Substitute Sundays: Non-sugar Sweeteners

In a pinch, substitutes can be life-savers. Well, maybe meal-savers. And in some circumstances, you will purposely want to make substitutions to affect flavor or texture. For example, I’ve been experimenting with dark brown versus light brown sugar; there actually is a noticeable different in many recipes.A couple of weeks ago I covered sugar sweeteners. Today I’m going to cover substitutes for non-sugar sweeteners. Note that I am covering what to do in “normal” baking. If you’re looking to use products such as Splenda, etc. in place of sugar, that is another subject entirely.

(Note: this is part of an ongoing series of posts covering the fundamentals of baking. For more information, check out the ‘Ingredients,’ ‘Substitutes,’ ‘Cooking 101,’ and ‘Cooking 201’ pages.)

Corn syrup, dark
1 C.= 3/4 light corn syrup plus 1/4 cup light molassesCorn syrup, light
1 C.= 1 & 1/4 cup white sugar plus 1/3 cup water
1 C.= 1 cup honey
1 C.= 1 cup light treacle syrup
1 C.= 1 cup dark corn syrup (might affect taste)
1 cup liquid glucose (had less liquid than corn syrup, so add extra liquid to recipe)

Honey
1 C.= 1 & 1/4 cup white sugar plus 1/3 cup water (still use liquid called for in recipe)
1 C.= 1 cup corn syrup
1 C.= 1 cup light treacle syrup
1 C.= 3/4 cup maple syrup plus 1/2 cup white sugar
1 C.= 3/4 cup light or dark corn syrup plus 1/2 cup white sugar
1 C.= 3/4 cup light molasses plus 1/2 cup white sugar

Maple syrup
To make approximately 2 cups, combine 2 cups granulated sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a clear boil. Take off heat and add 1/2 tsp. maple flavoring.
1 C.= 1/2 cup maple sugar (increase liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup)
1 C.= 1 cup honey
1 C.= 3/4 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup melted butter, and 1/2 tsp. maple extract

Molasses
1 C.= 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, mixed
1 C.= 3/4 cup white sugar (increase liquid by 5 Tbsp, decrease baking soda by 1/2 tsp, add 2 tsp baking powder)
1 C.= 3/4 cup white sugar plus 1 & 1/4 tsp. cream of tarter (increase liquid by 5 Tbsp.)
1 C.= 1 cup honey
1 C.= 1 cup dark corn syrup
1 C.= 1 cup maple syrup
1 C.= 3/4 cup dark brown sugar heated to dissolve into 1/4 C. of liquid (this can be a tricky process, though!)

Some “health” sites recommend using agave nectar -or- one of the many artificial sweeteners: Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet); Stevia leaf extract (Truvia, Pure Via); Saccharin (Sweet’N Low); Sucralose (Splenda). Using these in place of any sweeteners- sugars and non-sugars will greatly affect the final product. I recommend, unless needed for medical reasons, to stick with the real stuff and eat in moderation.