Switching from sugar to a natural zero-calorie sweetener is a simple change for a pantry. However, the primary concern for most people are whether the zero-calorie sweeteners will behave the same way as the other popular zero-calorie sweetener, stevia. To understanding how to swap one sweetener for the other, you must first understand the ingredients of each of them and their flavors.
Only through understanding the differences between these two sweeteners can you use them correct in your kitchen. Stevia and monk fruit produce zero-calorie sweeteners that does not raise the blood sugar of the 摄入者. However, the processes by which they produce these zero-calorie sweeteners are slightly differently.
How to Swap Stevia and Monk Fruit in Recipes
People harvest and dry the leaves of the stevia plant to extract the steviol glycosides from the leaves. They dry the monk fruit itself in its entirety to extract the mogrosides from the fruit. Both sweeteners are often not sold in their pure form but in blends with other ingredients.
Most commonly, the sweeteners are blended with erythritol or inulin. Adding these ingredient ensures the volume and weight of the artificial sweetener are similar to the weight and volume of granulated sugar. For this reason, granulated stevia and monk fruit sweeteners can often be swapped for one another in most recipe.
The other forms of both sweeteners have different ingredients. The pure forms of both sweeteners contain no erythritol or inulin. These ingredients may last for weeks in powder form.
To make it easy to swap one sweetener for the other, the manufacturer produce drops of both sweeteners in liquid form. These drops will dissolve instantly in the liquid they are added to. Because both sweeteners are formulated to be as close to the sweetness of granulated sugar as possible, the drops can be easily swapped for one another.
However, keep in mind that the other forms of sweeteners, the granulated blends, cannot be used in the same amount than sugar. Pure extracts contain roughly 300 times the sweetness of sugar. Therefore, the sweeteners will taste extremely sweet if used in the same amount as sugar, so the measurement must be adjusted.
A measurement chart is available to make this easier. Stevia and monk fruit have some difference in flavor. The primary flavor the sweetener stevia can have is a bitter aftertaste and a licorice flavor.
Monk fruit is much more subtle, having a slightly fruity flavor. For these reasons, many people prefers monk fruit to sweetened beverages such as coffee and lemonade. While both sweeteners will have the same flavor in your food, monk fruit will have more acceptable flavor.
The third difference is in how they behave when baking. Since sugar contains air pockets and holds moisture, removing it from your baked goods can lead to cookies that spread too far on the baking sheet or cakes that does not hold together well. However, granulated stevia and monk fruit contain erythritol that help to mimic the effect of sugar.
However, if the recipe does not contain erythritol, using these sweeteners instead of sugar may require the addition of extra egg yolk or applesauce to your recipe. The pure extracts of both sweeteners will not provide any texture to your recipe. Therefore, they should only be used in the amount listed in the tiny measurements next to the pure extracts on the measurement chart.
If your recipe require alot of sugar, you should use a granulated sweetener instead of the pure extracts. Finally, both sweeteners come in liquid form. These drops will dissolve instantly in the liquids they are added to.
They come in dropper bottle for ease of adding them to your beverages. Because they are designed to contain the same amount of sweetness as sugar in liquid form, the drops of monk fruit and sweetener can be easily swapped for one another. Additionally, if the flavor of the sweetener is too bitter for your taste in your coffee, for example, you can simply change to use monk fruit liquid instead.
The cost of both sweeteners is similar. The granulated forms will last for years in dry jar. However, the liquid sweeteners will last the longest if stored in the refrigerator.
The pure powders will last longer than the granulated forms due to their higher concentration of sweeteners. Finally, people often store both sweeteners in their kitchens to use according to their need. For instance, people will use monk fruit if they want something with a more subtle flavor.
However, when other ingredients will mask the flavor of the sweetener, such as chocolate or citrus in a drink, they may choose to use the sweetener that has a bitter aftertaste. Since the granulated forms can be used in place of one another in the same amount in recipes, no new measurement need to be made when switching from one to the other. However, according to the chart, the specific measurements for each need to be found, and the individual can then choose which to use for which recipes based on the flavor of the foods being prepare.