If honey does crystallize, simply placing it in a container of warm water will melt the crystals and return it to its original consistency.

There are a number of subspecies of agave, but the one most commonly used to make agave syrup is Agave tequilana the Blue Agave plant. Once the plant reaches maturity (approximately 7-10 years), the leaves are removed from the plant and the central core (known as the “pina” because it resembles a pineapple) is all that remains. The discarded leaves are left behind to restore the soil and reduce erosion. The pina can be quite large, weighing between 50-150 pounds.9 Next, the sap is extracted from the pina. This sap is filtered then heated at a low temperature. The heating process helps break down the natural carbohydrates into sugars. The resulting nectar is then filtered and it is this filtering process that determines the color and flavor of the final agave syrup. Thus, the light Blue Agave syrup is simply more filtered than its raw and amber counterparts.

Nutritional/Health Considerations

Agave syrup contains small amounts of vitamin C, B vitamins, and several common minerals. It is quite similar in color and flavor to honey and is 1.5 times sweeter than sugar (which means less can be used to achieve the same level of sweetness) but it is often thinner in texture. Agave contains more fructose than glucose which means it is less likely to cause a spike in blood sugar, but more likely to negatively impact metabolism and insulin sensitivity.10 Certain bioactive compounds in agave have been shown in research to serve important antioxidant and protective roles in the brain.11

Tips for Use

Agave syrup is a very free flowing and fast dissolving sweetener making it a great choice for cold drinks like cocktails or iced tea. Darker varieties are also used directly from the bottle as a syrup for pancakes, French toast, or waffles. Agave is sold in several varieties including light, amber, dark, and raw. Both the light and raw types have a mild, nearly neutral flavor, the amber variety provides a medium-intensity, caramel flavor, and the dark types have the strongest caramel flavor.

Next, the sap is retained under low heat conditions until the liquid fraction has evaporated leaving behind a light brown, granulated substance that appears similar to raw sugar but with a smaller and more varied particle size. It is often mistaken for palm sugar (a similar sugar product made from a different type of palm tree). During the evaporation phase, the sap is stored at temperatures around 100F for a couple of hours, allowing the natural enzymes to remain intact as well. Other manufacturers boil the sap to crystallize the sugar which destroys the natural enzymes found in the plant. Because the coconut palm tree can continue to produce enough sap to harvest for about 20 years and does not require a lot of resources compared to other types of sweetener like cane sugar, coconut sugar has been named the most sustainable sweetener in the world.12

Nutritional/Health Considerations

Coconut sugar is considered a nutritive sweetener containing about 15 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrate per teaspoon (the same as table sugar). Because the production of coconut sugar does not include any refining processes it retains many of its vital nutrients. Coconut sugar contains small, but measurable amounts of potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, B-vitamins, polyphenols, and boasts a good amino acid profile as well as short chain fatty acids and a special prebiotic fiber known as inulin. Inulin is rather unique in that it is not digested in your upper intestinal tract, but rather serves as a source of nourishment for the bacteria in the lower digestive tract. Clinical research has shown that prebiotics like inulin can yield many health benefits including, gastrointestinal health, colon cancer prevention, blood sugar and lipid metabolism, bone mineralization, fatty liver disease, obesity, and immunity.13 Coming in at around 45% fructose, coconut sugar is also lower in fructose than other sweeteners such as agave (90% fructose) and high fructose corn syrup (55% fructose). Fructose has a striking tendency to be converted directly to fat so consuming lower amounts can have significant health benefits.

Tips for Use

Coconut sugar has an earthy flavor profile similar to brown sugar. It is gaining popularity and is easy to use in baking because it does not impact the flavor or texture of the food (but it does turn the batter/dough brown so that may not always be ideal).

To begin the process, the seeds and skin of the fruit are removed, then the fruit is crushed, releasing the juice. The juice is collected and dried to form a concentrated powder. Monk Fruit sweetener is also called “monk fruit extract” and is up to 250 times as sweet as sugar.14 It is often mixed with other compounds like inulin or erythritol (a sugar alcohol) to balance the intensity of the sweetness.

Nutritional/Health Considerations

The monk fruit itself contains calories and sugars in the form of fructose and glucose. However, monk fruit extract does not contain any calories nor any actual sugars. The intensity of the sweetness of monk fruit is due to the presence of a unique group of antioxidant molecules known as mogrosides. During processing of the monk fruit, the mogrosides are separated from pressed juice leaving the natural fruit sugars in the juice and making monk fruit extract calorie and sugar free. Mogrosides have been classified as GRAS or “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA.14 Monk fruit extracts have been shown to have various biological activities including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic action.15 Monk fruit extracts are also known to benefit a number of health conditions such as hypertension, constipation, and aiding in relief of cough.15

Tips for Use

Monk fruit extract is available in liquid, granule, and powder forms. It is regarded as safe for all people including children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.14 Because monk fruit is often combined with other sweeteners, this may impact the nature of the end product as well as the nutritional profile. Monk fruit has a somewhat fruity taste that may not be appreciated by everyone and has been reported by some as having an unpleasant aftertaste. Because of the intensity of sweetness in Monk fruit extract, for use in cooking and baking, substantially less volume is required to achieve the same level of sweetness. The sweetness of an entire cup of white sugar can be replaced by less than a teaspoon of Monk fruit extract.16 it is important to note that because of the considerable reduction in volume between the amount of sugar and the amount of Monk fruit extract needed in recipes, the consistency, number of servings, and size of the finished product may be impacted by making the substitution.

Many legends center around the theme that a God or demigod discovered that people were becoming lazy from drinking the syrup directly from the tree rather than working and hunting and foraging for their food. As such, legend has it that the deity then added water to the syrup necessitating its processing by boiling before consumption. Other legends involve the use of the sap in cooking as the means to the first discovery.18 Indigenous tribes collected maple sap through a v-shaped incision into the bark of the tree and placement of a wedge at the bottom that lead the sap to drip into a wooden bucket placed at the base of the tree. When European colonists arrived, they learned about tapping maple trees from the Native Americans but they used a hole drilled with an auger that was plugged with a wooden spout. A bucket was hung from the spout to catch the sap as it poured out the spout. During the 1800s, many technological innovations, such as flat pans (instead of the formerly used iron kettles), improved the ease of processing maple sap. In modern times, there are many further innovations that make the process faster, easier, and cheaper including the use of tubing that transports the sap directly from the tree to the sugar shack where the processing takes place. If the sap is over boiled and most of the water is removed, all that is left is a solid sugar known as maple sugar. Maple sugar was actually the preferred form for Native Americans because it had a long shelf life and could easily be transported.

Nutritional/Health Considerations

The source of maple syrup is of course the sap of several varieties for maple trees. The sap does not contain fat or protein, consisting mainly of sucrose (a disaccharide molecule that is also the chief component of white table sugar containing one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose) along with smaller amounts of free glucose and fructose that are created during the boiling process. The free glucose and fructose are responsible for the varying degrees of darkness seen in maple syrup varieties. Nutritionally, maple syrup has about 52 calories per tablespoon. Maple syrup contains significant amounts of manganese and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) as well as moderate amounts of zinc. It is a moderate antioxidant, rivaling the protective capabilities of carrots. It also contains trace amounts of magnesium, calcium, and potassium.18  Maple has a very distinct flavor and although it is unknown exactly what compounds are responsible for creating it, it is believed that the primary contributors are furanone, strawberry furanone and maltol.19 Maple syrup contains a wide variety of phytochemicals which may impart benefits to human health.20 It has a much lower glycemic index (meaning it causes a slower rise in blood sugar) than honey and is also slightly lower than white sugar.

Tips for Use

Many of the top brands of pancake syrup in the US do not contain any actual maple syrup and rely solely on corn syrup as the main sweetening ingredient. It is important to look at the ingredient list when purchasing to make sure it is pure maple syrup. While maple syrup can be substituted one-to-one for liquid sweeteners like honey, agave, molasses, or corn syrup, some adjustments must be made if substituting for granular sugars like white or brown sugar. To use maple syrup as a white or brown sugar alternative, use 2/3 cup of maple syrup for every cup of granulated sugar, reduce the quantity of liquid ingredients in the recipe (water, milk, juice) by about 1/4 cup and lower the baking temperature by 25° F. Maple sugar can be reused just like cane sugar and has similar performance in baked goods. However, because maple sugar is about twice as sweet as white cane sugar, reducing the amount by a little less than half is recommended to avoid having an overly sweet finished product.

Sugar Alcohols

Although the term “alcohol” is in the name, sugar alcohols are chemically different from (through structurally similar to) alcoholic beverages. More importantly, they do not contain any ethanol. Sugar alcohols occur naturally in foods and come from plant products such as fruits and berries. They are also industrially produced form sugars. Sugar alcohols are sold as white, water-soluble granular solids and look similar to white table sugar. They are used widely in the commercial food industry as bulking agents, thickeners, and sweeteners in place of sugar. Additionally, you can also find them combined with other high-intensity sweeteners to moderate the sweetness level. Most people eat sugar alcohols every day and don’t even know it. Some of the most commonly used sugar alcohols include:21

Mannitol which is found in fruits and vegetables like pineapples, olives, asparagus, carrots, sweet potatoes and even seaweed! Mannitol is less sweet than sugar by about 50-70% meaning that more must be used to provide the same level of sweetness.

Sorbitol is also found naturally in fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, dried fruits (like raisins, figs, and dates) as well as stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums, and cherries. Commercially, it is manufactured from corn syrup. Sorbitol is about half as sweet as table sugar meaning twice as much must be used to exact the same level of sweetness. It is often found in sugar-free gums and candies.

Xylitol is also called “wood sugar” because it was first extracted from wood. It is also found in corn cobs, cereals, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables. Xylitol has about the same relative sweetness as sugar and is often found in chewing gum and toothpaste.

Erythritol was originally discovered by a Scottish chemist in 1848. It is naturally found in fruits like watermelon and pears as well as fermented products like wine, cheese, and soy sauce. Erythritol is 60-70% as sweet as white sugar and is labeled as “non-caloric” (even though it does contain about .2 calories per gram) in some countries like the US and Japan.

Nutritional/Health Considerations

As a sugar substitute, sugar alcohols provide fewer calories (about a half to one-third less calories in most cases) than regular sugar.21 Additionally, they convert to glucose more slowly, have little to no insulin requirements, and are not known to cause spikes in blood sugar. Sugar alcohols have other health benefits as well. Regular use of xylitol for example results in around a 75% reduction in the number of streptococcus mutant bacteria (the main bacteria associated with the development of dental cavities) in the mouth.22 It may also be helpful in both the prevention and treatment of Type II Diabetes as well as reducing fat accumulation in the abdominal area.23 Erythritol has been shown to have potent antioxidant capacity and to have a favorable impact on the vasculature.24 Due to the fact that they are not well absorbed in the digestive tract, sugar alcohols have a tendency to cause gastric distress (nausea, rumbling, diarrhea, reflux, etc.), particularly when  consumed in large quantities. Some sugar alcohols have a greater tendency to cause these effects over others.

NOTE: Some sugar alcohols, particularly xylitol, are toxic to dogs. It is important not to share foods containing xylitol with dogs.

Tips for Use