With the awareness of alternative sweeteners on the upswing, we're getting lots of inquiries about Fruit Sweet as of late. People are interested in its health benefits and how it compares to sugar or other alternative sweeteners.
Ann's article features the great work our good friends at Just Delicious Bakery and what they're doing to develop healthy, sugar-free baked goods using Fruit Sweet. Nanette Goin at Just Delicious explained to me why they prefer Fruit Sweet.
"It doesn't metabolize in the body like sugar --when it breaks down it won't cause a spike in blood sugar so it has a low glycemic index," she said. Plus, she said, "Fruit Sweet is a humectant," which is a ten dollar word we use that means it keeps foods fresh and moist.
Although Fruit Sweet has a low glycemic index, it is not considered a low calorie sweetener. However, it does out perform traditional refined sugar, honey and even agave nectar. Fruit Sweet contains about 42 calories per tablespoon or 280 calories per 100 grams. Sugar contains about 48 calories per tablespoon or about 385 calories per 100 grams. Honey is considerably more calories than both sugar and Fruit Sweet at about 64 calories per tablespoon. Three Fat Chicks on a Diet informs us that the alternative sweetener agave nectar is in that same ballpark with around 60 calories per tablespoon.
Also, because Fruit Sweet is sweeter than honey and sugar, less is needed to achieve the same degree of sweetness. In general, the benefit of using an alternative sweetener such as Fruit Sweet is that a little goes a long was (like our Fudge!) Recipes calling for sugar can be modified using 2/3 of a cup of Fruit Sweet per cup of sugar. Other liquid ingredients should be reduced by 1/3 of the amount of Fruit Sweet used.
Fruit Sweet Nutrition Information
Serving Size - 1 Tbsp
Total fat - 0 g.
Cholesterol - 0 mg.
Sodium - 1 g.
Total Carbohydrate - 10.5 g
Fiber - 0 mg.
Calories - 42
Sugars - 10 g.
Potassium - 95 mg.
Protein - 0 g.
