Guide to Non-Liquid Natural Sweeteners

Even though I enjoy using liquid natural sweeteners, there are many recipes that do not call for any liquid and adding liquid can mess with the consistency of the food item. That is why I have taken a liking to some non-liquid natural sweeteners. There are a lot of non-liquid artificial sweeteners but I prefer to avoid them for their adverse health affects. One of the reasons I choose natural sweeteners over just plain old sugar is for my health. You have several different options when it comes to non-liquid natural sweeteners.

One of the first options that you have for replacing sugar that is natural is fructose. I personally usually get fructose for a dry natural sweetener. It is derived from fruit sugars and looks very much like white sugar. Of course fructose isn't my first choice when it comes to natural sweeteners because it lacks minerals and vitamins, like real sugar, but it is something that I have used a lot. One natural sweetener that I have always wanted to try is date sugar. It is made from dehydrated dates. I think that it would be a nice choice because it is high in fiber and contains a number of mineral and vitamins. It can pretty much be used any place you need to use sugar, except it won't completely dissolve in a hot beverage.

Steering away from completely not sugar you have two other options. Sucanat is very similar to sugar. It actually is sugar that has not had the molasses removed from it so it is non-refined like common white sugar. It contains about a tenth less of sucrose than refined sugar. It can also be used as a substitute to brown sugar. Also if I absolutely had to get sugar I would be sure to choose an organic sugar, organically grown sugars have a minimal refining process. The cane syrup that they come from is dehydrated and then milled into the powder which becomes the organic sugar. Depending on the natural sweetener that you are using you may have to alter the recipe.

Unlike many liquid natural sweeteners non-liquid sweeteners often require the same amount for a recipe as sugar. In the case of Sucanat and of course organic sugar you can use the same amount as the recipe calls for. You can find organic Sucanat and organic sugar that are nearly identical in price. Although date sugar is a nice choice because of the nutrition that comes with it, it isn't that cost effective. You have to use twice as much date sugar as you would sugar in a recipe and date sugar is more expensive, costing more than two dollars more per pound. Fructose on the other hand is less expensive than organic Sucanat, organic sugar and of course date sugar and you only have to use half as much as you would for sugar. This makes fructose an inexpensive choice for a natural sweetener.

Before choosing the non-liquid natural sweetener that you want to use keep a few things in mind. Consider getting date sugar for the nutrition that it offers. If you want to save money consider getting fructose. If you don't mind having sugar as a sweetener look for organic sugar and see if you can find organic Sucanat if you want to lower your sucrose intake. Depending on what flavor you are looking for, the price that you want to pay and what you want to find in your natural sweetener will determine what you want to get. You can even get a couple of different natural sweeteners and see which you prefer the most.