights to the formula, established the shroud of secrecy that persists today.
The written copy of the formula was once held as collateral in a vault at the Guaranty Trust Company of New York after Ernest Woodruff and a group of investors purchased the company from the Candler family in 1919. In 1925, the formula was moved to the Trust Company Bank (now Truist Financial) in Atlanta after the loan was repaid.
The company maintains that only two employees know the complete formula at any given time, and they are prohibited from traveling together. If one dies, the other must choose a successor within the company and impart the secret.
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In 2006, an attempt to sell the confidential trade secret to Pepsi for $1.5 million USD was made by Joya Williams, a secretary to Coca-Cola's global brand director, and her accomplices Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhaney. Pepsi reported the illegal offer to Coca-Cola and the FBI, leading to the arrest of Williams and her accomplices through an FBI sting operation.
Decoding the Syrup Ingredients
To safeguard the secrecy of its syrup recipe, Coca-Cola ships ingredients to its syrup factories as anonymous "merchandises," numbered 1 through 9. Factory managers are informed of the relative proportions and mixing procedures but remain unaware of the specific ingredients within each numbered merchandise.
Merchandise no. 1 is known to be sugar, typically in the form of high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose. Caramel coloring is no. 2, caffeine is no. 3, and phosphoric acid is no. 4. Kola nut extract, originally included for its caffeine content, contributes to the beverage's name.
Sweetener Variations
Coca-Cola bottlers have transitioned from cane sugar (sucrose) to the more cost-effective high-fructose corn syrup as the primary sweetening ingredient. However, some bottlers continue to use sucrose.
Kosher Certification
Coca-Cola was certified kosher in 1935 after beef tallow-derived glycerin was replaced with vegetable glycerin. However, since the 1980s, the corn-based sweeteners used by bottlers are considered kitniyot (derived from grain/seeds/legumes) by Jewish kosher law, which is forbidden to Ashkenazi Jews during Passover according to certain traditions.
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The "New Coke" Debacle
In 1985, Coca-Cola introduced a formula change known as "New Coke" in the United States and Canada. Despite performing well in blind taste tests against Pepsi-Cola and the original Coke formula, the consumer response was overwhelmingly negative.
The Return of Cane Sugar
In the early 2000s, Coca-Cola produced in Mexico with cane sugar began appearing in bodegas and Hispanic supermarkets in the Southwestern United States. Costco began offering it in 2005.
Pemberton's Alleged Original Recipe
Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton purportedly wrote the following recipe in his diary shortly before his death in 1888. The recipe does not specify when or how the ingredients are mixed, nor the flavoring oil quantity units of measure (though it implies that the "Merchandise 7X" was mixed first).
Recipe is from Food Flavorings: Composition, Manufacture and Use. Makes 1 US gallon (3.8 L; 0.83 imp gal) of syrup.
Mix 5 lb (2.3 kg) of sugar with just enough water to dissolve the sugar fully. Add 1⁄10 oz (2.8 g) water to the oil mixture and let stand for twenty-four hours at about 60 °F (16 °C).
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"This American Life" Discovery
In 2011, Ira Glass announced on his Public Radio International show, This American Life, that show staffers had found a recipe in "Everett Beal's Recipe Book", reproduced in the February 28, 1979 issue of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that they believed was either Pemberton's original formula for Coca-Cola, or a version that he made either before or after the product was first sold in 1886.
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