The form of the sweetener does make a difference, though research in this area is just beginning. Fruits preserved with Splenda are not an issue. Essentially what you're doing is canning fruit in water; the impact on texture and keeping qualities once opened will be the same as if just water had been used. But pickles present special problems. Note this account from the NCHFP of problems with pickled beets [I've italicized for emphasis]: "Recently, a question was asked regarding changing the sugar in pickled beets. The person made pickled beets using fructose and Splenda® in place of the sugar. A few weeks later, the lids popped loose and juice was coming out while transporting the jars to a relative in another state. This never happened when regular sugar was used. What could have gone wrong? There is rarely one simple answer to these situations. Common solutions include bacterial growth, poor seal, chips around the jar rim, food particles on the jar rim, old lids, lifting the jars by the lid instead of the jar rim, or not following manufacturerÂs directions in preparing the lids. In this scenario, however, another factor must be considered as the problem. The use of different sugars. Sugar will dissolve in water. When this occurs, it will raise the boiling point of water. Different sugars have different molecular weights per molecule. Therefore, this weight difference may raise the boiling point only 1°F or it may raise it 5°F as examples. This change affects how long a food must be processed to be considered safe. In the case of the pickled beets, the fructose and Splenda® are quite different in weight than sugar. Therefore, using the same processing time from the original recipe was probably not adequate. The beets were beginning to show signs of spoilage. This is one example why we recommend using tested recipes from sources such as the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or from the Cooperative Extension Service." So I wouldn't make a pickled recipe with Splenda (for canning) unless it had been specifically developed for that product. However, I know Ken has had good luck with Splenda-sweetened pickles and his take on this issue may be different. Beverly Alfeld's new book Pickles to Relish does offer several recipes with Agave substituting for sugar. However, I don't know the pH of Agave nectar and whether she's using Agave in pickles with a low enough pH to allow for differences in sweeteners. She does caution to be very careful in subbing one sweetener for another. For example, she has customers who are interested in maple syrup as a natural sweetener for pickles, but maple syrup in several cases raised the pH to the unsafe level. So again, until more is known, I'd stick with recipes tested for the sweetener you would like to use. But that's just my point of view. You might see if your library can obtain Alfeld's book so that you can take a look at the recipes which call for Agave. ...

As with most things in life, it's not so much about what's "BETTER", but rather about the choices afforded us. We each have to weigh our options based on information or emotions and figure out what's "better". I've worked in three health food stores and managed one of them, and was a consultant in the start-up of another, as a point of reference only. Having done so, however, does NOT make me an "expert" at anything.... My experience comes from self-study and a decade of use of agave nectar that goes beyond a Google search. I've tried and tested a large number of sweeteners over the years, not just sold them. I did a serious 5-year study and test on a wide range of sweeteners. When I come across something new, I'll test it as well, and study as much information as I can find on it. I'm the only person I've known to work with dairy sweet whey as a sweetener, as an example. I've used Trutina Dulcem, a kiwi fruit glycoside, which had a bitter aftertaste similar to chemical sweeteners, and leaves baked goods dry and unappealing. As my husband and I work to prevent diabetes (which runs in his family), we have based our diet on foods on the lower half of the Glycemic Index of Foods, as well as whole foods, for many years now. Agave Nectar fits in this plan nicely because it is one of the lowest foods on the index (11) compared to white sugar (100) and it's a natural sweetener which works like sugar in cooking and baking - unlike stevia and chemical non-calorie sweeteners. The big test for most sweeteners are in baking. As an additional plus, none of my husband's diabetic family members have any blood sugar problems eating foods I make with agave nectar. Even when it's cake and ice cream! Because it tastes much sweeter, much less is needed to equal the same sweeteness of sugar. I normally use only half as much agave nectar as sugar called for in a recipe, that means for every teaspoon of sugar (16 calories) I use 1/2 a teaspoon of agave nectar (10 calories). As an example - I make a loaf of banana bread using 1/4 c. of agave nectar - less if the bananas are really ripe and sweet. Baked in a Danish Loaf Pan (which is long and narrow), I get 24 slices from one loaf, so that's not many calories per loaf from agave nectar.... Agave nectar is made from the carbohydrates present in the Agave plant through a totally natural thermic (heat) process with no chemicals used to make it. Virtually all varieties of agave nectar are organically grown, should that be of interest to anyone. The darker, unfiltered varieties contain more minerals - I've only had the thick, unfiltered, molasses-like, type once - a gallon from a brewery company - it's hard to find but is a good substitute for molasses. I do keep the filtered darker versions on hand, they add a little more flavor while the light varieties are nearly flavorless. Unlike honey, agave nectar is safe to use with young children and babies. I choose to avoid chemical sweeteners for a number of reasons, including my own negative experiences. I've known too many people who have had adverse reactions from consuming them. I try to avoid "chemcial concoctions" in our foods as much as possible. That's another choice I make. For all of you who enjoy and use chemical sweeteners, that's your choice. When used in yeast breads, agave nectar contributes to fermentation and helps keep breads moist due to it's high monosacchride content. Agave nectar has a high osmotic pressure and this characteristic helps to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Agave nectar also has a high hygroscopicity - which increases the water retention properties of a food. This is helpful in breads and other baked goods. "...in bread making and baked goods helping these products to maintain their freshness and texture." As a secondary result of the hygroscopicity of agave nectar, I can often significantly reduce the fat in baked goods and still get great results. Agave nectar doesn't crystalize like honey, and has a long shelf-life. These are the kinds of things I've gathered from an assortment of reference materials to learn more about agave nectar, as well as years of use. To my knowledge, Stevia has never been approved as a sweetener, but as an herbal supplement. Many people have successfully used it and love it - it never passed the taste test at our home even through I did lots of testing using a variety of types. I would, however, heartly recommend the cookbook, "Stevia" (naturally sweet recipes for desserts, drinks and more!) by Rita DePuydt for anyone who is interested in using stevia. It gives information about the many forms of stevia and leans a little towards healthier ingredients and uses whole wheat flour in most of the recipes. I'm not sure if stevia plants are organically grown? I also know they add other ingredients to many of the stevia types/brands and it's a highly processed food that is far removed from the plant and the green herbal sweetener that you can make at home if you grow stevia. Some people are also combining stevia or Splenda WITH agave nectar to reduce the bitter aftertaste of the stevia and Splenda; and to get better baking results - such as browning you can't get with chemical sweeteners and stevia, and moisture in the crumb of baked goods (especially noticable the day after the foods are baked). Once again, it's about choices. As far as Sucanat is concerned, it's one of the sweeteners I keep on hand and use - especially when a liquid sweetener isn't the best choice, or it throws the baking science off too much. The "nutritional" aspect of Sucanat is mostly hype - it's still a high-glycemic sweetener and I use it very sparingly. I doubt that most people choose their sweetener for it's nutritional value, it's just a nice little plus you get with Sucanat. When it comes to candy making, I have a few original recipes that use agave nectar, but good old white sugar is the sweetener of choice when it comes to a batch of Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge at Christmas. -Grainlady

I can also recommend Sharon's (Canarybird) Lemon Squares. These are soooooo goooood! Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table LEMON GRAHAM SLICE ================== SharonCB 1-1/2 cups (350 mL) Graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup (75 mL) packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) baking powder 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) salt 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine 10 ounces (284 mL)sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla Bottom Layer Crumble first 5 ingredients together well and pack into 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) ungreased pan. Set aside. Top Layer Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla in bowl and stir. Spread over bottom layer. Bake in 350ðF (180ðC) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and cut into 36 squares. Source: "Company's Coming" - 150 Delicious Squares

A great place to check on substitutions for ingredients is The Cook's Thesaurus. The link below will take you to syrups (liquid sweeteners). On a personal note, I avoid high fructose corn syrup at all costs, and use that wonderful, buttery-flavored, Lyle's Golden Syrup as a substitute for light corn syrup. I also use Steen's Pure Cane Syrup instead of dark corn syrup. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Cook's Thesaurus: Liquid Sweeteners