Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Edit History

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

In my opinion, there's no easy answer because it depends on what you're baking and personal preference.

Most alternative sweeteners have their own peculiar issues and, usually, take some getting used to.

I tend to only use products that don't affect my blood sugar in any appreciable way.

 

Some of the products that I use the most.....

 

Natural, or fairly "natural," alternative sweeteners:

  • Stevia — tends to be noticeably bitter. Bitterness varies from product to product.
  • Erythritol — mildly sweet with a cooling effect that can be rather weird depending on how much is used and in what way.
  • Monk Fruit (Lo Han Go) doesn't have the bitterness of stevia, but it's very expensive in its pure form.
  • Liquid isomalto-oligosaccharide — mildly sweet with a pleasant flavor reminiscent of light corn syrup.
  • PolyD Fiber — mildly sweet, adds chewiness to things like low-carb brownies.

Not so natural sweetener that I use (sparingly):

  • Liquid Sucralose: Highly concentrated with little to no noticeable objectionable flavor when used in small amounts.

Some specific products I use:

  • Vitacost Erythritol — pretty good deal on pure erythritol at regular price and they do run frequent sales. I often use this in combination with liquid stevia or sucralose. I also mix in a tiny amount of robust molasses for use as a brown sugar substitute.
  • Swerve Confectioners — a finely ground erythritol blend that I use when making frostings.
  • Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Golden — expensive but works great for spiced nuts and the like. Sort of a very mild brown sugar-like flavor.
  • SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia — better than most stevia products but still mildly bitter in spite of what they claim.
  • FiberYum (Isomalto-Oligosaccharides) — expensive but a great product for some applications. 
  • Lifesource PolyD 
  • EZ-Sweetz liquid sucralose — this company makes liquid sucralose in 2 concentrations. The linked product is the most concentrated. One drop effectively equals 2 teaspoons of sugar in terms of sweetening power, so a little goes a long way.

HTH :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

In my opinion, there's no easy answer because it depends on what you're baking and personal preference.

Most alternative sweeteners have their own peculiar issues and, usually, take some getting used to.

I tend to only use products that don't affect my blood sugar in any appreciable way.

 

Some of the products that I use the most.....

 

Natural, or fairly "natural," alternative sweeteners:

  • Stevia — tends to be noticeably bitter. Bitterness varies from product to product.
  • Erythritol — mildly sweet with a cooling effect that can be rather weird depending on how much is used and in what way.
  • Monk Fruit (Lo Han Go) doesn't have the bitterness of stevia, but it's very expensive in its pure form.
  • Liquid isomalto-oligosaccharide — mildly sweet with a pleasant flavor reminiscent of light corn syrup.
  • PolyD Fiber — mildly sweet, adds chewiness to things like low-carb brownies.

Not so natural sweetener that I use (sparingly):

  • Liquid Sucralose: Highly concentrated with little to no noticeable objectionable flavor when used in small amounts.

Some specific products I use:

  • Vitacost Erythritol — pretty good deal on pure erythritol at regular price and they do run frequent sales. I often use this in combination with liquid stevia or sucralose. I also mix in a tiny amount of robust molasses for use as a brown sugar substitute.
  • Swerve Confectioners — a finely ground erythritol blend that I use when making frostings.
  • Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Golden — expensive but works great for spiced nuts and the like. Sort of a very mild brown sugar-like flavor.
  • SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia — better than most stevia products but still mildly bitter in spite of what they claim.
  • FiberYum (Isomalto-Oligosaccharides) — expensive but a great product for some applications. 
  • Lifesource PolyD 
  • EZ-Sweetz liquid sucralose — this company makes liquid sucralose in 2 concentrations. The linked product is the most concentrated...one drop effectively equals 2 teaspoons of sugar in terms of sweetening power, so a little goes a long way.

HTH :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

×
×
  • Create New...