Agave nectar: A sweet alternative
Have you tried the sweetener agave nectar yet? It's natural, sweeter than sugar and perhaps a bit healthier.
The New York Times had a great article last week by Kim Severson, Sugar Is Back on Food Labels, This Time as a Selling Point. After all, sugar is natural, and eating naturally is becoming increasingly popular. And sugar’s biggest competition, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), has gained such a bad reputation lately that even soft drink companies are taking out the HFCS and replacing it with sugar to appeal to consumers.its glycemic index is significantly lower. This makes it a healthier alternative to many processed AND natural sweeteners, including:· white granulated sugar· brown sugar· demerara or turbinado sugar· maple sugar crystals· dehydrated cane juice· date sugar
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Comments
High fructose corn syrup may have a complicated-sounding name, but it's actually a simple sweetener, made from corn, that is nutritionally the same as sugar.
High fructose corn syrup contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirements for use of the term “natural.”
Many confuse pure “fructose” with "high fructose corn syrup," a sweetener that never contains fructose alone, but always in.... More
Audrae, there is nothing natural about high fructose corn syrup--even the corn it is made from is genetically altered, and I agree with Anonymous about all the pesticides. Also, the sugar in HFCS in unbound, so the fructose is like "pure fructose," except that the fructose in HFCS is artificially synthesized. Do you understand chemistry and chemical formulas at all?
How much of that artificial red drink from the commercials do you personally consume and give to your children each day. You.... More
You use the words natural and simple in a very misleading way. There is no way that the process for refining corn is simple. There's nothing natural about the masses of pesticides that is used to grow corn. These pesticides cause dead zones in oceans hundreds of miles away leading to more and stronger weather events. The truth is that no sugar is healthy. The AMA suggests 32 grams of added sugar per day, which means that you should drink ZERO sodas per day. A 12 ounce Coca Cola has 39 grams of.... More
You can really use it just like you'd use honey, which is also sweeter than sugar. I think something about it being liquid vs solid makes it sweeter? That "fact" is a vague memory from a college nutrition class, though, so don't hold me to it!
As far as hints...I just pour it on anything where I'd use honey or granulated sugar! You might have to fiddle a bit if you're trying to replace granulated sugar in baking, though. The extra liquid could be a problem. I feel like I've seen.... More
Great post, Robin! Agave Nectar is also a perfect alternative to honey. There is a lot of evidence that commercial honey is a big factor behind Colony Collapse Disorder. I don't think that cutting honey out entirely is necessary (tho many vegans would disagree with me), but I think cutting back a bit could make a big difference. We need those little guys to pollinate pretty much everything!
