recipes

Energy Gel



light Karo syrup or brown rice syrup

chocolate syrup

Combine ingredients to taste and store in flask. If caffeine is desired, add reduced (boiled down) coffee to taste. From http://www.mtnphil.com/GU.html, and http://students.washington.edu/dbb/make_gu.html, here is the recipe for Phil Fortier’s attempt to duplicate GU (ingredients designated with a “*” can be found in brew stores, while all others should be available any grocery store):



200 ml maltodextrin*

100 ml water

50 ml fructose

pinch citric acid*

pinch calcium carbonate*

pinch sea salt

pinch flavor extract

pinch pectin

gin (needed when using non-alcohol based flavor extracts)

Carefully measure out the first three ingredients, then mix the maltodextrin and fructose together lightly. Bring the water to steaming hot and slowly whisk in the maltodextrin/fructose. Once this is done, mix in the citric acid, calcium carbonate, sea salt, and pectin. Continue to whisk on medium heat until all the lumps of maltodextrin are gone, then add your flavor of choice, and some gin if you are not using an alcohol-based extract, to avoid aftertaste. Pour into container (a gel flask, or collagen tubes, $2 for a two pack from REI) and seal tightly. The above quantity will fit one collagen tube perfectly.



Getting the right consistency may be difficult, and the above proportions are critical in producing a stable,

liquidy gel. Even a slight variation in the ratio of maltodextrin to water causes major differences in the

consistency of the gel; a little too much water and the result will be a clear, sugary liquid, not enough and you’ll have a paste. It should turn out pretty transparent initially, and clarity may increase, but by the next morning, it will be an opaque white again. The mixture seems to destabilize after a while, turning harder and more chewy, and refrigeration seems to accelerate this.





Orange, vanilla, and almond are staple flavor extracts, all available at any grocery store (mint is too, but it

doesn’t seem to work too well), as are numerous artificial ones, but for a greater selection, try Nature’s Flavorsat http://www.naturesflavors.com, which don’t seem to be alcohol-based. A 4 oz bottle is about $5, but is extremely concentrated, and probably enough for the equivalent of several hundred GU packets.



Brown rice syrup (what Clif Shot is made from), available at health food stores, may be used in place of

maltodextrin. It contains complex and simple carbohydrates in a 60:40% ratio, and while not as cheap as

maltodextrin, it’s not too expensive either. The problem with this seems to be that syrup imparts too much of a flavor to the gel, and perhaps that is why Shot has strong flavors like chocolate, coffee, and peanut, instead of the fruity flavors that you can get with GU or Power Gel, which are both maltodextrin-based. Shot has something of a “whole wheat” flavor, but gels based in brown rice syrup are much less of an experiment in chemistry than maltodextrin. Just mix your flavor with it, and you’re done.

The preceding recipe left out some of the harder-to-find ingredients that GU uses. Here is the complete list (in descending order of amount) for authentic GU, taken from their website:



1. Maltodextrin – a complex carbohydrate which is easily absorbed from the gut and provides glucose

polymers for sustained energy.

2. Fructose – the principal sugar in fruit, it works in conjunction with maltodextrin to provide energy.

Fructose is absorbed rapidly, but utilized more slowly than glucose.

3. Leucine and valine – branched-chain amino acids, which provide up to 5% of the calories burned during

exercise. Endurance activities can lead to deficiencies in blood leucine, which the body tries to restore by

degrading muscle. These amino acids also play an important role in maintaining focus and concentration.

4. Potassium and sodium citrate – essential minerals that must be replaced during exercise to maximize

performance through the optimal absorption of liquids.

5. GU antioxidant blend – Vitamins C and E, designed to protect tissues by neutralizing free radicals

produced by the muscle’s use of oxygen during exercise.

6. Histidine – an essential amino acid that acts as a buffer to slow the build up of lactic acid.

7. Sea salt – a natural source of sodium which also includes essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus,

magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc.

8. Calcium carbonate – an easily absorbed form of calcium, which plays a large role in muscle contractions.

9. GU herbal blend – a unique blend of performance-enhancing herbs, including cola nut (caffeine),

chamomile, and ginseng. Caffeine aids in the metabolism of fats for longer-lasting energy. Chamomile

has anti-inflammatory properties. Ginseng, Siberian and Korean, has been used for centuries in Eastern

medicine to enhance energy production.

10. Pectin – a natural fiber without bulk that controls the absorption of ingredients from the gut, helping to

minimize the stomach distress many people experience with sports bars, drinks, and other gels.

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Jason Goldberg
FIT Multisports

This may be of help:

http://www.ultrunr.com/syrup.html

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

for simplicity, I remember reading about combining honey with some cinnamon and putting it into a snack sized baggie. Although I guess a gel flask would work better.

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I have used 100ml of honey,tblspoon blackstrap molassas,pinch of salt and water

I have gone real retro (we're talking 80's vintage technology) and put baby food into the same snack sized ziploc. I got away from it as my daughter got older.

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Last weekend I mixed honey & water evenly, a pinch of gatorade powder and 2 endurolyte capsules emptied into a hammer flask. It was a little watery but seemed to do the trick.

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Jim