If you're finding it hard to
SORT THE SWEETENER AISLE
​
Start here by choosing a
group of sweeteners, based on the
calories
they provide:
ZERO CALORIE SWEETENERS
< 5 cal per serving
Low carb. Low GI.
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Stevia | Pure Extract
Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here brands of pure stevia leaf extract, with no fillers or additives.Stevia | Liquid
Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here brands of liquid stevia. The most common carriers include glycerine, erythitol, alcohol, and cellulose. Some are sold as dietary supplements and allow health claims on labels.Stevia | with Erythritol
Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here a variety of brands of stevia-erythritol blend.Stevia | with Inulin
Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here a variety of brands of stevia-inulin blend.Stevia | with Sugars
Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here brands of stevia-sugars blends. Sugars used: glucose, organic cane sugar.Stevia | with Maltodextrin
Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here brands of stevia-maltodextrin blends.Stevia | with Xylitol
Stevia | with Rare Sugars
Stevia | Cubes & Tablets
Stevia cubes and tablets contain stevia leaf extract plus other ingredients such as erythritol, glucose, or cellulose. Each cube or tablet is as sweet as one teaspoon of table sugar.Stevia | Dried Leaf
The whole-leaf Stevia is dried, cut, and turn into a green powder. It has a very mild sweet taste and does not dissolve well. Extracts (highly refined with > or = 95% purity) from the leaf are approved by the FDA but the leaves itself are not due to inadequate toxicological information.Show More
Stevia | with Benefits
Stevia | Monk Fruit Blend
Stevia is the term used to refer to steviol glycosides (highly refined extracts from the leaves of the stevia plant).ÂMonk fruit is the term used to refer to mogrosides (extracts obtained from the luo han guo fruit)
Monk Fruit | Pure Extract
Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.Monk Fruit | Liquid
Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.Monk Fruit | with Erythritol
Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.Monk Fruit | with Inulin
Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.Monk Fruit | with Glucose
Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.Monk Fruit | with Rare Sugars
Monk Fruit | Powdered & Golden
Brown Sugar Substitute made with monk fruit is called Golden Monk Fruit. Powdered sugar substitute made with monk fruit.Monk Fruit | Packets
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Erythritol
Allulose
Natural Sweeteners | Liquid
Sweeteners made with stevia, monk fruit or both.Stevia is the term used to refer to steviol glycosides (highly refined extracts from the leaves of the stevia plant). Monk fruit is the term used to refer to mogrosides (extracts obtained from the luo han guo fruit).
Miracle Fruit
Miracle Fruit extract (or Miraculin) is a protein extracted from the African berry, Synsepalum dulcificum (or Richardella dulcifica). It does not taste sweet but is able to transform acidic flavors into sweet. It can enhance the sweetness of low pH (acid) foods and beverages to become 200 to 800 times sweeter than table sugar. Not approved as a food ingredients by the FDA, but the extract is sold in tablets or you can buy the frozen fruit.Sucralose
Sucralose is made from table sugar in a process that changes its configuration into a compound around 600 times sweeter with no calories.Saccharin
Saccharin is a salt around 200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar. It provides no calories as it is not metabolized and is excreted in urine. It has noe effect on bood glucose. It may be combined with other sweeteners (such as glucose) or bulking agents (such as maltodextrin) in commercial tabletop sweeteners.Aspartame
Aspartame is a high intensity sweetener that, being a protein, provides 4 Calories/g. But since it can be up to 400 times sweeter than table sugar, it is used in such small amounts that contributes few to no calories (200g or ~ 1 cup of table sugar can be replaced by 1g of aspartame). It is approved by the FDA as a nutritive sweetener.Artificial Sweetener | Liquid
Tabletop sweeteners made with high intensity sweeteners not found in nature and so, are artificially made.I found liquid tabletop sweeteners made with saccharin or sucralose.
Replace Sugar 1:1 | + Erythritol
Are sweeteners that measure spoon-for-spoon (or cup-for-cup) like regular sugar,and mantain some of sugar's role in baking
but with less calories.
When substituting this sweetener for sugar, consumer must substitute 'equal volume', not 'equal weight', because this sweetener is much lighter than sugar.
Main ingredient is erythritol.
Replace Sugar 1:1 | + Maltodextrin
Are sweeteners that measure spoon-for-spoon (or cup-for-cup) like regular sugar,and mantain some of sugar's role in baking
but with less calories.
When substituting this sweetener for sugar, consumer must substitute 'equal volume', not 'equal weight', because this sweetener is much lighter than sugar.
Do not contain sugars but have as main ingredient, a carbohydrate (maltodextrin) that is broken down into sugars
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REDUCED CALORIE SWEETENERS
​Two groups: (1) Blends with Less Sugar (2) Low-Digestible Sweeteners
BLENDS WITH LESS SUGAR
25 - 75% fewer calories than the sugar or syrup (caloric sweetener) they replace.
Contain sugars or maltodextrin.
Often suggested to be measured in cups for baking or cooking.
Not calorie free. Not low carb. Not sugar free.
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Reduced Calorie Refined Sugar
White Sugar Blend contains white cane sugar blended with a reduced calorie sweetener and/or a high intensity sweetener.Brown Sugar Blend contains regular brown sugar instead.
It helps consumers reduce regular sugar intake. It is designed for baking and cooking as it gives the benefits of sugar (familiar taste, rising, browning, moisture) with less calories per serving.
1/2 cup of white or brown sugar blends sweetener is typically equal 1 cup of regular white or brown sugar
Reduced Calorie Sugars
Raw Cane Sugar Blend: is a raw cane sugar blended with one or more reduced calorie sweetener and/or high intensity sweetener.Also called baker's blend or baking blend,
it maintains almost the same role of raw cane sugars in baking, but with less calories. Is typically twice as sweet as regular refined sugar.
Reduced Calorie Syrups
Liquid Blends (syrups) are often 2x as sweet as the pure caloric sweetener.Some of these blends contain honey or agave blended with stevia. It maintains some of honey or agave's role, but with less calories.
Pancake syrup, waffle syrup or simply 'syrup' may be (1) LITE, LIGHT; (2) LOW CALORIE caloric sweeteners (sugar, cane syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc) are blended with high-intensity sweeteners (sucralose, stevia, etc)
Replace Sugar 1:1 | + Maltodextrin
Are sweeteners that measure spoon-for-spoon (or cup-for-cup) like regular sugar,and mantain some of sugar's role in baking
but with less calories.
When substituting this sweetener for sugar, consumer must substitute 'equal volume', not 'equal weight', because this sweetener is much lighter than sugar.
Do not contain a sugar but have as main ingredient carbohydrates (maltodextrin) that breaks down into sugar
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LOW-DIGESTIBLE SWEETENERS
25 to 90% fewer calories than table sugar.
​Often less sweet than table sugar.
Offer digestive benefits and issues.
Zero to Low Net Carbs.
Zero to low GI.
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Erythritol
Erythritol-based Sweeteners. Erythritol is a polyol or sugar alcohol - a type of carbohydrate that, unlike sugar, is not completely digested. It is less sweet than sugar (~70% the sweetness of regular sugar). It is promoted as a natural sweetener as is found in nature but is synthetically produced by fermentation or an electrochemical process. It is considered a zero-calorie sweetener as it provides 0.2 kcal/g.Xylitol
Xylitol is a polyol or sugar alcohol - a type of carbohydrate that, unlike sugar, is digested slowly, having little impact on blood sugar or insulin levels. Xylitol provides about half the calories of regular sugar (sucrose). Xylitol is the sweetest of the polyols and is as sweet as sucrose.Xylitol-based Sweeteners
These sweeteners contain xylitol blended with stevia, inulin, erythritol, or sucralose.Xylitol is a polyol or sugar alcohol - a type of carbohydrate that, unlike sugar, is digested slowly, having little impact on blood sugar or insulin levels. Xylitol provides about half the calories of regular sugar (sucrose). Xylitol is the sweetest of the polyols and is as sweet as sucrose.
Sorbitol | Mannitol | Isomalt
Tabletop Sweeteners that contain carbohydrates that are slowly, partially, or not digested at allProvide 25 to 90% fewer calories than sugars
Include polyols, rare sugars, and some dietary fibers.
Soluble Fiber | Inulin, FOS, IMO
May be oligossacharides or polysaccharides | Fructooligosacharides (FOS): a carbohydrate with linear chains of (< 9) fructoses.Inulin (from Jerusalem artichoke, chicory root, or agave): a carbohydrate with long chains of ( > 10) fructoses.
Isomalto-oligosaccharide (IMO): a short-chain carbohydrate, produced from starch.
FOS, inulin & IMO have 1/2 the calories of table sugar and are prebiotics (are minimally digested in the small intestine and stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria)
Rare Sugars | Allulose, Tagatose
Rare sugars, as the name implies, are rare in nature but can be synthetically produced. Examples are allulose (aka D-psicose), D-xylose, and tagatose. They are slightly sweet; typically half as sweet as table sugar. (allulose is 70% as sweet as sugar). Their sweetness profile is very similar to table sugar. Are low in calories. Have low GI. D-xylose is a synthetic sugar produced from coconut shells, corn cobs, and other plants rich in hemicellulose.Cup-for-Cup | With Erythritol
Are tabletop sweeteners that measure spoon-for-spoon (or cup-for-cup) like regular sugar,and mantain some of sugar's role in baking
but with less calories.
When substituting this sweetener for sugar, consumer must substitute 'equal volume', not 'equal weight', because this sweetener is much lighter than sugar.
Do not contain sugars but have as main ingredient carbohydrates such as polysaccharides (often maltodextrin) and/or polyols.
Cup-for-Cup | With Other Sweeteners
Are tabletop sweeteners that measure spoon-for-spoon (or cup-for-cup) like regular sugar,and mantain some of sugar's role in baking
but with less calories.
When substituting this sweetener for sugar, consumer must substitute 'equal volume', not 'equal weight', because this sweetener is much lighter than sugar.
Do not contain sugars but have as main ingredient carbohydrates such as soluble fibers, xylitol, and rare sugars.
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SUGARS
aka Caloric Sweeteners
Four groups: (1) From plant saps (2) From cereals (4) From fruits (5) From milk.
Solids (granulated, crystals, powdered): > 90% sugars and about 15 calories per teaspoon.
Liquids (syrups and nectars): > 50% sugars and about 20 calories per teaspoon.
High GI.
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CANE SUGAR
Sold in unrefined, raw, and refined forms
Various crystal sizes and molasses content
CONCENTRATED SAPS
BEET SUGAR
Sold as refined sugar only.
The most common are granulated, brown and powdered sugar.
​Read Cane vs. Beet Sugar: A difference?​
Many granulated, powdered, and brown sugars in stores are blends of cane and beet sugar; learn why here.
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