Nowadays, it is easy to find sugar-free treats, candy and beverages. Unfortunately, not all sugar-free products are good for your health. In fact, most of them contain harmful synthetic sweeteners, such as aspartame. Don't panic yet! There are lots of natural sweeteners out there that are just fine for including in your diet and some even have some health benefits, such as erythritol.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in some fruits and certain fermented foods. Fermenting glucose with yeast also produces erythritol. At its selling point, erythritol is 60-70% as sweet as table sugar but it's almost calorie-free. Moreover, it doesn't have any of the negative effects of sugar - it doesn't cause tooth decay, doesn't affect blood sugar levels, and doesn't contribute to weight gains. That is because our body cannot break erythritol down in the gut, which means we can't obtain any calories from the erythritol that we eat. Most of it is simply passed out of the body as waste.
Erythritol comes in both granulated and powdered forms. The erythritol powdered sugar form is preferable for most users because the granulated form tends to stay grainy unless dissolved in water. You can find erythritol powdered sugar in both local and online stores, but it is best to get it from a reputable health food store. Make sure that the product you are getting doesn't contain fillers or other ingredients to make it more palatable or to improve the texture. So check the ingredients first.
How to Use Erythritol
Because erythritol is a soluble sugar alcohol, it melts in high heat but doesn't caramelize. So it is not suitable for baked goods that require a chewy texture. In some recipes, you may need to use erythritol together with other ingredients such as butter to help retain moisture. In its powdered form, it makes the perfect substitute to regular powdered sugar, such as for cake frosting. If you need to thicken the texture, simply add a spoon of starch to one cup of powdered erythritol. Some recipes also recommend using a pinch of guar gum and blending together.
Keep in mind that sugar alcohols such as erythritol, doesn't react with yeast, so it won't help bread rise. Aside from that, erythritol can replace sugar or artificial sweeteners for most uses. It is especially useful in combination with chocolate in candy or brownies. Some people replace erythritol one-to-one with sugar in recipes, but I recommend you try adding 25% more erythritol than the amount of sugar the recipe calls for to compensate for its less-sweet taste.
