Category Archives: sweeteners

National Honey Month

September is National Honey Month. That sweet, drippy, delicious treat. Honey comes in many different flavors depending on where the bees collected the nectar. Monofloral honey such as orange blossom, tupelo, buckwheat or clover may be more expensive due to the difficulty of limiting the bees access.

While there are lots of different ways to use honey, one popular usage at this time of year is to make Honey Cake. This dessert is typically served for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. This year the holiday starts at sundown on Sunday, September 16.

Honey is often seen as a healthier alternative to sugar although it is important to note that it is still a sweetener, is fairly high in fructose (approximately 38%), and should be consumed in moderation.

Raw, local honey is considered by many to be the best form. Raw honey is not heated or pasteurized, therefore the enzymes remain intact. It is also considered more desirable by those who have allergies as it appears to be helpful in reducing allergic symptoms and chronic sinusitis. Local honey has regional pollens in it making it beneficial for helping with local pollen allergies. One new study even suggests that honey has potential as an additional therapy for “the management of chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress.”

photo: akarlovic

Making Maple Syrup

by Mirasweeteners

This is a guest post from my friend Becky S. who lives in the northeast. One day she happened to mention making maple syrup with the kids. Definitely a cool learning experience for anyone but especially exciting when it comes from your very own trees. She and her kids had a great time and she agreed to share the story of their first-time sugaring.

Although maple syrup is a form of sugar, if it's the real stuff, it has some modest added mineral benefits as well. One tablespoon provides some zinc and a whopping 33% of your daily requirement for manganese (important for bone health, nerve health, blood sugar stability, and thyroid function). Definitely a better choice than the fake, flavored syrup so many people tend to substitute for the real thing.

Here's Becky's story:

Liquid Gold

Five or six years ago, we took our children to a local Maple Sugaring Fest. We were told the charming story of how the Native Americans discovered syrup, boiling it in hollowed logs by dropping hot stones into the sap. When we stepped inside the sugar shack, we were engulfed by steam. We got to see the sap being boiled down in large vats. It was at that point, while receiving my first maple-scented facial, that I became determined to someday make my own syrup from the trees in our backyard. There really is something quite amazing about boiling the bejeebies out of “water” from a tree to create sweet, amber goodness that my children delight in pouring over hot pancakes.

Two weeks ago, perhaps in an attempt to avoid spring cleaning the house, I found myself googling “How to Tap Maple Trees” and discovered Tapmytrees.com which told me everything I needed to get started. Apparently, there was no time to spare. In case you haven’t noticed, it has been a tad warm lately; not exactly the right conditions for tapping trees. In our case, a little ignorance was pure bliss…or should I say “pure syrup.” Here's what we learned from the experience and what we will do differently next year…because there WILL be a next year!

Helpful things to know

1. Are you actually tapping a maple tree? Thank goodness for my “Local Flora” class in college. We tapped Norway Maples. Mark your trees during the summer when their leaves are easier to identify.

2. A Spile is the metal tap that goes into the tree from which the sap drips. I found a kit with spiles and hooks at our local Agway.

3. Drill the tap holes underneath large limbs. The sap will run much better in that location.

4. Sap is sweet. Bugs and little fuzzy critters really like the way it tastes. Be prepared to greet guests in your buckets if you are not using lids. (Ewwwwww)

5. Keep a cheese cloth handy when collecting the sap so you can filter out unwanted guests. (Ewwwww again)

6. Have a cold place to keep the sap until you are ready to boil. It must stay cold or it will get rancid. We stored ours in 1-gal covered containers, surrounded by ice in keg buckets.

What not to do

1. Do not use a concrete drill bit on maple trees…or any tree, for that matter. It takes FOREVER to drill the 2.5” hole for the spile, using up the battery on your cordless drill and turning the wood into putty. Invest in a regular 7/16” drill bit. They’re about $8 at Home Depot. Better yet, call your neighbor to borrow his.

2. Do not think tin foil will be an adequate cover for the sap buckets. Trust me, it’s not. (Read #4 above). Clean, sterilized gallon milk jugs are a great alternative to buckets.

3. Do not wait too long to try tapping. Keep an eye on the weather and the maple syrup blogs. Ideally, the temps should go below freezing at night and above during the day.

So, you’re wondering how it all turned out?

We managed to collect 10 gallons of sap in a day and a half from 7 taps. We boiled it outside (a must!) on a propane turkey burner for approximately 8-9 hours (divided over 2 days). Our final product: one quart of syrup that we affectionately refer to as “Liquid Gold.”

It is delicious!

Next year we are going for a full gallon!

all photos courtesy of Becky S.

Hidden Sugars, Diabetes, And Glycemic Index

by Mirasweetenerssugar

A community member asked, “Can you share about hidden sugars in foods? And their various names? I have a diabetic in the family and get very frustrated trying to cut back on the sugars."

Sugar is a very tricky ingredient in our food supply. Manufacturers want to include it because we are predisposed to like sweet foods. However, unfortunately, this often means that sugars are added to things that don't need them, leaving us with a higher sugar intake and, often, a misguided palate when it comes to understanding what our food should taste like.

Common examples include adding sugar to things with fruit in them, such as applesauce, or adding sugar to things that don't really require it, such as ketchup.

One way to identify how much sugar is in a particular food is to look at the label. The sugar grams are listed as part of the nutrition facts. Obviously, you want to look for lower numbers in that category. Identifying how much sugar is in something does not however identify how many sugars or what they are.

One trick that manufacturers use to manipulate the ingredient list is using multiple sources of sugars. Because most of us know that the higher up on the ingredient list the more of that ingredient is in the package, manufacturers don't want any form of sugar as the first ingredient. So they split the sugars up by using a little fructose here, honey there, glucose at the end. This makes it very important to know the names of the various sugars.

Sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup, molasses, and barley malt, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and fruit juice concentrates are all forms of sugar that are fairly simple to identify by name. Sugar itself is processed into different forms from the lowest process, sucanat (which stands for SUgar CAne NATural) to the most highly processed white, or table, sugar. In between are turbinado, muscovado, demerara, evaporated cane juice crystals, and date sugar. It's important to know that in this country the majority of brown sugar is nothing more than highly refined white sugar with a little molasses added for color and moisture. It's also important to know that if you are feeding a vegetarian or a vegan, many of them will not eat white sugar as it is typically processed through bone char.

For other forms of sugar, it's important to understand that when processed, in most cases the sugar molecule is identified by the ending -ose. This includes fructose, lactose, glucose, dextrose, etc. Sugar alcohols, which do not have as much effect on blood sugar and insulin levels, primarily end in -ol. Examples would be sorbitol, mannitol, erythritol, xylitol, and others. Isomalt is the only sugar alcohol that does not follow that rule. I am not strictly opposed to sugar alcohols (unlike artificial sweeteners) however, because they are processed and can have a laxative effect if ingested in excess (or if you have a sensitive system), I feel that they should be used with caution and in moderation.

Many people with blood sugar instability who try to limit their sugar intake rely on artificial sweeteners. Listing both their common and chemical names, these are splenda, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium, saccharine, nutrasweet, aspartame, and sweet-n-low. These are not healthy choices. Although they have zero calories they may to be carcinogenic or have the potential for other negative health effects.

There is another sweetener choice which is stevia. Made from a plant it is 300 times sweeter than sugar, has zero calories, and is considered a good choice for those who have blood sugar issues as it does not raise blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, there are now several chemical analogs available, purevia and truvia. These are not stevia, instead they are laboratory created versions of stevia, and should be considered an artificial sweetener and avoided as much as possible.

There’s a new sweetener on the market which is rather deceptive. Marketed by Tate & Lyle this new sweetener is called Allulose. It’s a low calorie sweetener which seems to be taking over the alternative sweetener space. Although it can be found in minute amounts in foods such as raisins, figs, and wheat, in it’s highly processed form you can be consuming too much of it. Unfortunately because it's not fully metabolized by the body (not a good thing in spite of marketing to the contrary), the FDA has decided that Allulose does not need to be included on the nutrition panel under the total sugars. That means the only way to know if you’re consuming it is to read the ingredient panel.

Allulose can be difficult for many people to process has the potential to cause significant digestive issues, and has been shown to alter the microbiome. One study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found, “Certain bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumonia are able to utilise allulose as a substrate. This finding has been a subject of concern, since Klebsiella pneumoniae represents an opportunistic human pathogen. It therefore raised the question of whether a high dietary intake of allulose may cause an undesirable growth advantage for potentially harmful bacteria at mucosal sites such as the intestine."

The naming of this ingredient is unfortunate as many people equate the -ose ending with “safe” or “natural” sugars. In this case, as mentioned above, the amounts created for commercial use may be challenging for the gut. This sweetener, unfortunately, is the exception to the -ose rule.

I do not recommend you consume Allulose.

Managing Blood Sugar

When managing blood sugar for those who have diabetes there are several guidelines to follow:

choose natural, low process sugars in moderation
if you are going to consume sugar spread it out throughout the day rather than "saving" it all for a big dessert or other treat
when consuming sugars make sure that you are also getting some protein to help balance the effect of the sugars in your system
eating smaller meals more often, every 2 1/2-3 hours is often helpful for many people to keep a more stable blood sugar
get protein at every meal
reduce simple carbohydrates, white flour products, white pasta, white rice, these are easily broken down by the body to sugars
reduce alcohol consumption, this is easily converted by the body
eat foods lower on the glycemic index*
if you are overweight losing weight can help with blood sugar management
staying physically active is also important
don't ignore your blood sugar, if necessary work with a doctor or nutrition professional to help you properly manage your blood sugar levels**

*The Glycemic Index is how much sugar foods have in them. The more processed a food is the higher its glycemic load. An example would be:

apples - glycemic index 38 - low
applesauce (unsweetened) - glycemic index 53 - medium

** Typical blood sugar levels (for non-diabetics) are considered to be:

fasting (before a meal) - less than 83 mg/dl
post-prandial (after eating) - less than 100 mg/dl 1-2 hours after eating

Learn More on Sugar: The Special Report

Dive into the eye-opening world of sugar with "Sugar: The Special Report". Discover the hidden dangers of excessive sugar and other sweeteners lurking in processed foods. Gain insights into the health impacts of sugar on chronic diseases and uncover simple steps to make healthier choices.

Whether you're looking to improve your diet or better understand the effects of sugar on your health, this eBook is a must-read. Get your copy now and take control of your sugar intake for a healthier, happier life!

Protecting Your Teeth

by Miraquestions, sweeteners

Keep your teeth | photo: Bamagirl

I was recently talking with someone who was concerned about her young son. He apparently has weak dental enamel and has developed a cavity at a very young age. Because he was born with weak enamel she wanted to know if there was anything that she could do nutritionally to help his teeth. I am certainly not a Dentist and highly recommend that if you or someone you know has dental problems that you get it checked out.

That said there are a few important things that you can do to protect your teeth, especially if you have weak enamel. Here are five tips to help your teeth stay healthy:

1. Make sure you have regular dental check-ups and cleanings. Obviously the Dentist and Hygienist see your mouth from a totally different angle and can let you know if there are problems forming. Additionally it's important to brush and floss daily. I know we all know this, but it bears repeating since children frequently don't seem to think it's as important. It really is and is one of the best simple things that you can do to help protect your teeth.

2. It's also important to eat foods that have fiber or that require us to bite and chew. We are designed that way. If we eat soft foods most of the time we are not using our teeth the way they are meant to be used. The soft foods are frequently higher in carbs and sugar which can leave behind a plaque which then feeds the bacteria in our mouths leading to dental decay.

3. Make sure you are drinking enough fluids. Staying well hydrated keeps your gum tissues hydrated and can help them stay healthy. Healthy gums can help keep your teeth healthy.

4. Xylitol is known to be very protective of tooth enamel and can be very helpful in re-mineralizing enamel. One study published in 2003 concluded “These results indicate that xylitol can induce remineralization of deeper layers of demineralized enamel.” A 2009 study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine noted, “Xylitol oral syrup administered topically 2or 3 times daily at a total daily dose of 8 g was effectivein preventing early childhood caries.”

Xylitol is easy to add to the diet. As an alternative sweetener it is a far better choice than any of the artificial sweeteners. Made from either corn or birch it is actually a sugar alcohol and is lower in calories (11 calories per serving vs. 16 for white sugar). There are also a growing number of xylitol products on the market, gum, candy, toothpaste, and mouthwash.

It is important to note that because xylitol is a sugar alcohol it can only be consumed in moderation otherwise it can have a laxative effect.

5. Calcium is required for healthy teeth since they, like our bones, are made from it. But don't worry, this doesn't mean that you need massive amounts of milk. Calcium can be easily (and deliciously) obtained from a number of other sources. Sesame seeds have quite a bit of calcium in them as do dark leafy greens, especially spinach, and blackstrap molasses.

In addition to calcium you need vitamin D which helps your body absorb the calcium. The only way to tell if you have enough is to do a blood test at your doctor's office. If you are low in vitamin D you can get it either through exposure to the sun (without sunscreen for 20 minutes), cold water fatty fish, or supplementation.

Take care of your teeth and keep smiling!

Baking With Kids

by Mirabaking, oats, recipes, sweetenersbaking, cookies

Baking is wonderful and something I love to do. Even more fun is to bake with kids. They're so excited and fascinated by the process. Learning their way around the ingredients, how to measure, the wet and dry combining process; it's a fun edible science and math experiment in the kitchen.

This is one of my baking buddies, Miss A. She came over the other day with her brother, Mr. C. I had promised them that the next time they came over we would make cookies so that was our plan.

As it turns out Mr. C's idea of making cookies was to allow his sister and I to do all the baking while he played the part of Official Cookie Tester. And, might I add, he was rather impatient for those cookies to be done.

Miss A and I got down to business, put on our aprons and got out my "Famous Chocolate Chip Oaties" recipe. Mr. C. wanted to know why they were famous, had they been on t.v.? Did someone famous invent them? I told him that it was a recipe I had created and I simply call them Famous because everyone who eats them really likes them and wants more.

Needless to say he was less than impressed and informed me that unless they've been on t.v. they can't be famous. Maybe I should send a box to Ellen?

One of the things I love about baking with kids is how curious they are. Miss A wanted to taste everything. Of course we decided that the chocolate chips were pretty tasty. Surprisingly she liked the oatmeal, even raw, and requested a large spoonful of her own to nibble on. We had two kinds of sugar and she tasted both of them. Then we got to the baking soda.

Miss A asked if she could taste it. I was a little surprised and said, "I'm not sure you want to do that."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well," I replied "it's a little bitter tasting and I'm not sure you're going to like it."

"But I want to taste everything." she said.
So I let her taste it.

Her face scrunched up a little and she said, "It's not really bitter but I don't like it."

"Want some chocolate chips to wash that down?" I asked.

Of course the answer was yes.

We wound up making two batches of cookies the regular variety and the peanut butter variety. The recipe is below and we're sure you're going to enjoy it, just like we did.

Famous Chocolate Chip Oaties

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Ingredients

1/2 C butter
1 C evaporated cane juice crystals
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1 C + 2 T white whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 C chocolate chips
1 C rolled oats

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375
Blend together butter and sugar until creamy
Add egg and blend well
Add vanilla and blend well
Mix together flour, salt and baking soda and sift into butter mixture
Blend in chocolate chips
Blend in oats
Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet
Bake 10 minutes
Let sit on baking sheet 2 minutes
Move to rack to finish cooling
For the Peanut Butter variety:
Substitute sucanat for the evaporated cane juice crystals
Add 1/2 C chunky peanut butter

Fairground Food

by Mirafats and oil, habits, health, sweeteners, unhealthy

Walking around the fairgrounds at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo all my senses are assaulted; the flashing lights, the booming pounding music, the loud chatter of the crowds, and the smells of fairground food. Fried food, smoked food, barbeque, spun sugar, all swell around me creating an almost hypnotic state.

As I look around at the food choices on offer I am amazed at what I see. Batter-dipped cheeseburgers, fried with a generous topping of powdered sugar. Blooming onions, chicken-fried bacon (you know you're in the South when you find chicken-fried anything), 2-lb jumbo smoked turkey legs, cheesecake dipped in chocolate. There was even one stand that was offering gator and pork-a-bob (not sure what that is but not sure I want to know either). The beverage choices were similarly calorie-laden, gallons of sweet tea, frozen drinks, and colas, not to mention all of the alcoholic options available.

It was a day of fun, enjoyment and enthusiasm at the Rodeo. Unfortunately it was readily apparent that for large numbers of people at the rodeo a steady diet of saturated fats, over-sugared, over-salted food is the norm. I think of fairground food as something that, while never the best choice, would be a occasional treat (and I did enjoy that cheesecake although I only ate half of it as the serving was overly generous and extremely rich). It is sad to realize that for many people, although they don't eat fairground food on a regular basis, this style of eating is their daily habit. Rich, fatty, salty, sugary foods that have dulled their palate. That appeal to the childlike habit of comfort foods. As a culture I believe we have come to a point where many of us have lost our taste for whole foods. For healthy, fresh foods that contain the nourishment our body demands.

I'm certainly not trying to be a killjoy and demand that no one ever enjoy these fairground treats. We live in the real world and an occasional indulgence is certainly not unreasonable. What is difficult is when we allow these occasional treats and this unhealthy eating habit to become the norm.

Start now; make it a point to eat whole foods, low processed, fresh and in season. Eat more fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors. Reduce the palate-numbing, non-nutritive indulgences to an occasional treat. It's time to educate yourself and your children about healthy choices, everyone will be better off for it. Remember, eat well to be well.

Chicken-fried bacon photo courtesy of Cara Fealy Choate | Wikimedia Commons

Changing A Recipe

by Mirabaking, fats and oil, grains, holidays, questions, recipes, substitutions, sweetenersingredients, recipe, swap

For many people learning to cook is a fun activity; often it's something you learn when you're growing up. In the beginning you learn by simply following the recipes. That's why baking is sometimes equated to science, it has to do with the exactness of the recipes. That science-type focus can make it difficult to understand what to do when it comes to changing a recipe though.

Why do you need to know how to change your recipes? Maybe you've run out of certain ingredients, or, need to make dietary changes to your recipe. Making these substitutions is not always easy and actually can be somewhat challenging. You need to understand the differences between ingredients, which can be subtle and often requires trial and error.

Below are some guidelines to help you get started when it comes to switching up your ingredients.

Baking soda or baking powder?

Before we get into the substitutions I feel it's important to clarify the difference between baking soda and baking powder. A lot of people think they're interchangeable. They can be but you need to be aware of how they each function in order to know if the substitution will work. Some recipes may call for both while other recipes may call for just one of them.

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, requires acidity plus heat in order to create the rising action. However, this means that when you're using baking soda you need to be able to pop the recipe into the oven as soon as possible after mixing to take maximum advantage of the rising ability.

Baking powder, on the other hand, is essentially baking soda pre-mixed with an acidifying agent such as cream of tartar plus a drying agent, or starch, of some kind. Single-acting baking powder becomes active immediately after it is mixed with liquid. So the batter does need to be put into the oven as soon as possible.

Double-acting baking powder has a split reaction, partly when the liquid is added, and then a second reaction when the batter is exposed to heat in the oven. Because of this, recipes using double-acting baking powder can be held aside for a short while before you bake them.

Baking powder can be a good substitute for baking soda. If you only have baking soda and need baking powder you'll need to add 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part baking soda; as an example, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar plus ½ teaspoon baking soda creates the correct ratio.

Substitutions

I've made some great doorstops/hockey pucks in my time by switching everything in a recipe and not understanding where or how I needed to make further changes. Keeping notes along the way is important. It can help you understand the evolution of your recipe and help prevent those inedible disasters.

I will share from personal experience that if you try to change everything at once you may find that you get an unpleasant result, so be careful when swapping. I usually change the flour first, then the fat, then the sugar.

Sugars

1 cup of sugar → substitute 1 cup of applesauce

You'll need to reduce the liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup – good for cookies, muffins, and quickbreads

2 Tablespoons sugar → ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Good for any baked goods, up to 4 tablespoons of sugar

1 cup sugar → 2 Tablespoons stevia powder or 1 teaspoon liquid stevia

The recipe may need further modification to make up for the loss of the volume of sugar

Flour/Starch

7/8 cup white flour → 1 cup whole wheat flour

You may need to let the batter sit for a few minutes to allow the extra fiber to absorb some of the liquid in the recipe

1 cup white flour → 1 cup mashed black beans

Wonderful in brownies

1 cup white flour → 1 cup nut flour + ½ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder

1 cup white flour → 1/3 cup coconut flour + 1 egg + a splash of water

Good for pancakes, cookies, and cake

1 cup white flour → 1 cup gluten-free flour blend

Depending on the recipe you may need to add tapioca starch or xanthan gum to make up for the loss of gluten

Fat and Dairy

1/2 cup oil or butter → ½ cup applesauce

Good for muffins or quick breads

1 cup butter → ¾ cup prunes + ¼ cup boiling water blended together

Good for brownies and other chocolate-flavored baked goods

1 Tablespoon butter → 3 Tablespoons ground flax seeds + 1 Tablespoons water

Let the mixture sit for 8-10 minutes to thicken before adding to the batter

1 cup oil or butter → 1 cup mashed banana

Good in brownies, muffins, or cookies

1 cup buttermilk or kefir → 1 cup whole milk + 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes to sour

1 cup milk → ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water blended together

If you need a slightly thicker consistency you can use a little more evaporated milk and a little less water

Eggs

The video below is a great resource for how to make substitutions for eggs.

The Power Of Mesquite And Hawthorn: Ancient Foods For Modern Health

by Mirabaking, gluten free, legumes, protein, questions, sweetenerscarob

Mesquite Flour

My friend Misty recently asked me, “What do you know about mesquite flour?” Mesquite (genus Prosopis) is a deciduous, leguminous tree that thrives in Texas and Mexico, extending as far north as Kansas and westward to Southern California. While many use the wood to impart a flavorful smoke to barbecued meats, mesquite also serves another purpose.

Before moving to Texas, I had heard of people using mesquite flour, which is high in protein and fiber, and was originally part of the Native American diet among Southwestern tribes. Further research revealed that mesquite flour boasts a favorable nutritional profile, rich in calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and the amino acid lysine. Its high soluble fiber content and low glycemic index make it a potentially good option for diabetics, despite its reported sweet flavor.

Traditionally consumed by the Pima Indians, mesquite flour’s decline in their diet is linked to a rise in diabetes cases among them. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that the slow digestion and absorption of starch in traditional foods helped protect susceptible populations from diabetes. These foods included corn, lima beans, white and yellow teparies, mesquite, and acorns. Additionally, an ethnobotanical study highlighted in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology noted mesquite's potential for diabetes treatment.

Given its leguminous nature, mesquite flour lacks gluten, making it suitable for quick breads, cakes, muffins, and cookies rather than yeasted bread. Moreover, the flowers of the mesquite tree are attractive to bees, leading to the production of flavorful mesquite honey, which you can find online along with recipes for using mesquite flour. It seems somewhat similar to another legume flour, carob, which I’ve discussed previously; both are sweet, high in fiber, and provide good protein content.

Hawthorn for Health

In another inquiry, Karen asked, “What do you think about using hawthorn berries to help prevent the flu?” While I’m not an herbalist, I did some digging and can share my insights.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is a small tree or shrub predominantly found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Often grown as a hedge, its leaves are edible in salads, and the fruits (berries, known as haws) are commonly used in jams, jellies, syrups, or to flavor brandy for liqueur. Hawthorn’s herbal properties are known to be cardiac, astringent, and diuretic, with the blossoms and berries being the most utilized parts. It’s primarily effective for lowering high blood pressure, aiding diarrhea, and promoting cardiac health. However, I could not find specific information on using hawthorn berries or their powder as a flu preventative.

To avoid the flu, the best methods remain the obvious ones: wash your hands frequently with soap (especially monitoring small kids who may skip the soap), avoid contact with anyone infected, and consume immune-boosting foods like garlic, ginger, cayenne, and vitamin C.

As an interesting side note, I learned that the oldest known hawthorn, the Hethel Old Thorn, is reputed to be over 700 years old and is located in Norfolk, East Anglia, United Kingdom.

Maple Syrup: How Is It Made, Grades, & Oat Pie Recipe

by Mirabaking, oats, recipes, sweeteners

Recently at the grocery store, I overheard a conversation. The couple standing in the middle of the aisle were looking for Grade B maple syrup and couldn't find it. They also were wondering what the heck the difference was between Grade A and Grade B.

Having lived in Vermont before and having spent some time in a sugar shack (just tasting mind you, not cooking) I thought I would share a little information about maple syrup.

About Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is made from the sap of the sugar maple tree. In the spring when the weather warms up the sap starts "running". At this point, the trees are tapped and the sugar shacks start boiling to create the syrup. We don't often think about it when buying those small containers of maple syrup at the grocery store, but it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. And the average maple tree produces approximately 10 gallons of sap. Once they start boiling in the sugar shack they don't stop until the sap stops. That includes shifts to cover 24 hours a day until there's no more to boil. As you can imagine, this can make for some very long days.

Grades of Maple Syrup

There are five grades of maple syrup, Grade A Light Amber is the fancy grade and the one most people use. Grade A Medium Amber and Grade A Dark Amber are darker, obviously and they have a slightly different taste. Grade B is even darker and thicker than Grade A Dark Amber and has a more pronounced flavor. It is more often used for cooking because of the more intense flavor. The last grade is Grade C, or commercial, which is for flavorings and other commercial uses.

When we lived in Vermont and my kids were little they used to love seeing the smoke curling out of the sugar shack down the road. That meant that there was an opportunity to stop by for a sip. And if they had the time we could also sometimes make sugar on snow, taking just a little of the fresh syrup and pouring it over a pan of snow to make a maple candy.

If there was some already bottled we would buy a gallon and bring it home. Until I left Vermont I didn't really appreciate how lovely it was to buy syrup directly from the source and use it for baking and other recipes. The premium that you pay for bottle syrup is so high we are now back to purchasing small bottles and doling it out.

According to Ed, the guy who owned the sugar shack down the way, Vermont maple syrup is better than any other because they use more gallons of sap per gallon of finished product, boiling it thicker and making it more flavorful.

Sweetening with Syrup

I never learned to drink coffee with maple syrup (which a number of people in Vermont do). I did, however, get a recipe from my friend Carol for a Maple Oat Pie which is a Vermont specialty. I've modified the recipe slightly over the years but still call it Carol's Maple Oat Pie and think of her every time I make it (warning, this is not a low-calorie food but it sure is good).

Maple Oat Pie

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Ingredients

1 cup organic cane juice crystals
1 cup organic butter
3 eggs
1 cup grade A maple syrup
1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of sea salt
1 cup crushed walnuts

Instructions

Preheat over to 325°F
Cream together sugar and butter
Add eggs one at a time
Add remaining ingredients
Pour mixture into unbaked 9" gluten free pie crust
Bake for 10 minutes
Reduce heat to 300°F and bake another 45 minutes or until set

Sugar Notes

by Mirarecipes, substitutions, sweeteners

Following up on yesterday's post, I received a number of questions about different types of sugar. Rather than getting into a discussion of all the different types of sugar out there I recommend that you check this google link for the particular sugar that you are interested in.

I did, however, want to mention a couple of ideas about substitutions that may be helpful.

Sugar

For most baking I substitute sucanat (SUgar CAne NATural - the lowest process sugar you can get) unless I am making something more delicate like scones or lemon cookies, etc. The substitution is one for one, ie, if the recipe calls for 1 C. sugar use 1 C. sucanat.

If I cannot use sucanat because the flavor will overwhelm what I am making, I use evaporated cane juice crystals or demerara depending on what I have on hand. Both are more processed than sucanat but far less processed than white sugar. They are sometimes also found as raw sugar. Again the ratio is one for one.

Brown Sugar

I am going to try using turbinado sugar. I've been using sucanat with a spoonful of molasses mixed in but have recently learned that turbinado is moister and has less calories.

Cinnamon Sugar

I use a 7-1 ratio, 7 T. sucanat to 1 T. cinnamon.

Confectioner's Sugar

I use sucanat or evaporated cane juice crystals whirred in my cuisinart to make it very powdery. For each C. of powdered sucanat I add 1 T. cornstarch.

Other substitutions that may prove helpful are:

Honey

If you want to use honey instead of sugar in a recipe, use 3/4 C. honey for each C. of sugar called for. Then reduce the remaining liquid by 1/4 C, add 1/4 t. baking soda (to help neutralize the honey) and reduce the heat by 25 degrees F (honey tends to make things darker when baked, reducing the temperature will help keep it from over-browning).

Maple Syrup

If you want to use maple syrup instead of sugar in a recipe, use 3/4 C. maple syrup for each C. of sugar. Reduce the remaining liquid by 3 T. and add 1/4 t. baking soda to help neutralize the maple syrup).

Finally the non-caloric sweeteners:

I do not use and do not recommend any of the artificial sweeteners. These include Nutrasweet, Splenda, Equal and Sweet-n-Low.

While I like Stevia as a sugar alternative I have not worked much at substituting it in family favorite recipes. The general theory is that 1 C. of sugar can be replaced with 1 t. stevia liquid/1/2 t. stevia concentrate/18 stevia packets. In baking, for every 1 C. of sugar that is replaced with stevia you need to add 1/3 C. "liquid" to replace the missing bulk. Acceptable substitutes would be yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, egg whites (no yolk because that will change the structure of the baked good), fruit puree, unsweetened fruit juice or water.