Baking with Less Sugar Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    10. Other dried fruits. Raisins, apples, apricots, peaches, prunes, and pears are all accessible dried fruits that offer a concentrated natural sugar source. I chop and add them to batters and cookies to give a hit of sweetness to the final product. Store dried fruits in airtight containers at cool room temperature for up to 6 months or in the refrigerator for up to 1 year.
    11. Agave nectar. Agave is a sweetener that comes from the agave plant (the same plant that gives us tequila). In its purest form, when it is derived from the sap of the agave and boiled down to concentrate the sweetness, it is similar to maple syrup. However, what is commercially available to us is not as natural as you might think. The process by which the agave plant is converted to create nectar is similar to that used to create high-fructose corn syrup. So while it is a sugar alternative darling for some, it turns out that most agave nectars contain the same amount of refined fructose as that found in high-fructose corn syrup.
    12. Stevia. This South American herb has been used as a sweetener for centuries in many countries. It was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a low-calorie sweetener substitute here in the United States. It has zero calories, its glycemic index is zero, and it is extremely sweet, so you don’t need very much to sweeten your coffee or tea. It does not act like sugar in baking, so it is best used to sweeten fruits, cereals, and frozen treats.
    13. Coconut and coconut milk. Unsweetened coconut and unsweetened coconut milk both have a natural sweetness that I love for baking and cooking. Unsweetened shredded or grated coconut has a much chewier texture than the fluffy white sweetened stuff you are used to seeing on the grocery shelves. It’s not quite as easy to add to cookies if you are expecting that soft chewy texture coconut typically brings to a cookie or cake; however, using a little bit for flavor makes non-sugar desserts subtly sweet. Unsweetened coconut milk is rich and creamy and faintly sweet. Use it in puddings and ice creams and as a substitute for whole milk in baked goods.
    14. Bananas. All fruits are sweet but because of their starch-like, non-juicy texture, bananas are especially valuable as a sugar substitute when baking. Super-ripe bananas that have turned black on the outside and are soft and mushy inside are so full of natural sugars that when you freeze them, they don’t freeze solid because of all their sugar content. They even lower the freezing point of frozen desserts (see page 18) . We use this to our advantage to make a few creamy frozen treats in the Fruit Is Sweet chapter. Store bananas in a cool, dry place and wait until they are mottled with black before you use them to bake. If you can’t use them right away, peel them and store in an airtight container in the freezer until you are ready to use.
    15. Fresh fruit. Incorporating fresh or quick- frozen fruit to certain batters and doughs lends sweetness to these treats, allowing you to minimize the amount of added sugar. It should go without saying, but you want to only use ripe, sweet fruit when baking to maximize flavor. Fruits that I love to bake with include apples, pears, all berries, and stone fruits like peaches, plums, nectarines, and cherries. Melons and grapes are wonderfully sweet as well and can be made into refreshing sorbets, smoothies, and fruit soups.
    16. Coconut sugar or coconut palm sugar. This sugar substitute is derived from the sap of young cut flower buds of the coconut palm tree that will eventually become coconuts. It tastes a little bit like light brown sugar and can be substituted one to one for brown or white sugar in baking. I don’t use coconut sugar here as I tried to stick to substitutes that you can find in any standard grocery store, but you can buy it online very easily.

CHAPTER ONE
REDUCING WHITE SUGAR
    Cutting out white sugar from your diet cold turkey