Got tagatose?

[Perdita]

Close call there--I ALMOST posted Friday night about how SO and I had a very bad digestive reaction to tagatose after a cookie experiment, but they also contained Ideal Brown (xylitol) so I held off.

We both tried drinking small amounts of tagatose in tea over the weekend, and then last night we both had piece of the almond flour fudge cake which I had made with 1/4c tagatose as part of the sweetener blend. No problems. In other words, the culprit was the Ideal Brown/xylitol. (That was really miserable and affected me literally within an hour of consumption, and then for the rest of the night.)

Really glad it wasn't the tagatose, if only because it would be a whole lot more money wasted than my $5 bag of Ideal.

[Redeemed]

Originally Posted by drjlocarb

Question;

Is this stuff fructose in disguise? Is it metabolized in the liver like HFCS?

While it certainly tastes like sugar to me, I am able to lose weight while using it in baked products. The Tagatose I am using is derived from milk, and the enzyme is a probiotic. I bought a glucose monitor to test my BS, but am having trouble with the monitor. Here is a paragraph from WIKIPEDIA regarding Tagatose:

"Antihyperglycemic effect
KFDA approved the safety and function of tagatose for controlling postprandial blood glucose level. Tagatose reduces blood glucose level in the liver by promoting glucokinase activity which promotes transfer of glucose to glycogen. It also inhibits digestive enzymes and degradation of carbohydrates in small intestine which result in inhibition of carbohydrate absorption in the body. Clinical studies have shown that tagatose significantly reduces blood glucose levels among healthy, prediabetic, impaired fasting glucose, and impaired glucose tolerance subjects. Antihyperglycemic function is important for those with both type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus especially because diabetes is continuously growing and spreading to the younger generation. 92 billion USD was spent for diabetes medication in 2008 in the US, and 50 billion USD is paid in China per year.[5]"

[Callieco]

I did some research on Tagatose before I ordered it and I found this interesting study:

D-tagatose, a novel hexose: acute effect... [Diabetes Obes Metab. 1999] - PubMed - NCBI

I've been using Tagatose in combination with Swerve and I love it. I use more Swerve but only slightly. For example if I'm trying to create a cup of sweetener I use 1/2 cup plus 2 tbl of Swerve and 1/2 cup tagatose. I really like the taste and the sweetness this creates. I also think I get better results in baking than with previous low carb sweeteners and except for the browning thing it's perfect for my taste buds.

I made some chocolate cookies today and started out at 350 but the bottoms burned so I turned it down to 325 for the next batches and had to keep an eye on them. Took them out before they got too done. That's the only problem I have with the Tagatose - no digestive issues at all. It's going to take some experimentation to get the timing and temps right when baking but I love it. I think with the Tagatose and erythritol combo you get a much more high carb like result.

[TBipp]

Thank you Callieco.

[Mistizoom]

Originally Posted by drjlocarb

Question;

Is this stuff fructose in disguise? Is it metabolized in the liver like HFCS?

I don't think so. It tastes sweet, however. Supposedly it is 92% as sweet as table sugar (sucrose), but with only 38% of the calories, and a gylcemic index of 3. I did find one website that says the steps in the metabolism of tagatose are identical to those for fructose but tagatose is incompletely absorbed, with only 15-20 percent of tagatose is absorbed in the small intestine. Not sure how reliable that site is, however.

ETA: Apparently netrition is now selling tagatose in in 1 lb. bags based on the auto-links on recent posts.

[ouizoid]

diana--I'll be joining you for that colonoscopy darnit. Such a wonderful taste to this sweetener! Such agony that it caused Glad I only ordered a pound.

[Redeemed]

The first time I tried tagatose I had "bathroom issues", but I had something with psyllum husk in it also. I have been having tagatose daily since and no psyllum husk, and have been just fine. I'm just wondering if the two shouldn't be combined, or if a person builds a tolerance to the tagatose?

[slbbw]

I like the sugar-like taste of tagatose in combination. I don't like it stand alone.

I have no explanation for what I'm about to post because it makes no sense according to the literature I have read about tagatose.

I have had two recorded glucose spikes with it. The last time was after I tasted 2 or 3 of the crispy little pieces of dough which had baked out of the holes of my cake pop maker. Maybe a teaspoon total, probably less. Within 5 minutes I felt that, "Uh oh, you overdosed on sugar feeling" and a little sickish and got a headache. Those are my symptoms. It happened 5 times altogether, but I only checked twice. It was 140 the first time which isn't high high, but since it was maybe an hour after I had eaten it, it was not good. The second time, after eating that tiny amount, it was 190! Haven't seen that number in a looooong time.

I've already re-checked every tagatose article that this is not mentioned anywhere. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer and hope I'm the only strange bird this will happen to.

[PaminKY]

Originally Posted by kalatraza

Is anybody out there a food chemist or hobbyist or just good at big science words? I have an older copy of a textbook about alternative sweeteners and it has a chapter on tagatose. . . . it talks about some interesting stuff about how tagatose works with chocolate in particular, its maillard reaction properties, etc., but I'm no scientist and don't have the patience to wade through this thing. (I'd have to look up like every other word and wouldn't trust my interpretation enough to share.)

Anyway, if anyone is more sciency than me, I'd be happy to scan this chapter and fax or email it to you. The book is "Sweeteners and Sugar Alternatives in Food Technology," published in 2006. There's a new edition out--so if someone has access to THAT, well, that'd be even better.

This is a total longshot, but I figured I'd post and see if anyone was interested in taking a look. Might save us all a lot of heavy cream and almond flour in the long run.

I would love to read that chapter, I would also like to have a newer version of that book but I just bought an expensive book on Food Stabilisers so it will have to wait. I'll PM you my email address.


Thanks

[moonlight74]

How are getting 5lbs for just over $26?? I added the code and the total was still over $42. Did they jack the price up?

Thanks!

[Mistizoom]

Originally Posted by moonlight74

How are getting 5lbs for just over $26?? I added the code and the total was still over $42. Did they jack the price up?

Thanks!

Yes, they did increase the price. When I bought it, it was $35.99 for 5 lb. bag (may have been an "introductory price") and the 25% off code brought it down to $26.99. The price for the 5 lb. bag is now listed at $56.69 before any codes.

[moonlight74]

I was afraid of that. Thanks for the confirmation!

I can get xylitol and erythritol much cheaper than that.

Kelly

[Mistizoom]

Originally Posted by moonlight74

I was afraid of that. Thanks for the confirmation!

I can get xylitol and erythritol much cheaper than that.

Kelly

Now that I see how much it is normally I'm going to save my tagatose for applications that will really benefit from its qualities (browning/caramelization) and use other sweeteners in other applications. Haven't opened it at all yet though!

[alonewithyou]

I made a 3 cup batch of ice cream and I used 4 tbsp tagatose and 4 tbsp splenda and I had no tummy aches eating around 1 cup ice cream.

[kalatraza]

I attempted to make chocolate ice cream using 1/2 tagatose and 1/2 erythritol as the sweeteners. Not such a good idea as the ice cream didn't freeze!

I know erythritol depresses the freezing point of "stuff" and apparently tagatose does as well. . . . If you have a heavy duty ice cream freezer rather than one than relies on a frozen canister like my cuisanart you might be able to make it work, but if you don't, I'd recommend making sure you use something other than tagatose or erythritol for at least half if not more than that for your sweetener.

Sorry I can't be more specific on the ratio--working on it.

For what it's worth, the unfrozen ice cream tasted super fantastic. Getting closer! Just don't like chocolate sweetened with Splenda. Maybe will try neotame + tagatose next.

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by ouizoid

diana--I'll be joining you for that colonoscopy darnit. Such a wonderful taste to this sweetener! Such agony that it caused Glad I only ordered a pound.

Shoot! I just ordered a pound! Well, I'll try to combo it in small amounts.

[Perdita]

Originally Posted by Soobee

Caramel Sauce
! cup tagatose
3 Tbs. water
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs. butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Put water and tagatose in a bigger saucepan than you think you need. Stir it once or twice until dissolved. Try to clear crystals from the sides of the pan. Cover pan so the steam will wash the sides of the pan. When boiling nicely, uncover. Do not stir any more. You can swirl the pan if you need to. Cook until the desired darkness. I went until it was like an old penny. Next time I will stop at a new penny. Put in the cream. It will boil up furiously. At this time, I planned to cook it again to bring up the temperature, but it darkened so precipitously, I pulled it off the heat. Add in the rest of the ingredients.

It never got as dangerously hot as a caramel made with sugar, but upon cooling, thickened nicely. I think it's thick enough to use to top cookies without dripping off. I made Carolyn's Turtle cookies before, without the tagalose, and although the flavor was good, the cookies were soft and the erythritol caramel was pale, crunchy, and barely caramel-flavored. I think some tagatose in the cookies will crisp them up, and this caramel sauce on top will be terrific. I'll experiment next week.

The good: I tried the recipe above with some leftover tagatose I had previously blended with a tiny amount (1/4 tsp or so) of molasses to make a brown sugar sub. The sauce is AMAZINGLY good. It tastes just like the caramel sauce on a bread pudding at my favorite restaurant. (A dessert I cannot actually eat without experiencing a massive sugar rush and hangover, mind you, but I'd just had a spoonful of SO's on Valentine's Day.) Seriously unbelievably good, and didn't recrystallize like the one lackluster caramel sauce I tried to make with erythritol. It's still sitting glossy and pourable on the kitchen counter a couple of hours later.

(I should also mention I have basically no experience with caramel or candy making--the recipe above worked well for me in a heavy saucier.)

The bad: I'm STILL not sure the tagatose isn't giving me stomach problems. I'm usually pretty resilient to anything but maltitol, but lately it seems like there's always something around that's making me unable to definitively identify the tagatose as the problem. (for example, a couple of sequential recipe attempts also included new ingredients, including a xylitol-based brown sugar sub and chocolate chips with poly-d.) My stomach seems to be acting up a bit after the caramel, but it was fine with a chocolate cake sweetened with tagatose. I DIDN'T get the sugar rush/tachycardia I would have with a real caramel sauce, at least.

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by slbbw

I like the sugar-like taste of tagatose in combination. I don't like it stand alone.

I have no explanation for what I'm about to post because it makes no sense according to the literature I have read about tagatose.

I have had two recorded glucose spikes with it. The last time was after I tasted 2 or 3 of the crispy little pieces of dough which had baked out of the holes of my cake pop maker. Maybe a teaspoon total, probably less. Within 5 minutes I felt that, "Uh oh, you overdosed on sugar feeling" and a little sickish and got a headache. Those are my symptoms. It happened 5 times altogether, but I only checked twice. It was 140 the first time which isn't high high, but since it was maybe an hour after I had eaten it, it was not good. The second time, after eating that tiny amount, it was 190! Haven't seen that number in a looooong time.

I've already re-checked every tagatose article that this is not mentioned anywhere. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer and hope I'm the only strange bird this will happen to.

Netrition doesn't have it on their site but the first ingredient in Tagatose is dextrose (I think as I tossed the wrapper but it was some -ose) and has 6 calories in 4 grams (sugar is 15 cals in 4 grams) so definitely not a free ride.

[Soobee]

There are different tagatose products available. I bought pure tagatose. It does not have dextrose. Some are mixes of sweeteners.

[Mistizoom]

Originally Posted by Soobee

There are different tagatose products available. I bought pure tagatose. It does not have dextrose. Some are mixes of sweeteners.

I agree, the PreSweet Tagatose available from Netrition and NuNaturals is 100% tagatose, no other sugars are in it.

ETA: It does have 6 calories per 4 g, so it is not calorie-free, but it is not supposed to raise blood sugar/insulin levels like regular sugars would.

[slbbw]

Originally Posted by CindyCRNA

Netrition doesn't have it on their site but the first ingredient in Tagatose is dextrose (I think as I tossed the wrapper but it was some -ose) and has 6 calories in 4 grams (sugar is 15 cals in 4 grams) so definitely not a free ride.

Thanks, Cindy. I'll check on that. In any case, doubtful I'll be using my 5 lbs. Anyone want it? Free, except for postage

[Soobee]

Yes, yes, yes!!!

[ouizoid]

you guys are so lucky. Tagatose nearly killed me! But soobee's caramel sauce is the best ever. I will miss it so

[Perdita]

How good is that caramel sauce? So good I just came home from work and had some more even though there's a decent chance it caused me some gastro distress. Usually that's not something I'm willing to risk twice. (I don't even really drink because I'm such a wimp about hangovers.)

Seriously--if you can source the tagatose and tolerate it, there is no reason to look further for any caramel recipe, or to use another sub in a recipe that requires caramel. I don't think I've ever raved about a LC recipe/product to this extent, and haven't been super-excited about my tagatose supply till now. It really shines in this application. I can imagine it would make some exquisite caramel-filled chocolates.

[dianafoot]

I've been trying it in everything from fantastic flour donut holes to blackberry jam. It is absolutely delicious in everything I've tried so far. Have had a few (mild) tummy issues, but not sure what's causing it, as I'm eating a lot of glucommannan in those donut holes. It does seem that when I use tagatose in other things, I have no problems.

[ouizoid]

I tried using small amounts of tagatose mixed with other sweeteners to no avail. Still sent me on a death march. So sad.

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by Mistizoom

I agree, the PreSweet Tagatose available from Netrition and NuNaturals is 100% tagatose, no other sugars are in it.

ETA: It does have 6 calories per 4 g, so it is not calorie-free, but it is not supposed to raise blood sugar/insulin levels like regular sugars would.

I got mine from Netrition and it had an -ose as a first ingredient.

[Redeemed]

As long as I watch my carbs, my postprandial blood sugar readings are very good without insulin. But my morning fasting numbers are too high for my liking. I don't know why Tagatose causes blood sugar spikes in some and not in others. But last night I made a cake with tagatose, and had a piece of it before going to bed. This morning my fasting BG reading was a good 15 points lower than it has been lately. I don't know if it was the Tagatose or lupin flour in the cake that helped with my good BG reading results this morning, but I'm going to continue using this combination in my baking.

[SCOTTSDALEJULIE]

Is everyone mixing sweetners..Ie. Tagatose plus splenda or E, or are you using it alone. Thanks

[Soobee]

I am mixing sweeteners because I always do and because tagatose is so expensive.