SHOPPING & COOKING GUIDES

A Buyer's Guide to Sugar Substitutes

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Erythritol (ZSweet, Sun Crystals)

Sun Crystals

Sold as a “tabletop sweetener” (packets used mostly to sweeten beverages)
Commonly added to packaged foods and beverages
Heat-stable; can be used for baking

What is it? Naturally found in melons and pears, erythritol is another sugar alcohol. The body fully absorbs erythritol (unlike xylitol) but can’t break it down, so it provides (virtually) no calories and does not produce a glycemic response.

Sweetness factor: 60 to 80 percent as sweet as sugar

Take note: Because it’s absorbed, erythritol is less likely to cause gastric distress than xylitol. In Sun Crystals, erythritol is combined with cane sugar for a product that delivers 4 calories per teaspoon and registers a slight glycemic response.

Our taste test: In hot and cold tea, ZSweet and Sun Crystals earned good to excellent sweetness scores. Cookies baked with ZSweet received poor scores for texture and appearance and had mixed ratings for overall sweetness. Tasters also noted an unexpected cool sensation when eating the cookies. Sun Crystals is not currently available in a baking product.

Stevia (SweetLeaf Stevia Plus, OnlySweet)

Stevia

Sold as a “tabletop sweetener” (packets used mostly to sweeten beverages)
Commonly added to packaged foods and beverages
Heat-stable; can be used for baking

What is it? A concentrated powder made by extracting a sweet-tasting compound—steviol glycosides—from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant native to South America. Commercially, stevia is sold as a liquid or a powder that is combined with bulking agents: often inulin, a soluble fiber, or maltodextrin, a sugar.

Sweetness factor: 300 x sugar

Take note: Since the FDA has not approved its use as a food additive, stevia is sold only as a dietary supplement in the United States. However, in the interest of launching a line of “natural” diet drinks next year, the Coca-Cola Company and Cargill are expected to petition the FDA to re-examine the safety science on stevia. Stevia itself does not raise blood sugar—neither does inulin—but maltodextrin does, so people concerned about blood glucose levels should read ingredient labels carefully.

Our taste test: The overall sweetness of stevia rated well in hot and cold tea, but most detected an unpleasant aftertaste that one taster described as “corroded tin can.” The sweetness, texture and appearance of the cookies sweetened with stevia were “unacceptable.”

—Sylvia Geiger, M.S., R.D.

Sweetener Baking Test

Sweetener Baking Test

Sweet alternatives don't bake up exactly like sugar. We used the same recipes for each batch of these cookies, substituting sweeteners in the ratios recommended by their manufacturers.

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USER COMMENTS — Add Your Comment

I am surprised that nobody tested Whey Low as a substitute for sugar.

Christine, Phoenix, AZ

People should not partake of man-made food products (like artificial sweeteners), they cause cancer. My mother has non-hodgkins limphoma from using sugar substitutes for years. All these diets are a joke, we just need to exercise. Our bodies weren't designed to sit on a chair all day, then sit on the couch all night. Our bodies were designed to walk and work. In the last 3 months I've lost 20lbs from working harder and eating more. We don't need drive thru lanes, internet shopping and video games, we need sports and exercise.

Doug Merkley, Monkton, ON

I would like to have more info. About some European sweeteners. Maybe next issue.

Selina Shulamit Steiner, Haifa, IS

I would also like more info on other sweeteners. European and from other countries. Also I like Stevia but I have never attempted to bake with it because I could not find any info on ratios to sugar. Could you also give us that info?

Kim, Memphis, TN

What about agave nectar?

Cathy, Hummelstown, PA

Doug Merkley, I totally agree with you. Love what you have to say. And sweet n low is disgusting. How any sentient human being with a fully functional tongue can pallet that is beyond me.

Brittni Reyes, Moreno Valley, CA

Isn't regular sugar better than the substitute sugar, so many side affects from sub. If the soda makers want to lower the sugar, why not just put half the amount they already use?

Sweetdaisy, Philadelphia, PA

I think Aspartame is like liquid poison. It was giving me terrible headaches, and I believe it caused all kinds of immune system problems for me. I now use Stevia and love it!

Kim, Hurst, TX

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