Agave Nectar

[tino27]

Check out this LINK

[Sif]

I use it a lot, mostly because I think it has a really nice taste compared to regular white sugar. Just remember to adjust the liquid in the recipe.

[sugarseattle]

I love the flavor of agave...we use it all the time to sweeten our tea, and i often put a little squeeze over fruit salad...it gives it a nice floral scent.

i've been thinking about using it instead of corn syrup in my marshmallows...anybody ever try this?

[andiesenji]

I have used it quite a lot. I am a diabetic and my nutritionist recommended that I use this as a substitute for other sweeteners in certain foods. In particular, I use it in egg custards (for some reason Splenda, which is fine in other foods, produces a slightly bitter taste in plain custards and plain rice custards, etc.

I have used it in tea, lemonade, other fruit drinks, etc., with good results.

[pagosselin]

I love the flavor of agave...we use it all the time to sweeten our tea, and i often put a little squeeze over fruit salad...it gives it a nice floral scent.

i've been thinking about using it instead of corn syrup in my marshmallows...anybody ever try this?

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Sugarseattle, Here's a site with a demo using agava syrup. It's from the marshmallow thread. It is a site that also sells agava.

[prasantrin]

I've got some muffin recipes which call for agave nectar, but don't have access to any (unless I wait for my mother to bring me some in December). From what I've read, for one cup of sugar, one would use 3/4 cup agave nectar. Would it follow, then, that, for example, 1/2 cup agave syrup could be replaced by roughly 2/3 cup sugar?

I'm assuming I may need to increase the moisture in the recipe, as well. Does that seem like a logical thought?

[gfron1]

When I see agave to sugar conversions its more about the sweetness than baking function. I would convert to honey if the recipe taste allows, or I'd make a simple syrup to equal the liquid amount of the agave.

[Tri2Cook]

~60ml of additional liquid per 250ml of agave replaced with sucrose works as a good starting point. You may want to play with the leavening as well. Reduce or eliminate baking soda, increase or sub in baking powder. The soda/acidity interaction won't be there with sucrose unless there's something else in the recipe to provide it (sour cream, buttermilk, etc.). I'm usually going the opposite direction with this substitution but it's the same idea, just reversed. Of course you could just eliminate the hassle of adjustments and use honey as Rob suggested.

[LizD518]

I have also used it very successfully in ice cream, gelato and ices.

I know it has been a couple of years since the message above was posted. Does anyone know how agave will affect the texture of ice cream, and what the ratio of agave to sugar will be for substitution? I really want to make some ice cream soon, but I am trying to cut back on sugar, and thought agave would be good since it is low on the glycemic index.