Agave sweetener or syrup

Okay, simple syrup has been the go-to for hundreds of years.

Agave sweetener has been seen as a great substitute for mezcal or tequila drinks.

I am going to go out on a limb and recommend that agave sweetener be used instead of simple syrup in a great many tiki drinks.

What it does to citric juice is incredible. It smoothes, brightens, and adds depth to my tiki drinks like no other sweetener.

Despite its name, it is fairly tasteless by itself. It is so much better than honey and way superior to simple syrup.

I you tried it?

I get Wholsome brand agave syrup at Costco mainly because it's low glycemic and sometimes I just want less dietary sugar in my life. I put it on pancakes as a pleasant replacement for the usual pancake syrup.

I haven't tried it in a cocktail yet but I can certainly see the possibilities. Infusing it with other flavors should be pretty easy.

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I will not substitute "fairly tasteless" agave syrup for honey. I wont do it. :)

Agreed, not a substitute for honey, but as a substitute for simple syrup? Absolutely.

However, not all agave syrup/nectar is the same. Some is extremely high in fructose (bad). Some have a much lower glycemic index than others (good).

Check out the chart on this page: http://www.globalgoods.com/agavenectar.html
I've used Volcanic Blue Agave Nectar from Global Goods for years now and I highly recommend it.

Hakalugi, I just bought some organic agave nectar by Milagro. I was going to make Margaritas with it. Is this basically the same stuff you are mentioning in this thread. It does say 100% natural sweetener on the label.

On 2010-08-10 18:37, hiltiki wrote:
Hakalugi, I just bought some organic agave nectar by Milagro. I was going to make Margaritas with it.

Hil, it is great with margaritas. Milagro Blanco (or do they call it silver) often has their agave syrup in the combo pack. Buy the tequila
get the syrup for free. :)

On 2010-08-10 18:37, hiltiki wrote:
Hakalugi, I just bought some organic agave nectar by Milagro. I was going to make Margaritas with it. Is this basically the same stuff you are mentioning in this thread. It does say 100% natural sweetener on the label.

I've used agave syrup for margaritas and it seems a fine substitute for simple syrup. As to "100% natural," I suppose they can say that even if additional cane or corn sugars are added, so long as no artificial sweetener is involved.

It all depends on the brand of nectar, not every one is as sweet as simple syrup. I've used Tres Agaves nectar and its flavor is too subtle to be noticed in a rum cocktail.

I get my agave sweetener from trader joe's. It is organic and contains no additives. The effect it has on my Mai Tai's is incredible.

On 2010-08-10 17:21, Mr. NoNaMe wrote:
I will not substitute "fairly tasteless" agave syrup for honey. I wont do it. :)

I use it in my Navy Grogs and find it to be an improvement. I note for the record that I also use Pimento Dram in them as well.

On 2010-08-10 18:37, hiltiki wrote:
Hakalugi, I just bought some organic agave nectar by Milagro. I was going to make Margaritas with it. Is this basically the same stuff you are mentioning in this thread. It does say 100% natural sweetener on the label.

Yes, same stuff...maybe. Tiki Zen and Shaun of the Tiki are right... check the ingredients. A decent Agave Nectar will not have cane or corn sugars added to it and the Tres Agaves stuff is watered down and has a preservative added to it. The Volcanic Blue Agave Nectar has no added cane or corn sugars.

Hopefull,
You might like to re-think your preferences with regard to sweeteners. Although the juice of the agave cactus is about half glucose and half fructose as it comes from the plant, it is refined to remove the glucose. “ ‘It's almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing,’ said Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, fellow of the American College of Nutrition and associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.” However, the dangers of fructose are well known, and agave nectar is almost 100% fructose. Fructose raises triglycerides, promotes belly fat, and contributes to fatty liver, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. It increases the formation of glycation end-products, which speed up the aging process.

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[ Edited by: JuliaKhanam 2010-08-23 07:39 ]

On 2010-08-20 03:37, JuliaKhanam wrote:
Hopefull,
You might like to re-think your preferences with regard to sweeteners. Although the juice of the agave cactus is about half glucose and half fructose as it comes from the plant, it is refined to remove the glucose. “ ‘It's almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing,’ said Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, fellow of the American College of Nutrition and associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.” However, the dangers of fructose are well known, and agave nectar is almost 100% fructose. Fructose raises triglycerides, promotes belly fat, and contributes to fatty liver, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. It increases the formation of glycation end-products, which speed up the aging process.

Not all Agave syrup is high in fructose. Read my post from above:

This part:

On 2010-08-10 18:07, Hakalugi wrote:
...
However, not all agave syrup/nectar is the same. Some is extremely high in fructose (bad). Some have a much lower glycemic index than others (good).

Check out the chart on this page: http://www.globalgoods.com/agavenectar.html
...