Agave Nectar – A Natural Low Glycemic Alternative

In the last several years I’ve used agave primarily for most of my dessert recipes because of its low glycemic value. The glycemic index is a measurement for how a food impacts blood sugar levels. Foods with a glycemic index of under 55 typically are low glycemic foods. As an example, an apple has a glycemic index of 54 while 2 tablespoons of agave is 30. Foods with a higher glycemic index typically will have carbohydrates that the body converts quickly into sugar causing the sugar spike we are all familiar with. However, agave DOES have calories and carbohydrates. Caloric count is 16 calories per teaspoon, the same as table sugar.

The chemical composition of agave differs significantly from other sweeteners. Where table sugar is primarily sucrose, agave can contain up to 90% fructose, 10 % sucrose depending on where you source your agave. Agave grows in dry regions, notably Southern Mexico and resembles the aloe vera plant. There are several varieties available – light, amber and dark depending on the amount of heat used in syrup production. The variety to use will depending on how you want the final product to look – honey colored to a toasty brown shade.

Agave is typically 40% sweeter than sugar so for recipes you can use less. I have found that in substituting table sugar in baking, a 30% reduction is sufficiently sweet. So 1 cup of sugar will mean about 2/3 cup agave. Since agave adds moisture to your recipe, you may also have to cut your liquids in the recipe by ¼ or 25%. Because it browns quickly, reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees and increase your baking time slightly.

Some recipes will not lend itself well to agave substitutions as it may change the moisture content significantly enough to cause an unstable product. Meringues or meringue based products are particularly difficult as the agave tends to weep more than sugar. In these cases, you can do a hybrid mix of half sugar and half agave. You may need several tries to get your recipe as close to the original but you will find the substitution will work beautifully for a variety of recipes.