Cooks can cut the calories but keep the flavor with the latest crop of sugar substitutes
by Julia Savacool
Sugar Substitutes Image
S ugar is in just about everything we eat and nearly everything we drink. Blamed by some for all manner of modern ills, it nonetheless has a long track record as a sweetener. Recorded uses stretch back at least as far as 500 B.C
headphone stand., when the ruler of then-Persia invaded India and discovered natives sweetening their food with a substance derived from sugar cane.
Over the centuries, kings have fought wars over lands rich in sugar, and chefs have created dessert masterpieces inspired by this single sweet ingredient. But in recent years, sugar's reputation has faltered. At 16 calories per single teaspoon, it is not kind to our waistlines. Considering the average American consumes no fewer than 76.7 pounds of sugar annually, according to the latest USDA figures, sugar has been condemned for its role in the current obesity crisis, not to mention diabetes and heart disease.
But food lovers recoil at the notion of a world without sweetness—how would we ice our cakes? Tame our coffee? Preserve our fruits?
Enter the artificial sweetener industry. Saccharin and aspartame, two of the original low-cal sugar substitutes, have been joined by a host of newer alternatives that promise that we can have our cake and reduce calories, too.
In the last decade, scientists have worked to perfect a formula that allows some sugar substitutes to retain their molecular structure when heated, so they won't lose their sweetness in cooking, whether in a homemade cake or savory sauce. These newer lab-created synthetics both taste and act like sugar, allowing consumers to swap them into recipes.
Though a true sweet tooth may detect some differences compared with sugar, these seven substitutes are reliable alternatives for people looking to cut back on calories, as many are marketed as 0 calorie sweeteners (the FDA considers any product with a nutritional value of 4 calories or less "0 calorie"). Each artificial sweetener is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, so be sure to follow the manufacturer's suggested substitutions for cooking and baking projects. Read on to see which sweeteners work best for your needs
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Sweetener: Saccharin
Trade name: Sweet'N Low
Bake-able? Saccharin, the oldest sugar substitute of the bunch, does not make the best cooking companion. If you use it, it's best to replace only part of the sugar called for in the recipe. Saccharin leaves a metallic aftertaste in baking, and a lumpy texture.
Relative sweetness: Approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar
Calories per teaspoon: 0
Substitutions: Sweet'N Low: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet or 1/2 teaspoon bulk Sweet'N Low; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets or 8 teaspoons bulk Sweet'N Low
Sweet fact: Saccharin was originally discovered in 1878, in a lab at Johns Hopkins University, by a chemist experimenting with coal tar derivatives. Who knew it would become the first low-cal way to sweeten a cup of joe?
Sweetener: Aspartame
Trade names: Equal, NutraSweet
Bake-able? No. Aspartame loses its sweetness in high heat, so sprinkle it only as a topper after cooking.
Relative sweetness: Approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar
Calories per teaspoon: 0
Substitutions: Equal: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet or 1 teaspoon Equal Spoonful/Granulated; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets or 1 cup Equal Spoonful/Granulated. NutraSweet: No substitution information available
Sweet fact: Aspartame was first discovered in 1965 by a scientist working on an anti-ulcer drug—he licked his finger and noted the sweet-tasting byproduct of his lab creation.
Sweetener: Acesulfame potassium (also called acesulfame-K)
Trade name: Sunett, Sweet One
Bake-able? This sugar sub, approved by the FDA in 1998, holds up well at high heat, so it's a good option for baking.
Relative sweetness: Approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar
Calories per teaspoon: 0
Substitutions: Sunett: No information available. Sweet One: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets
Sweet fact: Despite a slightly bitter aftertaste, this sweetener's ability to withstand heat has made it the go-to alternative in commercial baked goods. It can be found in 5,000-plus products sold in more than 100 countries around the world.
Sweetener: Neotame
Trade name: Neotame by NutraSweet
Bake-able? Yes. Neotame is resistant to heat and lacks the metallic aftertaste that plagues some artificial sweeteners, making it a favorite for commercial baking.
Relative sweetness: At least 8,000 times sweeter than sugar
Calories per teaspoon: 0
Substitutions: No information available
Sweet fact: A major appeal of Neotame is its cost-effectiveness in baking. It's one tenth the price of sugar
CoQ10, and the manufacturer advises that a tiny amount of Neotame can replace roughly a fourth of the sugar called for in a recipe without affecting taste or consistency. But you may have to wait to get your money's worth: This market newbie is not yet widely available to consumers.
Sweetener: Stevia
Trade name: Truvia, Pure Via, Stevia in the Raw
Bake-able? Yes, stevia is very heat-stable, so it can be swapped into most recipes. However, the compound does not caramelize the way sugar does, nor should it be used in meringues, as it does not brown or crystallize.
Relative sweetness: Approximately 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar
Calories per teaspoon: 0
Substitutions: Truvia: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet or 1/2 teaspoon Truvia Baking Blend; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets or 1/2 cup Truvia Baking Blend. Pure Via: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet or 1/4 teaspoon; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets or 12 teaspoons. Stevia in the Raw: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet or 1 teaspoon from Bakers Bag; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets or 1 cup from Bakers Bag.
Sweet fact: There are nearly 300 species of stevia plants, found primarily in Central and South America. For centuries, people there have used the leaves of stevia plants to sweeten coffee and tea (unprocessed leaves are about 30 times sweeter than sugar).
Sweetener: Sucralose
Trade name: Splenda
Bake-able? Yes. Sucralose will not break down at high temperatures, but be sure to buy the baking-formulated version. It includes low-calorie fillers that replace the bulk of sugar in recipes.
Relative sweetness: Approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar
Calories per teaspoon: 0
Substitutions: Splenda: 1 teaspoon sugar = 1/2 packet or 1/2 teaspoon Splenda Sugar Blend; 1 cup sugar = 24 packets or 1/2 cup Splenda Sugar Blend
Sweet fact: Though Splenda's manufacturer likes to claim this sweetener is created from sugar itself, it is a very, very distant cousin. In 1976, chemists discovered sucralose by replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms. Simply put, it is as different from the sugar in your pantry as your dog is from your cat—they both have four legs, but you'd never mistake one for the other!
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