Sugar equivalents

[sungoddess]

I would like to make a sugar mix of erythritol, Ace K and Trish's Splenda that will equal one cup of sugar in an old family recipe.

Can anyone tell me how much of each to use to equal one cup of sugar?

[sungoddess]

Thanks for all of your help!!

[SugarBabi]

I've never used any of those sweetners and I'm not very experienced at mixing things.

Is there an equivalent chart on the labels perhaps?

I'm sorry I don't know more. Hopefully, someone will soon.

[SugarBabi]

I found this chart online: It's for the sugar substite called sugar T**n .

Type of S*******n Equivalency to sugar Calories Carbohydrates
Granulated White 1 tsp. = 1 tsp. sugar
5 mL = 5 mL sugar 0 cal./tsp. 0 g/tsp.
Granulated Brown 1 tsp. = 1 tsp. sugar
5 mL = 5 mL sugar 0 cal./tsp. 0 g/tsp.
Liquid*
*Sold only in Canada 1/4 tsp. = 1 tsp. sugar
1 mL = 5 mL sugar 0 0
Packets - Original 1/2 packet = 1 tsp. sugar
1 packet = 10 mL sugar 0 cal./tsp. 0 g/tsp.
Sugar — 18 cal./tsp. 4.5 g/tsp.

I hope that helps.

[sungoddess]

Thanks very much

[scott123]

I find that different sweetener mixes are better suited to different recipes. There is no one size fits all solution to sweetener combining. That being said, if you're totally in the dark and want a jumping off point, I'd recommend something like:

For 1 Cup Sweetening Equivalent:

1/3 C. erythritol
1/2 t. liquid splenda (1 1/2 t.= 1 cup version)
2 packets (5/8 t.) sweet one ace k

If you have the money to spend, you might want to go heavier with the erythritol, since that will give you sugary texture that the others will not. Again, though, it's recipe dependant as the cooling effect will be more noticeable amongst some ingredients rather than others. For instance, if you're serving it cold or if it contains mint, the E will be less noticeable.

And speaking of sugary texture... Have you considered polyd? It'll give you gooey/chewy bulk at a fraction of the cost of the erythritol.

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by scott123

I find that different sweetener mixes are better suited to different recipes. There is no one size fits all solution to sweetener combining. That being said, if you're totally in the dark and want a jumping off point, I'd recommend something like:

And speaking of sugary texture... Have you considered polyd? It'll give you gooey/chewy bulk at a fraction of the cost of the erythritol.

You have been VERY helpful!! I appreciate it so much.

[lgpars]

Originally Posted by scott123

I find that different sweetener mixes are better suited to different recipes. There is no one size fits all solution to sweetener combining. That being said, if you're totally in the dark and want a jumping off point, I'd recommend something like:

For 1 Cup Sweetening Equivalent:

1/3 C. erythritol
1/2 t. liquid splenda (1 1/2 t.= 1 cup version)
2 packets (5/8 t.) sweet one ace k

If you have the money to spend, you might want to go heavier with the erythritol, since that will give you sugary texture that the others will not. Again, though, it's recipe dependant as the cooling effect will be more noticeable amongst some ingredients rather than others. For instance, if you're serving it cold or if it contains mint, the E will be less noticeable.

And speaking of sugary texture... Have you considered polyd? It'll give you gooey/chewy bulk at a fraction of the cost of the erythritol.

Scott123, is there some way to know how much polyD to put in a recipe and to take the place of what? I've got this stuff but don't know how to use it. Is it to take the place of part of the sweetener or added to it? Thanks for any info you can give me on using it.

[Pam]

Linda, thanks for asking. I would like to know, too.

[scott123]

Originally Posted by lgpars

Scott123, is there some way to know how much polyD to put in a recipe and to take the place of what? I've got this stuff but don't know how to use it. Is it to take the place of part of the sweetener or added to it? Thanks for any info you can give me on using it.

The way I see it, there's two approaches you can take.

Adding Polyd to an existing lc recipe

Unless it's a recipe containing non erythritol SAs (maltitol, maltitol syrup, xylitol) the vast majority of lc dessert recipes one comes across are bulk deficient. In other words, chewy/gooey is not a common trait of homemade lc sweets. Because of this, polyd can usually be added without subbing it for anything else. How much? Well, that's when it gets a little tricky. I usually look at a recipe and calculate the amount of sweetening in it and then I look at the sugary texture providing components. If, say, a recipe contains:

2 cups of splenda
1 cup of erythritol

Taking synergy into account, that comes out to about

3 cups sweetening equivalent
1 cup bulk (from the erythritol)*

Can you see the missing bulk here? The missing chewiness/gooeyness? Ideally, the amount of sugary bulk you're adding should equal the amount of sweetness. That being said, would I add 2 cups of polyd to this recipe? Probably not. Adding that much polyd might create assimilation/clumping issues. It also might impact the cooking time too much (polyd rich desserts need to be cooked longer at lower temperatures). I would add the polyd in stages. Maybe 1/2 C. the first time and see if I like it. If I like the results, maybe I'd go up to a cup of polyd the next time, at the same time lowering the oven temp by 25 to 50 degrees and making sure that I add it in a non clumping way.

If you're feeling extra cautious, you could try 1/4 cup increments, but I know, from my own experience, that I've added 1/4 C. of polyd to recipes and the end result was almost identical to the non polyd version. Unless the recipe is very small, you really need at least a 1/2 cup to see the impact from the polyd.

Converting a high carb recipe to low carb

This, I find, is where polyd is ideal. The recipe tells you the amount of sugar to match- you just use enough erythritol and polyd to add up to the bulk and use splenda, ace k or stevia to make up for the missing sweetness.

This method involves the least experimentation. It also, imo, produces the best results. Most lc recipes are interpretations of high carb originals, and not always good ones. Polyd based sweetening mixes allow us to go back to the original masterpiece without sacrificing any loss in quality in the conversion to low carb. At least from a sugar replacing perspective. From a flour replacing one, there's still some work to do. Still, though, I'd rather have, say, an old family recipe that's been fine tuned for generations made with carbalose and a polyd mix than that same recipe converted to low carb and then polyd added. Polyd/sweetener combining brings us closer to the source.

*For the sake of explanation I'm oversimplifying things a bit- polyd has a small amount of sweetness and splenda a small amount of bulk. I've also used two sweeteners here, but in reality, I'd never use only two sweeteners (splenda, erythritol), always three (by adding ace k or stevia).

[lgpars]

Originally Posted by scott123

The way I see it, there's two approaches you can take.

Adding Polyd to an existing lc recipe

Unless it's a recipe containing non erythritol SAs (maltitol, maltitol syrup, xylitol) the vast majority of lc dessert recipes one comes across are bulk deficient. In other words, chewy/gooey is not a common trait of homemade lc sweets. Because of this, polyd can usually be added without subbing it for anything else. How much? Well, that's when it gets a little tricky. I usually look at a recipe and calculate the amount of sweetening in it and then I look at the sugary texture providing components. If, say, a recipe contains:

2 cups of splenda
1 cup of erythritol

Taking synergy into account, that comes out to about

3 cups sweetening equivalent
1 cup bulk (from the erythritol)*

Can you see the missing bulk here? The missing chewiness/gooeyness? Ideally, the amount of sugary bulk you're adding should equal the amount of sweetness. That being said, would I add 2 cups of polyd to this recipe? Probably not. Adding that much polyd might create assimilation/clumping issues. It also might impact the cooking time too much (polyd rich desserts need to be cooked longer at lower temperatures). I would add the polyd in stages. Maybe 1/2 C. the first time and see if I like it. If I like the results, maybe I'd go up to a cup of polyd the next time, at the same time lowering the oven temp by 25 to 50 degrees and making sure that I add it in a non clumping way.

If you're feeling extra cautious, you could try 1/4 cup increments, but I know, from my own experience, that I've added 1/4 C. of polyd to recipes and the end result was almost identical to the non polyd version. Unless the recipe is very small, you really need at least a 1/2 cup to see the impact from the polyd.

Converting a high carb recipe to low carb

This, I find, is where polyd is ideal. The recipe tells you the amount of sugar to match- you just use enough erythritol and polyd to add up to the bulk and use splenda, ace k or stevia to make up for the missing sweetness.

This method involves the least experimentation. It also, imo, produces the best results. Most lc recipes are interpretations of high carb originals, and not always good ones. Polyd based sweetening mixes allow us to go back to the original masterpiece without sacrificing any loss in quality in the conversion to low carb. At least from a sugar replacing perspective. From a flour replacing one, there's still some work to do. Still, though, I'd rather have, say, an old family recipe that's been fine tuned for generations made with carbalose and a polyd mix than that same recipe converted to low carb and then polyd added. Polyd/sweetener combining brings us closer to the source.

*For the sake of explanation I'm oversimplifying things a bit- polyd has a small amount of sweetness and splenda a small amount of bulk. I've also used two sweeteners here, but in reality, I'd never use only two sweeteners (splenda, erythritol), always three (by adding ace k or stevia).

Scott123, I'm not real clear on this "bulk" thing. I know it's almost impossible to give us a clear chart stating how much PolyD to add with so much sweetener. When you're taking a regular high carb recipe and converting it, what is the "bulk" in the recipe? It you're using the three sweeteners to take the place of the sugar, how do you determine what how much bulk to add? What in the ingredients IS the bulk? It must not be the sugar if you're replacing all the sugar with sweeteners. I must have a finite mind.

[Pam]

Hi, Linda! We must think alike. I'm not understanding the "bulk" thing, either. When I use polyd, I'm just guessing. I just don't want to waste any of the product.

[scott123]

Linda, bulk is texture. Chewy/Gooey/Crispy. When you bake with sugar, you're not just adding sweetness to a recipe, you're adding texture. With low carb baking we have ingredients that provide sweetness but not texture:

splenda
stevia
ace k

and ingredients that add texture but little to no sweetness:

polyd
inulin

as well as ingredients that add a varying amount of both:

erythritol
xylitol
maltitol

Adding, say, a cup of sugar to a recipe is adding 1 cup of sweetening equivalent and 1 cup of gooey/chewiness (bulk). Ideally when you're replacing that cup of sugar, the sweetening component should add up to the gooey/chewy providing component.

A recipe containing a cup of splenda has 1 cup of sweetness but almost no chewy/gooeyness. A cup of polyd will make up for the missing texture without providing much sweetness.

Looking at a recipe and figuring out how much sweetness is in it and how much bulk to add can get tricky. Calculating sweetness for multiple sweeteners gets into the synergy realm.

[Pam]

Scott, thanks for your reply! I guess I've been having a difficult time absorbing this subject. I (think) only have one more ? How much "bulk" is there in Erythritol? Thanks again! A lot of us would be LOST without your input!!!

[scott123]

Pam, erythritol has the same amount of bulk as sugar. In other words, adding a cup of erythritol will give you the same chewiness/gooeyness as adding a cup of sugar. It won't be as sweet, though, as erythritol has only 70% the sweetness of sugar.

[Pam]

Thanks, Scott! I FINALLY understand!!!

[SugarBabi]

Originally Posted by scott123

Linda, bulk is texture. Chewy/Gooey/Crispy. When you bake with sugar, you're not just adding sweetness to a recipe, you're adding texture. With low carb baking we have ingredients that provide sweetness but not texture:

splenda
stevia
ace k

and ingredients that add texture but little to no sweetness:

polyd
inulin

as well as ingredients that add a varying amount of both:

erythritol
xylitol
maltitol

Adding, say, a cup of sugar to a recipe is adding 1 cup of sweetening equivalent and 1 cup of gooey/chewiness (bulk). Ideally when you're replacing that cup of sugar, the sweetening component should add up to the gooey/chewy providing component.

A recipe containing a cup of splenda has 1 cup of sweetness but almost no chewy/gooeyness. A cup of polyd will make up for the missing texture without providing much sweetness.

Looking at a recipe and figuring out how much sweetness is in it and how much bulk to add can get tricky. Calculating sweetness for multiple sweeteners gets into the synergy realm.

Great explanation. Now I finally understand all this stuff. Thank you.

[jokath]

This is really the best information I have read on the sweeteners. Thanks Scott!!!

[sungoddess]

Scott you are brilliant!! Thanks so much

[shawneesioux]

Scott

Add me to the List of grateful bakers. I had been avoiding some of the products you mention above, because I did not fully understand their usages. Thanks for clearing it up...I finally get it!

Your concise explanation is now printed out, and will be kept handy for quick reference in my kitchen.

Shawnee

[lgpars]

Scott, thanks so much for giving me more explanation. I THINK I understand it a little better now, but still don't know if I can know how much PolyD to add. Ha! I'll just wing it as best I can. Now if I only had your smarts...