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Sweeteners

Charles Robin

Charles Robin

Well-Known Member
Messages
572
Location
Southwest England
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
What sweeteners do people use to bake with? I just tried to make a meringue using Stevia from Holland and Barrett. To say it was a disaster is an understatement. The taste also seems quite bitter to me, and I just wondered if there were other readily available sugar substitutes acceptable for a low carb dessert.
 
I use total sweet to bake with, other name xylitiol, but still trying with others, not sure which is the best yet...
Sorry your baking did not work, good for you for trying though, we have to keep trying it's the only way Kat x
 
I posted about this yesterday and said the the chocolate brownies I made had an aftertaste and were not nice. I have tried supermarket versions of stevia and splenda and found both bitter. I will have a look for total sweet and give it a try
 
I have done some research, and think I may have to stick with the Stevia for now. Apparently a lot of powdered 'Low Carb' sweeteners add things like maltodextrin for bulk. When you look at the nutritional value, it often lists carbohydrate per 100g as almost 100. It may be that small quantities won't have much effect on my blood sugars, but if I can work out the right quantity of Stevia to use that will probably be best.

When I say my meringue was a disaster, perhaps I should elaborate. I was looking at a recipe that listed 3 egg whites and 175g of caster sugar. I tried hand whisking the eggs and adding a small amount of Stevia. After a while whisking, the mixture was not firming up. I thought to myself that it must be the lack of sugar, so I added a heap of Stevia. After a lot longer whisking, it still had not worked. My arm was hurting from whisking, and I thought what the hell, I'll put it in the oven and see what happens. Half an hour later, i had four small objects. They looked nothing like meringue, but did look a bit like Yorkshire puddings. As they looked edible, I decided to try one. You may not be surprised to hear that it was packed pretty much with pure concentrated Stevia. It took ten minutes, a large dollop of mayonnaise (All I had to hand) and all the water in England before I could stop retching. This is the part where you can all laugh at me, because I was a genuine idiot. However, I have now learned the dangers of going to the kitchen without due respect for your ingredients!
 
I have gone too far the other way now. Much more successful looking meringue, but only a hint of sweetener, can't taste the Stevia at all this time! Third time lucky I hope :)
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Charles Robin said:
Thanks, I will keep an eye out for it. I'll see if they have any in Morrissons, if not I will go a bit further and try holland and Barrett's.
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I think you need to look online, this stuff you can buy in regular food shops in Sweden but sooner or later it will come to UK.
 
modesty007 said:
I think you need to look online, this stuff you can buy in regular food shops in Sweden but sooner or later it will come to UK.
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Yeah I had a look on Amazon but it's quite expensive. I may still buy some in the near future though. I think one purchase would probably last me a long time. However, I'm actually finding I am getting used to Stevia. That means I need to be careful in my amounts if I cook for anyone else!
 
Splenda's the best. It's not a polyol so you won't get "tummy" upsets. You can bake with it too and it's as sweet as sugar on a per-volume (e.g. teaspoon) basis.
 
I think I will have to try some of these in small quantities and see what they do to my BS levels. I am worried because the powdered forms are often given bulk by adding things like Maltodextrin (another way of saying sugar). However, I am still very much in the 'experiment and see what works' stage, so a controlled amount may be ok!

I did have one question, probably aimed most at people using pure Stevia, but generally anyone who has moved to sweetener from sugar. Do you get used to it? I have been baking with Stevia for a few days now, and have gradually found my creations more enjoyable to eat. Admittedly I have improved massively in ability (moving from awful to below average :) ), but the amount of Stevia I have used has not really changed. However, my wife has eaten a lot less of my creations than I have, and she is complaining about the bitter aftertaste. The reason I ask is because I am having some friends over in a little over a week. I was going to make a low carb dinner, including an almond meal chocolate cake with Stevia. However, if I am the only one who will enjoy it because I am desensitised to the sweetener, I may have to rethink my approach and bake a full sugar dish for my nondiabetic friends.
 
SamJB said:
Splenda's the best. It's not a polyol so you won't get "tummy" upsets. You can bake with it too and it's as sweet as sugar on a per-volume (e.g. teaspoon) basis.
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Sorry to say I wouldn't touch sucralose if I don't have to, same for aspartame.
 
Charles Robin said:
What sweeteners do people use to bake with? I just tried to make a meringue using Stevia from Holland and Barrett. To say it was a disaster is an understatement. The taste also seems quite bitter to me, and I just wondered if there were other readily available sugar substitutes acceptable for a low carb dessert.
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My dietician told me that sweeteners trick your body some how and it appears to make your sugar levels worse.
 
I am not much into sweet stuff but have decided to use half sugar/half sweetener and have decided on erytriol for sweetener. It should work.

When it comes to meringues, the vital trick is to see that anything that touches the egg whites, bowl and whisk is absolutely free of any fat, or it won´t work, regardless of sugar or no sugar. So be very careful when separating the yolks and whites.

I suggest you use a little sugar at first, and add any sweetener last. And maybe aim for a bit less sweet than if you had used sugar, a substitute can only take you that far but not all the way.

Not that I am a master of meringues, far from it, but I can handle the stiff-beaten egg whites part.
 
Totto said:
I am not much into sweet stuff but have decided to use half sugar/half sweetener and have decided on erytriol for sweetener. It should work.

When it comes to meringues, the vital trick is to see that anything that touches the egg whites, bowl and whisk is absolutely free of any fat, or it won´t work, regardless of sugar or no sugar. So be very careful when separating the yolks and whites.

I suggest you use a little sugar at first, and add any sweetener last. And maybe aim for a bit less sweet than if you had used sugar, a substitute can only take you that far but not all the way.

Not that I am a master of meringues, far from it, but I can handle the stiff-beaten egg whites part.
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I have been perfecting my low carb chocolate cake, so I have given up on meringues for now. I managed to make some that look the part, I just can't make a low carb version that tastes the part. Erythritol would be great to try, but it seems really expensive. I might get some as a treat later on in the year though and try again! Thanks for the advice about fat, that makes a lot of sense now why my early attempts were such disasters.
 
Charles Robin said:
I have been perfecting my low carb chocolate cake, so I have given up on meringues for now. I managed to make some that look the part, I just can't make a low carb version that tastes the part. Erythritol would be great to try, but it seems really expensive. I might get some as a treat later on in the year though and try again! Thanks for the advice about fat, that makes a lot of sense now why my early attempts were such disasters.
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Can I have your chocolate recipe please? I use Stevia and English measurements so if its in this language even better :-)

Please can I have your chocolate cake recipe? Using English measurements and stevia if possible? Thanks :-)
 
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