Another Look at Agave Nectar

People often ask me about agave nectar. They wonder if I use it, if I like it, and what I think of it. If they see me use honey in cooking classes, they wonder why I’m not using agave nectar. If they’ve seen my Ice Dream Cookbook they notice that the recipes list both honey and agave nectar as options. This usually leads to more questions.

Then vs. now
In the first edition of The Ice Dream Cookbook, I included agave nectar as an optional sweetener. Based on information that has since come to light, I can no longer endorse its use in my recipes.

Vendors tout agave nectar as a low-glycemic sweetener leading consumers to believe that it can be used freely without side effects. People like that agave syrup dissolves readily into hot and cold liquids and that it doesn’t crystallize over time (like honey), making it easier to pour and measure. Some people prefer the bland, indistinct, consistent flavor of agave compared to the more pronounced flavor of honey.

I was aware that agave’s low-glycemic index came from its high fructose (82%), low glucose (8%) composition and that consuming large amounts of any free (unbound) fructose isolated from its whole food components was undesirable. Still, I decided to suggest it as an alternative to honey for strict vegans who avoid honey because it is an animal (bee) product.

The glycemic index in context
The glycemic index measures how fast the sugars from a given food enter the blood stream. Agave nectar has been advertised as having a glycemic index between 11 and 32, depending on whether glucose or white bread is used as the standard. Honey usually has a glycemic index of 55 or 83, depending upon the reference used. However, the glycemic index of a sweetener has less relevance than the type and total load of carbohydrate you ingest. Agave’s high fructose content gives it a low glycemic index, but at a cost.

The new sweetener on the block
Like many people, I didn’t know enough about agave. It was relatively new and there wasn’t much third party information available about how it was made and how it differed from the rustic agave juice traditionally harvested on a small scale in Mexico.

Another name for high fructose corn syrup
It turns out that agave nectar (code name for agave syrup—nectar sounds so much more natural, doesn’t it?) and high-fructose corn syrup are made in a similar fashion. Agave syrup is produced from the starch of the agave plant just as high-fructose corn syrup is manufactured from the starch of corn. When the agave plant is 7 to 10 years old, the leaves are cut off revealing the core of the plant which is called the “pina”. When harvested, the pina resembles a giant pineapple and can weigh 50 to 100 pounds. To make nectar, the sap is extracted from the pina; it is filtered and then heated at a low temperature along with enzymes that reduce the carbohydrates into simple sugars—mostly fructose with a small amount of glucose.

The dark side of free fructose
The human body is unable to readily use isolated fructose for energy, so it rapidly transforms the fructose into triglycerides (fat in the blood). Consuming large amounts of isolated fructose can lead to high triglycerides and/or excess body fat. Modern agave nectar (syrup) contains higher levels of free synthetic fructose than most varieties of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

The downside of agave
Although agave nectar does not stimulate the pancrease to release insulin, over time, due it its high fructose content, it can lead to the same problems that a high carbohydrate and/or high sugar diet creates: insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, increased triglycerides, systemic inflammation, heart disease, obesity, and other diseases  of modern civilization.

Sweet revision
In revising The Ice Dream Cookbook in preparation for creating an e-book vand a reprint of the hard copy sometime in 2010, I have removed agave nectar from the recipes. If you follow a strict vegan diet, consider using sorghum syrup (lighter sorghum has a milder flavor than dark, molasses-flavored sorghum) or slightly more maple syrup. Sorghum syrup is widely available in the midwest. If you don’t live there, you’ll probably have to order it on line.

To learn more about agave's drawbacks
To read more about the problems with agave nectar, refer to an article on the The Weston A Price Website entitled “Worse Than We Thought: The Lowdown on High Fructose Corn Syrup and Agave ‘Nectar’”.

Special thanks
My editor, Marilyn Glidewell, and my dear friend, Don Matesz, helped me with the revisions of the agave text in preparation for the revised edition of my book and the forthcoming e-book.

Replacing agave with honey is easy
If a recipe calls for 1 cup of agave nectar, you can replace it with an equal amount ofmild flavor, use a light colored honey rather than a dark brown honey. Clover, citrus, and cat’s claw honey will taste more mild than buckwheat or mesquite honey.

In some recipes I cut the sweetener back for a less sugary, less sweet flavor. For example, in this amazing gluten-free, grain-free, flourless Chocolate Chip Brownie recipe from Elana’s pantry, the recipe called for 1 1/4 cups honey or agave nectar. My friend Heather sent me the recipe and said she made it using only 1 cup honey and it came out fabulous. I followed her suggestion, loved it, and have since made it a few times and shared it with people into natural foods, people into paleo diet, the Zone diet, and people accustomed to conventional brownies made with sugar and white flour and they all enjoyed the recipe.

Why I use two sweeteners together
My preference with most desserts is to use a combination of honey and stevia or honey, stevia, and dried dates to reduce the total amount of sugar calories. Although I think honey is preferable to and healthier than agave nectar, high fructose corn syrup, cane juice or refined sugar, it still provides calories without significant amounts of macro or micronutrients; so I strive to use as little of it as possible while still creating a pleasant flavor, texture, and eating experience.

You can see a similar but lower sugar grain-free, gluten-free Flourless Brownie recipe from The Spunky Coconut blog that uses honey combined with stevia (the ideal). I made this recipe and thought it came out great! You’ll see dozens of examples of how to do this in my Ice Dream Cookbook along with the chart in the front of the book that walks you through converting recipes from sugar to stevia and from other liquid sweeteners to a mix of honey and stevia.

Comments

[Cathy Payne]

Thanks for clarifying this, Rachel. BTW, Jon and I just finished dining on the Chinese Duck recipe you posted recently. It was fantastic! Just like eating in a good Chinese recipe. The house still smells amazing, and we get to enjoy leftover duck and duck fat for a few more days. Thanks for sharing!

[Linda]

Hi Rachel,

I *love* your blog and look forward to getting your cookbooks. Thanks for the info about agave nectar. I was wondering what you thought of using palm sugar; they say it's low glycemic. I'm not so sure about that as it seems very sweet but it's not refined and can be substituted in a 1:1 ratio with sugar.

Linda

[Chef Rachel]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for commenting on my blog. I think palm sugar is probably a better choice than agave nectar because it is far less refined. I have only used it a few times. It is easy to use as you say.

I still think it's wise to use it sparingly and/or infrequently. If you can combine it with stevia or dried fruit in recipes to reduce the amount you need, that would be another idea.

I hope you will subscribe to my blog so you receive updates as I post new material!

Keep on cooking and commenting!

Rachel

[emily]

Thank you for this good information. I am a fan of your work, and I was wondering if you still endorsed the use of agave. What do you think about maple syrup? It is readily available in my area.

[Linda]

Hi again, Rachel,

I used the palm sugar in a gluten free gingerbread recipe and I would have liked to combine it with stevia but I was afraid to do so. I've heard that in gluten free baking you want to be careful about substituting, especially if you're not used to it, such as myself. So I wanted to ask what have been your experiences with doing this. Can I use half palm sugar and stevia or would the recipe come out too dry?
Also, what do you think of xylitol?

Thanks again for your wonderful blog! I've been a subscriber for a few months now.

Linda

[Chef Rachel]

Hi Emily,

I think maple syrup is a good sweetener, traditional, minimally processed, and wholesome. I use it occasionally. If I lived where it's produced I would use it more than I do now. Since I can get an abundance of raw, local honey from my state (Arizona) and a neighboring state (New Mexico) that's very reasonably priced, I mainly use honey combined with stevia.

I suggest using honey or maple syrup in conjunction with stevia so you can reduce the amount of sugar grams and sugar calories bu 30 to 50% without compromising the flavor or texture. My Ice Dream Cookbook offers a chart, suggestions, and model recipes to teach you how to do this, including how to convert fro sugar to honey and stevia.

[Chef Rachel]

Hi Linda,

Great question. I've made more gluten free recipes than I can count using honey, honey and stevia, or honey, dates, and stevia to replace white sugar and/or brown sugar.

I've only used palm sugar a few times. Whether it comes out dry would depend upon whether the original recipe called for a dry or liquid sweetener. If it called for a liquid sweetener, you'd have to change the amount of sweetener you use. e.g., 1 cup sugar has the sweetening power of 3/4 cup honey or agave nectar.

As noted in my reply to Emily, above, my Ice Dream Cookbook contains a chart detailing exactly how much honey or stevia to use to replace sugar in recipes. I include a lot of tips for adjusting recipes in the book.

Combining palm sugar (or date sugar) with stevia shouldn't make a recipe dry if the original recipe called for a dry sweetener, because you'd be adding such a minute amount of stevia to compliment the palm sugar. If the original recipe called for a liquid sweetener, to use palm sugar you'd need to use a larger amount of palm sugar and you'd have to add some additional liquid to the recipe.

Stevia is 100 to 300x as sweet as sugar so you don't use it in the same amount as sugar. Still you might have to make the recipes a few times to get it just the way you want it. DO MEASURE and write down what you do so you can repeat your successes.

I've used xlitol but it often leaves a cold taste on the tongue and can leave an aftertaste if its the only sweetener in a recipe. Combined with a little stevia and/or honey, I think it works better. Some people get gassy or bloated from xylitol from the indigestible sugars. It's not my favorite sweetener.

I plan to experiment more w/palm sugar so keep reading and I'll post a bit about my results and tips for using it.

Thanks again for following my blog,
Rachel

[Linda]

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for elaborating on this. Your suggestions are very helpful. I'm just learning how to bake gluten free and look forward to the challenge of incorporating alternative sweeteners in my recipes.
As for xylitol, I think I will steer clear of that. It sounds tricky to use.
I look forward to more of your blog posts!

Linda

[Traci]

Hi Rachel,
Thanks for the update! I recently shared some of your recipes w/ in-laws in MN which listed agave as an option so I will be sure to forward this article to her...and remove it from our shelves!
BTW...just tried brussel sprouts for the first time last week. It took me a while, but my husband, myself AND our 4 children loved them made according to your recipe in The Garden of Eating! THANKS SO MUCH FOR HEALTHY FOOD DONE RIGHT!

[Charmaine]

Hi Rachel,
I'm new to Elana's Pantry blog and now to yours. :-)

I've noticed the question of palm sugar and wanted to let you know that I've been using a "Coconut Palm Sugar Syrup" recipe that someone posted on Elana's forum, in place of the agave nectar called for in her recipes, and have had great results using that as a substitute.

Now, I don't know what agave tastes like, so I have no way to compare the sweetness to the palm sugar syrup I've been using. I have always reduced the amount of sugar called for in recipes, but so far, in baking a few recipes out of her new cookbook, whatever amount of agave Elana calls for, I have been using equal amounts of the palm sugar syrup and have not found it to be overly sweet. I still may experiment with using a little less, but I feel that might not be necessary.

I would love to get your opinion on the use of the palm sugar syrup if you end up trying it, so I'll post the simple recipe right here in case you're interested. I look forward to visiting your blog frequently!

Coconut Palm Sugar Syrup

Capture the caramelized, butterscotch flavor of coconut palm sugar for a simple treat next time you make pancakes or waffles. This also works as a sweetening boost to your favorite cocktail!

* 1 ½ cups palm sugar
* ½ cup water.

1. To make the syrup, bring the coconut palm sugar and water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stop stirring and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 3 minutes. Keep warm if to be used immediately. Or, let it cool and keep refrigerated to use later on.

[Chef Rachel]

Hi Charmaine,

I've only begun experimenting w/palm sugar and haven't used it much, yet. I find it less sweet than sugar (cup for cup), which is a good thing. I like that it's less refined than sugar and agave nectar. I have never tried making it into a syrup. That's a great idea. I will try it and let you know what I think. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. I look forward to reading more of your ideas and to sharing more recipes with you.

Sincerely,

Chef Rachel

[Shanda]

I noticed that you are revising your Ice Dream cookbook. I am very interested in purchasing the revised edition. When will it be available?

Thanks,
Shanda

Hi Shanda,
The only change I am making is to remove agave nectar from the recipes (it was an option listed along with honey) and explain in the front section why. I am also having the indexer correct a few errors in the index. I"m not changing anything else.

If you wait for that edition it could be many moons. I need to sell another 800 or so copies before I reprint. I encourage you to buy the current one so you can start enjoying the recipes.

I appreciate your support,
Chef Rachel

[Dale Stoufer]

Thanks for the tip at Dr. Jason's office the other day Rachel about agave. I won't be using agave anymore. I was nice meeting you again.

[Calli]

Thank you for addressing this. Mainstream consumers think this is some miracle "nectar." Your post did a great job of clearing the air :)

Thanks, Calli! I appreciate you following my blog.

Chef Rachel

[Rebecca]

Hi Rachel,

I loved your Ice Dream Cookbook and bought it for several family members for Christmas last year. I was excited when I found your web site and blog and have subscribed via email. I wanted to ask for your input on two sweeteners I am using in addition to Stevia, Honey, and Yacon Syrup. They are Fructevia and Lakanto. Can you tell me if you have any concerns about them? I have been using them for a while. I have stopped using agave and recently started trying Yacon Syrup to replace molasses. Any thoughts on that? I am considering Coconut Nectar also. If you have any suggestions on other sweeteners and any concerns about Fructevia, Lakanto, or even Yacon Syrup, I would be most grateful.

Thank you so much!
Rebecca

[Parshant]

I've never used agave just because it's so eevxnsipe, but I was surprised when I heard about the controversy around it. I thought it was similar to honey! I wouldn't go out of my way to buy or eat it, but I wouldn't worry if it's an ingredient in something I buy. Besides, I'd much prefer maple syrup!