What's That Sweetener? (A CHEAT SHEET TO NATURAL & UNNATURAL SWEETENERS) Sweetener Looks like Also known as How to use Notes White Sugar You know white Beet sugar, cane Sugar sweetens ...it is destructive to the derived from sugar cane sugar, right? sugar, granulated anything and everything human system and or sugar beets; all the sugar with ease, but... addictive in many ways molasses content (with (More here: its minerals) is stripped http://bit.ly/UquVCf) away and is generally bleached; no nutritional value Evaporated Cane Juice Just a shade Organic sugar, Use 1:1 ratio with white A good choice if organic, slightly less refined cane darker than white evaporated cane sugar; flavor likely will non-GMO or fair trade sugar; a small step up sugar, often sugar, sometimes not change; white cakes sugar is important to from white sugar; still slightly larger confused with or cookies may be a you; a large step up in very little to no nutritional grained but not Turbinado slightly darker off-white price for a small step in value necessarily color nutrition Sucanat Medium caramel Rapadura, Panela, As a dry sweetener, Will change the flavor (SUgar CAne NATural) brown in color; a Jaggery, unrefined sucanat can used 1:1 in and color compared to whole cane sugar with bit like brown whole cane sugar, any recipe that calls for white sugar; imparts a about 13% molasses sugar but coarser dehydrated cane white sugar. You can deeper molasses tone to content; none is and larger grained sugar (juice) also whiz it in a blender recipes. In recipes removed to make an unrefined heavy on the chocolate, (More here: powdered sugar. It will pumpkin, spices, or http://bit.ly/ofF3lQ) caramelize in a cooked cinnamon, sucanat is sauce. hardly noticeable Coconut Sugar Medium brown in Palm sugar, coconut Use 1:1 in place of white Supposedly sustainable, dehydrated or color, generally palm sugar, coconut sugar in recipes; will but expensive; some say evaporated nectar from large granules; crystals, crystallized have a bit richer flavor it competes with palm tree flowers; lower looks almost coconut sap, and of course, color; availability of other glycemic index than exactly like Jaggery, aren sugar; pairs especially well with coconut products sugar/honey; some sucanat to me coconut nectar is cinnamon spiced baked mineral content the same thing in goods; does not (More here: liquid form crystallize so may http://bit.ly/Uqw7pf) change texture of cookies and not work in certain recipes Honey Sticky, viscous Sweeter than sugar, so Has more health benefits flavor changes liquid; amber less is needed; see than white sugar, depending on what colored; raw honey additional printable for although the glycemic flowers the bees visited; solidifies over time how to bake with honey index is fairly high raw local honey may (More here: help seasonal allergies http://bit.ly/iXc9sM) Maple Syrup Thick, dark brown Grade A vs. Grade B Substitute any time a Has the best mineral boiled down sap of sugar liquid, although describes how liquid sweetener is used, profile of the sweeteners maple trees;40 gallons thinner than honey concentrated the or use in place of but and better for diabetics sap = 1 gallon syrup flavors and minerals reduce the liquid than honey are; A is sweeter, B (More here: has more minerals http://bit.ly/o9cE5k) KITCHENSTEWARDSHIP.COM Sweetener Looks like Also known as How to use Notes Molasses Very thick, very Blackstrap molasses Molasses has a lot of High in iron; generally from sugar cane; taken dark brown liquid is darker and has flavor, but it's nice as seen as a good out to make white sugar lots of iron part of the sweetener in sweetener anything with pumpkin, spice, or even used lightly in red meat dishes or tomato sauces. Sorghum Syrup Very thick, dark Great over cornbread or Quite high in calcium, from “sweet sorghum” brown, sticky pancakes, use in baking magnesium, potassium, plant; the juice from the liquid; hearty, deep in place of any liquid zinc, and almost as stalk is boiled down to flavor sweetener; ideal for much iron as blackstrap concentrate the chocolate cakes or molasses; used to be sweetness brownies (use ½ as one of the main (More here: much as white sugar sweeteners in the U.S., http://bit.ly/12qQAxr) called for), as well as especially in the South savory dishes that need a little sweet Brown Rice Syrup Thick, sticky brown Use as any liquid a grain sweetener made liquid sweetener similarly as sorghum; any grain can be malted into sweet, maltose-rich syrup (More here: http://bit.ly/12rqOJz) Stevia Can be a green Sold under trade Use the green powder to Extracts can be made a green plant whose powder, which is names such as sweeten tea or hot with chemicals or not; I leaves are 30-50 times the dried leaf like “Truvia” and liquids, steep with the recommend Sweetleaf or as sweet as table sugar; any herb, or a “Purevia,” neither of tea leaves; use the white NuNaturals brands as zero calories, but not an white powder, for which is pure stevia powder or liquid (3-4 less processed; the artificial sweetener; used which the sweetest – both are mainly drops) to sweeten brown liquid is less for centuries in other part is extracted corn sugars and beverages, yogurt, or sweet but less refined countries (More here: and is 300 times should be avoided; anything that doesn't than the clear, which is http://bit.ly/12rtPt6) as sweet as sugar; any “baking blend” need the bulk of sugar; less refined than the also a brown or that substitutes 1:1 difficult to use in baking; white powder clear liquid extract, for sugar is bulked less than a teaspoon is also 300 times as up with something, equal to a cup of sugar sweet often erythritol or (More here: dextrose http://bit.ly/12ruN8O) High Fructose Not often seen Because of good 55% fructose (the bad Corn Syrup sold alone for marketing by those sugar) and 45% glucose made from corn in a home use; who stand to profit (the potentially helpful multi-step, 40-hour typically an from it, you'll see sugar); linked to liver process that one could ingredient in (just “corn sugar” on damage, cancer, not replicate in the home about every) some ingredients diabetes, obesity, etc.; kitchen (More here: processed food lists; “corn syrup” is almost always http://bit.ly/16EYGoD) similar to HFCS but genetically modified and with slightly less known as a marker of processing; still a processed (unhealthy) very refined sugar foods; may or may not be any worse than white sugar, but still to be avoided KITCHENSTEWARDSHIP.COM Sweetener Looks like Also known as How to use Notes Agave Nectar Somewhat thick Agave syrup Can use in place of any Not recommended made by boiling down syrup, slightly less liquid sweetener; I because it's very high in the juice of the agave so than honey, choose to simply avoid it fructose, up to 95% plant, a relative of the light brown or clear (compare to HFCS at yucca; relatively “new” in 55%), generally highly the world of food processed, and a (More here: relatively new food with http://bit.ly/QWrF3N) little long-term data; if you can find truly raw agave, not heated over 116°F, that may be a good sign Sugar alcohols: xylitol, Usually a white Sorbitol, xylitol, Typically use 1:1 for Not quite calorie free, erythritol, sorbitol powder for home erythritol, mannitol, white sugar, although although often listed as all start with a sugar or use; often seen in lactitol, isomalt, certain sugar alcohols “0 calories” because of a starch, then are ingredients listed maltitol, are less sweet than labeling loophole; in fermented, hydrolyzed or on sugar-free hydrogenated starch sugar while others are reality, they have 1/2- hydrogenated into a chocolates and as hydrolysates (HSH) about equal 1/20 the calories of white sugar alcohol, which is fillers in other – a family of sugar; not absorbed by not alcohol but not sugar. “healthy” sweeteners including the gut and therefore (More here: sweeteners like hydrogenated have fewer calories and http://bit.ly/12rwxyY) stevia blends glucose syrup, glycemic load; can maltitol or sorbitol cause gas, bloating, and syrup diarrhea, plus painful cramping in many individuals with just a small amount Artificial Sweeteners Typically a white Nutrasweet Don't bother using them; Various artificial created by scientists in powder, (aspartame), they're poison sweeteners have been the last few decades; sometimes bulked Splenda (sucralose), linked to cancer, Nutrasweet, for example, up to equal 1:1 acesulfame digestive disorders, even was discovered when a mass with white potassium obesity (because eating researcher accidentally sugar sweets without calories licked his fingers while confuses our bodies and researching an ulcer tells us to eat MORE). medication (More here: http://bit.ly/yxNe5r) How do I handle a recipe that calls for something I don't have? With few exceptions, most granulated sweeteners will substitute for any other, and the same for liquid sweeteners. The flavor of the recipe may change, typically changing the sweetener does not mean the recipe will fail. The one exception would be if you need to caramelize sugars...cane sugar is the best there, including sucanat and evaporated cane sugar. Your best bet? Eat less sweetener overall. Use cinnamon, virgin coconut oil, spelt, vanilla or almond extract, or fruit to sweeten up your life instead of sweeteners, even natural ones. Dates make wonderfully sweet treats and can even be used (as date sugar or date puree) in place of sweeteners in baked goods.