SUGAR SUBSTITUTES YOU CAN REALLY USE

You can cook or bake on a diet and not feel deprived if you use artificial sweeteners. You can shave 360 calories from a cake recipe that calls for 1 cup of sugar by using an artificial sweetener in place of half of it. You can't replace all the sugar with a substitute or the product won't turn out well. Start by replacing half, and if the food doesn't brown correctly or is too heavy in texture increase the sugar-to-sweetener ratio. Not all substitutes are good for baking. Follow these guidelines:

(Sweet One (Acesulfame-k) 4 calories per packet, 12 packets = 1 cup sugar, 1 packet = 2 teaspoons sugar
Can be used in cooking and baking without losing sweetness.

Equal (Aspartame) 4 calories per packet, 24 packets = 1 cup sugar, 1 packet = 2 teaspoons sugar
Loses sweetness when baked at high temperatures for a long time.

Equal Spoonful (Aspartame) 2 calories per teaspoon, 1 cup = 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon = 1 teaspoon sugar
Loses sweetness when heated to high temperatures for long periods of time. Can be used spoon for spoon in place of sugar.
Splenda (Sucralose) 0 calories, 1 cup = 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon = 1 teaspoon sugar
May not work well in recipes such as certain cakes that rely upon sugar for structure. Finished recipes may require refrigeration. Visit website for recipes.

Sweet 'N Low (Saccharin) 4 calories per packet, 12 packets = 1 cup sugar, 1 packet = 2 teaspoons sugar
Can be used in cooking and baking without losing sweetness.

Brown Sweet 'N Low (Saccharin) 20 calories per teaspoon, 4 teaspoons = 1 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon = 1/4 cup brown sugar
Can be used in cooking or baking without losing sweetness. Note that measurements differ from packet sweeteners.


The Many Masks That Sugar Wears

For some low-carb dieters knowing the carb count of a food is enough. Other times we want to know how much sugar was added during processing. The label should give you an idea of how much sugar was added. Added sugars are a type of carbohydrate sometimes called simple carbohydrates. Manufacturers add sugars to most processed foods these days because that is what the consumer taste seems to want. Sometimes there will be several types of sugar in the first few ingredients on the label. Sometimes the sugar masquerades as healthier ingredients such as honey, rice syrup or even organic dehydrated cane juice. These white grape, apple and pear juices are among the least nutritious of the juices. After they are concentrated, very little remains but the sugar.

Here is a list of the many possible code words for sugar which may appear on a label:

*Corn sweetener

*Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids

*Dehydrated cane juice

*Dextrin

*Dextrose

* Fructose

* Fruit juice concentrate

* Glucose

* High-fructose corn syrup

* Honey

* Invert sugar

* Lactose

* Maltodextrin

* Malt syrup

* Maltose

* Maple syrup

* Molasses

* Raw sugar

* Rice Syrup

* Saccharose

* Sorghum or sorghum syrup

* Sucrose

* Syrup

* Treacle

* Turbinado Sugar

* Xylose



Taste Comparisons

In a blind comparison of sugar, raw sugar, Sugar Twin, Sweet 'N Low, Equal and Splenda in six tall glasses of freshly brewed ice tea Splenda was the best tasting. Second place: Equal. Third place: Sugar in the raw. Honorable mention: Sugar. A little too sweet, but not bad.