I finally got around to reading last Thanksgiving’s issue of Fine Cooking. In it was an article on alternative sweeteners, which I found helpful because I’m trying to cut down on refined sugars. Because alternative sweeteners, like honey, agave and maple syrup, are more intensely sweet than sugar, I can use less of them and still get the sweet effect I want.
But how to use these sweeteners in recipes? The article provides a helpful guide:
Start by substituting ¾ cup honey, maple syrup or molasses for each cup of sugar, and reduce the liquid by 3 tablespoons. To substitute agave, use 2/3 cup agave nectar for each cup of sugar and reduce the liquid by ¼ cup. Also, since these sweeteners will speed the browning process…, reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees. Check for doneness at the usual time, but you may have to increase the baking time slightly.
A very useful tip!
Tagged: Agave nectar, Honey, Maple syrup, Substitutions, Sugar, Sweeteners, Tips
oh, but be careful of using molasses! i’ve played with it a few times, and find that while I have no problem subbing agave or maple syrup, molasses just has too strong of a flavor for what I typically make. everything tastes like molasses cookies…
Yeah, I agree about molasses. I don’t even like it, so I doubt I will be using it. But it was mentioned in the article as a possible substitute.
[...] Substituting Sweeteners (simplycooking.wordpress.com) [...]
I also like to use a date mixture that has been combined with water and then almost pureed. I’ve used it in place of sugar and butter in baking before and works quite well. The texture is a bit different but still moist and with loads more flavour. To do this, you boil 1/2 cup dates and 1 cup water until the dates are very soft. Then in the blender it goes. I’ve used it 1:1 in the recipes. If there is 1 cup butter and 1 cup sugar, two cups of the date mixture will work well.
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Thanks, that’s a nice tip!