Food Fundamentals - Natural Sweeteners - Agave Nectar

There are a lot of different sweeteners available and in a series of short posts, I'll cover some of the lesser known stars. Let's start with one of my personal favorites, agave nectar.

Agave nectar is produced from the agave plant - the same plant tequila happens to come from. However, agave nectar is nothing like tequila. Agave nectar has a very mild flavor - it tastes more like simple syrup than anything else. The amber version has a bit more depth of flavor, but if you're looking for a great all purpose sweetener, agave nectar may just fill the bill.

Since it's in liquid form, it's really good for sweetening cold liquids, but it's suitable for use in just about any application that requires a sweetener (you may have to adjust baking recipes to account for the liquidity and viscosity of the sweetener).

What's remarkable about agave nectar is that it's mild flavor is similar to table sugar but it has a very low glycemic index - meaning that it won't tweak your blood sugar like regular sugar (or many other sweeteners) will. In fact, agave nectar is considered suitable for most diabetics because of its uniquely low glycemic index.

So, discover agave nectar - for your morning coffee, a bowl of cereal, a refreshing glass of iced tea or lemonade - or anything else you might want to sweeten.

Here's a links to organic agave nectar products on shopOrganic.com:
Madhava Organic Light Amber Agave Nectar

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar

Madhava Organic Light Amber Agave Nectar gallon

Madhava Organic Dark Amber Agave Nectar gallon

Enjoy!