Agave Nectar - A Refined Sugar Alternative

I've heard of agave nectar before but I really became familiar with this natural sugar alternative while trying out recipes from BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery.

Agave nectar comes from the agave plant. The consistency looks a bit like honey but it isn't as thick and its color ranges from light to dark amber (dependent on natural mineral filtration). The darker the color, the more of a taste it has on its own (which is sort of maple-like when you get to the darkest nectar). Since it's lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar (about 32 where as table sugar is around 64), it can be suitable for diabetics. So in addition to making things taste just as great, it doesn't lead to a huge spike in your blood sugar levels. That means you can avoid the cruddy feeling you're often left with when you crash from the regular sugar rush. And since agave nectar includes simple sugars, it's very easy for your body to break down and use.

It's gluten-free, organic, and not refined. You can bake with it or mix it into a smoothie/cup of tea or just drizzle on top of whatever you want to sweeten. Madhava and other purveyors of this fabulous nectar claim it has 1.4 times the sweetening power of white sugar so you don't have to use as much of it (which can also translate to less calories). I have a couple of large bottles that I ordered off Amazon and I use it whenever I can to replace refined sugar in recipes.

I've had good experiences with Madhava's products. In addition to the light and darker amber nectars they also have flavored ones that include maple, hazelnut, vanilla, and raspberry to name a few - although I don't have any personal experience with the flavored ones. I've also tried Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave, which is also good. And while the price tag has kept me away, I've been intrigued by FunFresh's Chocolate Agave Gourmet Dipping Nectar. Should I ever splurge on that one, I'll provide an update.

No matter what brand of agave nectar you try, just make sure there are no added ingredients like corn syrup. If there is no ingredient list on the bottle, that should mean it's a pure food product and so you don't have to worry about additives. Corn syrup is a filler and sort of defeats the point of going with agave.

Of course skipping a sweetener whenever possible is probably a better route but when I do come across a call for sugar I can control, I prefer the agave.