If you want to apply sweeteners on your meals, but you’ve already grown tired of the commercially produced sweeteners, such as, honey, maple syrup, strawberry syrup, and others that claim to be all-natural but really are not, you should try agave syrup. Agave nectar, maple syrup and molasses all come from natural, plant sources. Simple syrup. In general, agave nectar is better than sugar, and by using it as a substitution for sugar you will reduce your calorie intake. While these two sweeteners achieve the same purpose, they are far from the same thing. Table sugar is often made from sugarcane or beets. It has a unique sweet taste that doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste. Because agave syrup dissolves quickly, it can be used as a sweetener for cold beverages Agave syrup, aka maguey syrup, and commonly though inaccurately known as agave nectar, is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of agave, including Agave tequilana (blue agave) and Agave salmiana. Want to post on Patch? Agave … The views expressed in this post are the author's own. It’s extracted from various species of the agave plant, which grow mainly in Mexico and South Africa. Agave nectar and maple syrup do not taste the same. For instance, high fructose corn syrup is in countless processed foods. Remember… not eating fruits, is the number one dietary reason for dying early. Agave syrup (also known as agave nectar) is a naturally occurring sweetener similar in consistency to honey, although slightly thinner. Also, fruits are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, such as vitamin C, that inhibit fructose from harming you. Maple syrup is also a useful sweetener in baking and can be used in equal ratios to agave nectar. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is about 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, while agave syrup is about 70-90% fructose. Only after the mass production of sugar, people started consuming large amount of fructose. Most agave sweeteners come from the blue agave plant. High fructose corn syrup differs from corn syrup in that some of the glucose in it is converted to fructose enzymatically, making it sweeter, whereas corn syrup is 100 percent gluco… This makes it roughly equivalent to high fructose corn syrup in terms of its fructose content, its calories, its sweetness, and the fact that it's a liquid. Moreover, 82% of sugar is fructose, and only 18% is glucose. Agave can have a lot of fructose, around 90 percent (Sugar is 50 percent fructose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent). Lots more information on sweeteners in The Virtuous Tart, my 2nd cookbook. Natural sources of fructose are mainly fruits and honey. High fructose corn syrup differs from corn syrup in that some of the glucose in it is converted to fructose enzymatically, making it sweeter, whereas corn syrup is 100 percent glucose. It’s a pretty cheap sweetener. It has a medium-low glycemic index (54) and a higher degree of sweetness than table sugar for roughly the same number of calories. Real Maple Syrup has a glycemic index of 54. Agave syrup (also known as agave nectar) is a naturally occurring sweetener similar in consistency to honey, although slightly thinner. The views expressed here are the author's own. Hope it’s useful! When comparing agave nectar vs. sugar, the biggest difference lies in their chemical composition. What is agave nectar & syrup? Agave can have a lot of fructose, around 90 percent (Sugar is 50 percent fructose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent). You’ve probably tried it in sweetened products or seen it on the shelf in the grocery store. So, is agave nectar good for you, especially if you want to manage blood sugar spikes? Fructose is only metabolized in liver. Additionally, a diet high in fructose may contribute to weight gain. But don’t let this fool you into thinking that it is natural, or that you can consume as much of this sweetener as you like. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is about 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, while agave syrup is about 70-90% fructose. Unfortunately, in the agave industry, the terms agave nectar and agave syrup, are often used interchangeably. Coconut Sugar vs Agave. Actually, agave nectar is bad for you. It has little in common with the traditional sweetener made historically by people in Mexico. One is dark, and the other is light. Sorry. Here’s The Video Description From YouTube. How Are They Made? It’s free and very enlightening. Both agave and maple syrup have a lower Glycemic Index than regular table sugar and can be enjoyed by anyone following a vegan diet. This makes agave a good sweetener for vegans (who dont eat honey). Furthermore, a teaspoon of agave nectar contains 21.4 calories and approximately 4.7 grams of sugars. Agave nectar is actually a syrup (nectar is really just a marketing term). Agave syrup has a very sweet but mild flavor. Simple syrup is not as sweet as sugar so drinks often use larger measurements. Is agave syrup a safe, natural replacement for sugar? This means that it won’t raise short-term blood sugar levels as rapidly as the glucose found in table sugar. Finding a consensus among nutritional experts about what’s good for us and what’s not can be challenging, but everyone agrees it’s smart to avoid sugar. You don't get its raw nectar. Known brands Madhava and Wholesome Sweeteners sell for approximately $0.16 an ounce.Table sugar is produced from either sugarcane or sugar beets. Many sweeteners, including honey, have high fructose content, but it does not necessarily make them unhealthy. Agave syrup is – shall we say, "modified" no different than corn syrup, the end result of which is HFCS – high fructose corn syrup, HFCS, like agave syrup, is anything but natural. Here’s my summary of the following popular sweeteners. Agave nectar is much sweeter than maple syrup, which means that you will need only a small amount to get a similar level of sweetness as a large amount of maple syrup. There are other species of the agave … It's easy to understand how agave syrup got its great reputation. This syrup has no dietary fiber, and it’s mainly fructose. Glycemic Index The glycemic index defines foods by how quickly it causes your blood sugar to rise. Here’s The Video Description From YouTube. They’re both healthier alternatives to sugar. This process is time-consuming. Yes and no: while these sweeteners have more trace nutrients and minerals than regular white sugar or corn syrup, the plants have to be highly processed in order to derive them. The negative impact of including lots of added sugar in the diet is becoming more widely accepted as the number of people struggling with obesity cont… The syrup is extracted from the honey water found at core of the plant, filtered, heated and then processed to make it into thicker nectar you see at the store. What is it? That’s because agave nectar has a particularly low Glycemic Index. Agave syrup (also called agave nectar) is a sweetener commercially produced in Mexico, from several species of agave, including Agave tequilana (also called Blue Agave or Tequila Agave), and the Salmiana, Green, Grey, Thorny, and Rainbow varieties.Agave syrup is sweeter than honey, though less viscous.Agave syrup is produced in the Mexican States of Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas, according to Mexican laws pertaining to certificate of origin, although most is produced in J… Amber colored agave nectar is made by burning the fructose (above 140F) as it is being refined. Modern high processed agave syrup has no similarities with traditional agave products. It wasn't until recently that the food industry took notice of agave nectar and realized that, with a little bit of modification, it could be sold as a commercial food sweetener similar to HFCS. Due to, the fact that agave nectar is mainly fructose. Agave nectar is not raw even if labeled as such. Agave syrup is a little thinner than honey or molasses, so it mixes well in liquids like iced tea. According to this article from the Huffington Post, Agave has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener on the market. On today's episode of Live Lean TV, I'm sharing which is the healthiest natural sweetener: maple syrup vs honey vs agave nectar. Contrary, every cell in the human body metabolizes glucose. Register for a user account. Prior to this discovery, those who've used agave nectar for thousands of years simply used the nectar and syrup interchangeably. Nils and I finished teaching a two-day intensive hydrocolloid class today so we hadn’t managed to get any posts together. While these two sweeteners achieve the same purpose, they are far from the same thing. Mainly due to the high fructose content. Agave nectar and simple syrup have different flavor profiles. This breaks down the carbohydrates into sugar. Agave nectar is about 60 percent fructose, 20 percent glucose, and 20 percent water. The problem with taking in a lot of fructose is that your body must convert it to glucose in the liver, but if you have too much, it gets stored as fat. low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. High fructose corn syrup is derived from corn syrup, which is made from extracting corn kernels and treating them with an enzyme to make a thick, viscous syrup. Date syrup, maple, raw honey, brown rice syrup, coconut nectar, apple syrup – there are pros and cons to every little bottle out there. 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