Agave Nectar vs. Sugar

jaj68
jaj68 Posts: 158 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone, I was looking through some recipes for healthy eating and one of the ingredients I saw over and over was Agave Nectar. I bought some today, both light and amber. My thought was that this would be a great replacement for sugar, especially since I love to bake.
Today reading the label, I noticed it has 60 calories per Tablespoon. Sugar has 45 calories per Tablespoon. That kind of surprised me!:huh: I know it is better for maintaining insulin levels, but has anyone else used it? I thought I was making a good choice, and now I am not so sure.

Replies

  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Are you diabetic? If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Either is fine in moderation, like everything else.
  • djnusch
    djnusch Posts: 19 Member
    My understanding from a cook book I just read is that it is sweater then suger so you need a lot less of it. So the inital Calories is higher, but since you are using less of it you cut down on Calories in the stuff you are making.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    Its a liquid so its denser than sugar therefore more calories.
    I have added it to baking recipes and found the flavor was completely lost.
    I have added it to drink recipes(cocktails) and enjoyed it.
  • Cinnamonhuskies
    Cinnamonhuskies Posts: 78 Member
    I had that same question! I like it because it is similar to honey, but was disappointed to find it has that many calories in it. Guess i'll stick to Stevia for now.
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    It does have more calories, but it is sweeter, so you would use less than white sugar. When you search for recipes, note that you are using agave and you'll find ones that show the amount to subsitute for sugar.
  • kdbrown9
    kdbrown9 Posts: 2 Member
    Believe it or not, the sugar is actually better for you. Agave nectar is processed similarly to HFC, so it is actually very high in fructose and digests quickly like HFC. You are better to go with Stevia, which is all natural (or sugar, if you just use less). It's a pretty common misconception that Agave Nectar is "healthy" as it's really not.
  • djnusch
    djnusch Posts: 19 Member
    This is what I found for the coversion between suger and Nectar
    Maintain a ratio of 2/3 of a cup of agave to 1 cup of sugar
  • jaj68
    jaj68 Posts: 158 Member
    hmmm. So sugar does seem to weigh out. I am not diabetic, but I really thought it would be a healthier choice. Oh well, I have two bottles.....I'll try the Agave Nectar Chocolate Chip cookies and see if I throw them out or not. I found them on the website of the company that produced the stuff I bought.
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    If you don't want to *chance* it in a baking recipe, try it in homemade lemonade. That's what I use it for, only because it seems to dissolve better than granulated sugar.

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