Sweeteners: What I Use and Why

Natural Sweeteners 

I regularly get asked what natural sweeteners I use and why.  Here's a rundown:

Pure Maple Syrup

Pure maple syrup is collected from the sap of the maple tree and boiled down into a syrup concentrate.  Pure maple syrup can be purchased in health food stores and grocery stores but can be expensive.  Make sure you don't buy "maple flavoured" syrup.  It's just sugar syrup flavoured with maple.  To learn more, visit:

http://www.purecanadamaple.com/pure-maple-syrup/how-maple-syrup-is-made

 

 

Unprocessed, Raw Honey

My choice of honey is unprocessed and raw.  Unprocessed honey is collected straight from the hive and still contains the pollens that make honey so good for you.  Processed honey has been heated and filtered to remove all the pollens.  Unprocessed honey is the better choice for health and for the environment (less processing means less factory time).  It can be purchased most frequently at butchers and markets. I do sometimes purchase processed honey out of necessity for cost and convenience, straight from the supermarket.  Read more about it here:

http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/raw-honey.html

 

 

Medjool Dates and Dried Dates

 

Medjool dates are one of the biggest, sweetest, juiciest dates.  They are lovely to eat as a snack or blend down to an amazingly smooth caramel.  They are the most expensive to buy but go very far and last ages in the refrigerator.  Most grocery stores carry them in the fresh fruit section.  Dried dates have been dried to lengthen their lifespan and come packaged off the grocery store shelf or in bulk bins at pantry stores.  They aren't as sweet as Medjool dates, but are much more economical and last a long time in the pantry.

 

 

Coconut Sugar (For occasional use only)

 

Coconut sugar (also called coconut palm sugar) is made from the sap of the buds of the flowers of the coconut tree.  It has been used as a traditional sweetener in Asia for centuries, but is much less sweet than sugar, has a texture similar to brown sugar and has a slight caramel taste.  It contains vitamins and minerals that are absent in refined white sugar.  However, it is still processed, although less so than white sugar, and a better choice than refined sugars.  I use it very sparingly, usually no more than a tablespoon at a time in breads or other sweets, and do not recommend regular use as it is still refined and processed.

 

My goal in living refined sugar free is to enjoy sweeteners that are found in nature, not created or refined in a factory to enhance their taste. 

Other "Natural" Sweeteners

 

I also get asked regularly why I choose not to use certain sweeteners such as stevia, agave nectar and rice malt syrup.  Here's why:

 

Stevia

Stevia is the leaf of the plant stevia rebaudiana.  It is 300 times sweeter than sugar and has been used for centuries in the Americas as a sweetener.  However, unless you own a stevia plant, and just break leaves off to chew when a sweet craving hits, it is highly processed and mixed with chemicals to produce what you buy off the grocery store shelf.  In addition, it has only limited testing done on the safety of long time use. 

 

 

Agave Nectar

 

Agave Nectar is one of the hottest sweeteners on the market at the moment.  It's regularly used to sweeten drinks, chocolates and desserts for health food addicts around the world. I choose not to use it.  My reasoning?  It's a highly processed syrup that was developed in the 90s.  I choose to use sweeteners that are the closest to what is found in nature, and this doesn't cut it.  Read more here:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/

 

 

Rice Malt Syrup

Rice malt syrup (also called rice syrup and brown rice syrup) is made by cooking rice with enzymes until it breaks down, then boiling it until the desired consistency is reached.  Another highly processed sweetener.