Yesterday's trap was Agave Nectar. I know, right. What the?
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| I "borrowed" the image from Amazon, hence the nice "12 Pack" bubble. |
As I unpacked it from the grocery bag yesterday I literally thought to myself "What the hell am I going to do with this?", and wondered how long it would take up shelf space before I just tossed it out.
I woke up this morning determined to use this "healthy" stuff so I did a little research. First of all, it's higher in calories than sugar, table sugar has 15 calories per tablespoon, Agave has 60 calories/TBSP (*gasp*, WHY did I buy this crap then?). Thankfully there is more to the story to make using this stuff actually feasible.
WHAT IS IT: Agave (pronounced ah-GAH-vay) is best recognized as the plant from which tequila is made, it has also been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in food. When the agave has grown to 7-10 years old, the leaves of the plant are cut off, revealing the core of the plant (called the "pina"). When harvested, the pina resembles a giant pineapple and can weigh in at 50 to 150 pounds.
To make the agave nectar, sap is extracted from the pina, filtered, and heated at a low temperature, which breaks down the carbohydrates into sugars. Lighter and darker varieties of agave nectar are made from the same plants. Because of the low temperatures used in processing many varieties (under 118°F) raw foods enthusiasts generally regard agave nectar as a raw food.
WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE: The taste of agave nectar is comparable, though not identical, to honey. Many people who do not like the taste of honey find agave a more palatable choice. It also has none of the bitter aftertaste associated with artificial sweeteners.
WHY USE IT: Agave nectar is about 90% fructose. Only recently has it come in use as a sweetener. It has a low glycemic level and is a delicious and safe alternative to table sugar. Unlike the crystalline form of fructose, which is refined primarily from corn, agave syrup is fructose in its natural form. This nectar does not contain processing chemicals.
Now here is the key for me: Even better, because fructose is sweeter than table sugar, less is needed in your recipes (gah, thank goodness, cause its higher in calories). It can be most useful for people who are diabetic, have insulin resistance (Syndrome X), or are simply watching their carbohydrate intake.
As I said earlier, it's higher in calories than table sugar, but at least you use less of it in recipes. It's much closer to it's natural state than table sugar is also, which is nice if you are following some of the Food Rules.
Fast Facts about Agave:
•This sweetener is sometimes called "nectar" and sometimes called "syrup". It is the same food.
•The light syrup has a more neutral flavor.
•In recipes, use about 25% less of this nectar than you would use of table sugar. ¾ cup of agave nectar should equal 1 cup of table sugar. For most recipes this rule works well.
•When substituting this sweetener in recipes, reduce your liquid slightly, sometimes as much as 1/3 less.
•Reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees.
•Agave nectar can be combined with Splenda to counter Splenda's aftertaste and to control the amount of fructose used.
•The glycemic index of agave nectar is low.
•As a food exchange, a one-teaspoon serving of agave nectar equals a free food. Two servings or two teaspoons equals ½ carbohydrate exchange
I think I'm going to try a little in my oatmeal this morning in place of my Truvia packet. We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile I'll be scouring the net all day trying to find recipes to use this in. Should be interesting...
Food Rule for today
To keep with the sugar theme of the today..."Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients."
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