Natural Sweeteners

Natural sweeteners are definitely the way to go if you like to enjoy a sweet treat once in a while.

White sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame) may be popular, but they are very damaging to your health.

Fortunately, there are quite a few natural alternatives that you can choose from. Here is a quick guide to some of them:

Note: When it comes to natural sweeteners, remember that temperance and moderation is the key. Don't overdo it!

Agave Syrup

Agave syrup is a mild tasting syrup that comes from a cactus-like plant.

It has a very light honey or maple syrup-like flavor.

Use agave anywhere you would normally use a liquid sweetener.

Click here to learn more about agave.

Barley Malt

Barley malt is made from roasted barley sprouts. It is not as sweet as honey. It works well in most baked goods.

Brown Rice Syrup

Brown rice syrup is made from rice starch. It has a mild flavor. You can use it wherever you would normally use honey or other liquid sweeteners.

Use it to sweeten hot and cold drinks, or as a topping for pancakes, waffles, and desserts. Rice syrup is very thick, so it does not work as well as other liquid sweeteners for baking.

Dates

Dates are high in vitamins and minerals and they contain quite a bit of fiber.

You can use them to sweeten desserts and other dishes.

Blend them into your pancake or waffle batter, or use them to sweeten cookies, cakes, and raw desserts.

Or, you can enjoy dates on their own as a dessert.

Medjool dates are especially great on their own. They are one of my favorite natural sweeteners.

Date Sugar

Date sugar is a nutritious sweetener made from dehydrated dates that are ground up into a powder.

It makes a great substitute for sugar in most things except for beverages; it does not dissolve well.

Use 2/3 to 1 cup of date sugar for 1 cup white sugar.

Fruits

You can use fresh fruit as a natural sweetener.

Here are some ideas:

* Use fresh fruits such as sliced bananas or strawberries to sweeten up your breakfast cereal or porridge.

* Try using mashed bananas, fresh apple puree (or even applesauce) to sweeten and add moisture to quick breads, muffins, and cookies.

Fruit Juice

You can use natural fruit juice to replace some of your liquid ingredients to sweeten baked goods such as muffins, breads, and cookies. Fruit juices are also great for sweetening sweet sauces, homemade Popsicles, and fruit salads.

You can even use frozen fruit juice concentrates. Make your own by slowly cooking fruit juice (try white grape, apple, orange, and pineapple juice) until it has been reduced by one quarter.

Honey

Aside from being absolutely delicious, honey is very good for you. It's high in vitamins and minerals (such as B2, B6, and iron) and has antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

photo by Elisabetta Grondona

Pasteurized commercial honey does not have all of these benefits. So be sure to choose raw honey that is minimally filtered.

The best tasting raw honey that I've tried so far is Dutchman's Gold honey. Yum! I found it very hard not to eat it by the spoonful. Honey is definitely one of my favorite natural sweeteners!

Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of raw honey to replace 1 cup of sugar. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup and lower the baking temperature by 25 degrees F.

Click here to see how honey compares to sugar.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is the concentrated sap from the sugar maple tree. It is high in calcium and contains other nutrients. Non-organic maple syrup may contain unwanted additives, so choose organic maple syrup instead.

Use maple syrup to replace honey or sugar in recipes. And, definitely use it on your pancakes and waffles instead of that artificial stuff. Yes, it's more expensive, but it's the real thing! You can't beat the original stuff.

Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup maple syrup to replace 1 cup of sugar.

Maple Sugar

Maple sugar is made by evaporating maple syrup. It is twice as sweet as white sugar, so use only 1/2 cup maple sugar to replace 1 cup of sugar.

Molasses

Molasses is a mineral rich sweetener high in calcium, iron, and potassium. It is the product that remains when sugar crystals are separated from sugar cane syrup. Click here to learn more about molasses.

Sucanat

Sucanat is a delicious dry sweetener made from organic sugar cane juice. It is highly nutritious and flavorful because the molasses has not been taken out. It works really well for baked goods and in other dishes that call for white sugar.

It does add a bit of color due to the molasses content, so you may not want to use it in dishes where a lighter color is important.

Use it cup for cup to replace white or brown sugar.

Stevia

Stevia is a no-calorie natural sweetener that is made from a herb. It is about 30 times sweeter than sugar, so you can use it by the drop! So, a little goes a very long way. It's great for sweetening beverages and some desserts. It does have a unique taste, so the flavor doesn't work equally for everything.

You'll find a handy guide to cooking with stevia along with a 'Sugar to Stevia Conversion Chart' over at Jo's website, www.sugarfreestevia.net.

Related Pages:

Best Sugar Substitute