My favorite sugar substitute: erythritol- acts like sugar, no side effects
Erythritol is a sugar-alcohol that
1. acts like sugar in cooking- can be caramelized, stops crystals in ice-cream, etc. As I recall, it caramelizes a bit faster than glucose / sucrose sugar.
2. barely changes blood sugar levels (fairly close to no calories- not zero, but very low compared to regular sugar).
3. doesn't have those bad side effects of most sugar alcohols, because it doesn't go into the large intestine and doesn't feed gut (or tooth) bacteria. ( It bypasses the gut by going through the kidneys, so I'd imagine it ought not to be eaten if you haven't had enough liquids.)
4. is found in fruits, including pears, so is not unknown to the body and nature.
If you have recipes where you need sugar's chemical properties, and not just sugar's sweetness, I highly recommend erythritol.
The only downside I've found is the price. I hadn't seen it cheaper than $5/lb online, although I haven't looked recently.
Sucralose, stevia, and those sugar substitutes have their place in cooking. But erythritol allows for low-sugar desserts that no other substitute can do.
1. acts like sugar in cooking- can be caramelized, stops crystals in ice-cream, etc. As I recall, it caramelizes a bit faster than glucose / sucrose sugar.
2. barely changes blood sugar levels (fairly close to no calories- not zero, but very low compared to regular sugar).
3. doesn't have those bad side effects of most sugar alcohols, because it doesn't go into the large intestine and doesn't feed gut (or tooth) bacteria. ( It bypasses the gut by going through the kidneys, so I'd imagine it ought not to be eaten if you haven't had enough liquids.)
4. is found in fruits, including pears, so is not unknown to the body and nature.
If you have recipes where you need sugar's chemical properties, and not just sugar's sweetness, I highly recommend erythritol.
The only downside I've found is the price. I hadn't seen it cheaper than $5/lb online, although I haven't looked recently.
Sucralose, stevia, and those sugar substitutes have their place in cooking. But erythritol allows for low-sugar desserts that no other substitute can do.