Sugar Substitue for making Zabaglione

[irodguy]

I want to make up some sugar free zabaglione. Any ideas of what sugar substitute might work best?

edit: ooops not really sugar free but greatly lower in sugars..

I will of course still have some sugars from the Marsala. Just trying to cut back on the sugars a bit if it will not radically effect the final product.

So what to use?

Splenda?

Whey Low?

Stevia?

Edited for clarity

Edited October 19, 2004 by irodguy (log)

[kthull]

I use Whey Low as much as possible in desserts (though I'm not commercial) and it would work just fine in a Zabaglione. It'll dissolve fully and there's no aftertaste.

[aidensnd2]

I believe an equal weight of Equal can be substituted for sugar in recipes...

[scott123]

Whey low will give you the best results. That is, if you believe it to be a sugar 'substitute,' which I don't.

Nutrasweet (aspartame) loses it's sweetening ability at high temperatures. It should be fine at this temp, though.

The vast majority of stevia brands I've come across are pretty foul. I still have my fingers crossed that a decent brand exists, but I'm not holding my breath. There are some that like the licorice-like aftertaste. I do not.

Splenda will change the texture a bit. Think sweet tasting hollandaise. Splenda might work in conjuction with some texture giving sweetener (like a sugar alcohol) or even sugar itself. Maybe half splenda, half sugar might work. Remember though, that when combining sweeteners a synergistic boost usually occurs, requiring an adjustment to the recipe, otherwise it might end up being too sweet.

[nightscotsman]

At work we use maltitol for all of our sugar free desserts. Recipes do need to be reformulated, but there doesn't seem to be any aftertaste like that associated with products like aspartame and sucralose. It doesn't lose sweetening power when heated, but it doesn't really caramelize and I don't know how it performs in a cooked sugar syrup.

[CompassRose]

At work we use maltitol for all of our sugar free desserts.

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I hope you warn people, nightscotsman! Sugar alcohols are the devil... I hate them. I'm always soooo disappointed when I find some lovely new low-sugar low-calorie product, and see that as far as I'm concerned, it might as well be a colonic.

If you need a sugar syrup, I know that Da Vinci, for one, now makes a Splenda "simple syrup". I've had good luck (at home, anyway) with using their flavoured syrups in many kinds of baked things and sauces.

[irodguy]

I would have to agree that maltitol while it works well does very bad things indeed. It will indeed contribute to weight loss due to many trips "down the hall"

The Da Vinci website looks very interesting. I think I will stick with Splenda for the moment. I might also try Stevia. Stevia works great for foods that are slightly acidic but don't know how it's going to work with Zabaglione.

[NulloModo]

If you go the sugar alcohol route, don't use Malitol. Malitol is about the worst when it comes to causing gastro-intestinal distress.

Erythritol which is another sugar-alcohol has a texture very similar to sugar (although it is a bit less sweet) and should behave/carmelize like sugar when cooked. Due to its chemical makeup it should not gause the gassy/bathroomy side-effects malitol is associated with.

[Matsu]

Anyone had any experience with Xylitol?

[andiesenji]

I have used Splenda very successfully in egg custards, bread puddings, custard pie and in meringues.

If you are worried about texture you can simple dissolve the Splenda in a very small amount of water or milk but I have not found that to be necessary.

I would not use stevia as it has a vegetal taste that I don't like. I can't use Equal because aspartame caused arrythmia in my heart. Scary!

Splenda now has a product for baking that is half sugar and half Splenda, weight is comparable to sugar alone which is helpful in recipes in which ingredients are listed by weight and not by volume. One does not have to do a conversion which can get complicated.

If you go to the Splenda website, you will find tips on using it in various recipes.

[scott123]

If you go the sugar alcohol route, don't use Malitol.  Malitol is about the worst when it comes to causing gastro-intestinal distress.

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Believe it or not, maltitol is in the middle range of the sugar alcohols when it comes to 'laxation threshold.' Both mannitol and lactitol rank higher and in lactitol's case, quite a bit so. Lactitol is lethal when it comes to intestines. I think a big part of maltitol's misplace stigma is it's ubiquitous use by candy makers. If lactitol were used as frequently, people's perception of malitol would skyrocket due to the vast difference between the two.

[irodguy]

Believe it or not, maltitol is in the middle range of the sugar alcohols when it comes to 'laxation threshold.' Both mannitol and lactitol rank higher and in lactitol's case, quite a bit so. Lactitol is lethal when it comes to intestines.  I think a big part of maltitol's misplace stigma is it's ubiquitous use by candy makers. If lactitol were used as frequently, people's perception of malitol would skyrocket due to the vast difference between the two.

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That would indeed be where I formed my impression. A friend of mine had "sugar free" candy due to being on atkins. I had three pieces and spent the next few hours ah in discomfort