DIFFERENT WINDOW: IN SEARCH OF A SUCCESSFUL SWEETENER

Remember when olestra made the news? It is a fat substitute that gives foods the same taste and texture as fats. The body does not absorb olestra. This property has some advantages for people who wish to limit fat in the diet. Olestra has some disadvantages as well. It causes diarrhea in some people. It keeps certain vitamins from being absorbed. All products containing olestra must have these vitamins added.

A large number of people are not as concerned about fat as they are about sugar. Most sugar substitutes leave a lot to be desired. They are difficult to use in regular recipes. Frequently, they turn bitter when heated. Sweeteners don't brown. Baked products just don't have that appetizing color. Sweeteners are used in such small quantities that they don't add the volume that sugar does. Recipes made with sugar substitutes are not as soft and fluffy as those made with sugar.

My homemade baked goods just don't taste good. The sugar -free mixes and ready-made bakery products are good, but very expensive. Why don't these scientists find me a sugar substitute that works like olestra and is "user friendly?"

I recently discovered that there is such a product. In fact, two new sweeteners are on the market that taste, and behave remarkably like sugar. One is acesulfame-K, the other is superose. The FDA approved both of these sweeteners in 1998.

I have tried acesulfame-K. In the supermarket you need to look for Sweet-One, Sunette, or Diabetisweet.

Acesulfame-K tastes like sugar and is used like sugar. Yet it has no calories and does not affect blood sugar levels. Like olestra, it passes through the body without being digested.

It is being added to products such as gum, soft drinks, ice cream, baked goods, and pudding. It can also be used at the table to sweeten food. It is stable when heated and can be used in your favorite recipes in the same amounts as sugar.

This new product solves a lot of the problems faced by people who must limit sugar in their diet.

Sugar free products do contain sugar. What they don't contain is the sugar known as sucrose. The FDA has ruled that products that contain any kind of sugar except sucrose can be labeled as sugar free. Even products that contain glucose are marketed as sugar free. Powdered artificial sweeteners are mostly dextrose, which is just another name for glucose. Glucose is the sticky, thick stuff you have to drink before a glucose tolerance test. It is used because it raises blood sugar levels in diabetics. Dextrose is not something a diabetic should be eating. I avoid sugar free sweets as much as I avoid sugar.

The brand of acesulfame-K that I used contained no sucrose (table sugar), no fructose (fruit sugar), and no dextrose.

The FDA has declared acesulfame-K as safe for everyone to use, including children, nursing or pregnant women, and diabetics. As with all products that are new to the market there is some controversy over whether acesulfame-K is actually safe. One doctor has stated that this new sweetener is more unsafe than aspartame or saccharine.

The only natural and completely safe sugar substitute is a product made from the leaves of a plant. It is called Stevia. The FDA has not approved it as a sugar substitute. Stevia can only be purchased as a dietary supplement. My own use of Stevia has not been satisfactory due to the somewhat of a licorice flavor that it adds to foods. It also tends to have that well-known bitter taste of most herbs.

I have tried many recipes for sugar free brownies. None of the recipes turned out to be what I was looking for. I want a sugar-free brownie that is moist, soft, sweet and chocolatey.

Can you make a good sugar free brownie at home using acesulfame-K? YES! I have established this fact. I used my regular brownie recipe, substituting acesulfame-K for sugar. I noticed no difference between my sugar free brownies and any other brownie.

I will use this new sweetener but limit my use, just as I limit my use of sugar and other sweeteners. But sometimes you just gotta have a brownie!