New Food Review - A Sweetener I Love

 

I'm always on the prowl for improved items to please my palate because I figure, if I'm going to eat just a little bit, it better be good. Once I find an item that meets my standards, I like to share it with others here because I figure that we're all one big happy family, albeit dysfunctional at times. As many here know, I HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, and did I mention….. HATE the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners in my beverages, and sprinkled on my fruit, Ugh! I love NuStevia(brand)  liquid stevia, but it’s hard to cook with, and it’s not really made to sprinkle on fruit.

Anyway, Mutimom aka: Martha posted not long ago asking if anyone tried a new sweetener named “Swerve”. Soooo, I of course Googled it, and then ran it by Amazon. The reviews were really good. Then I went out to their website and found that for $1 you could get a sample of 3 restaurant sized packages which would include a $2 off coupon for any orders online or by phone. Since this was an experiment, and this stuff is a little pricey, I decided to get 2 samples (6 packages).

The day finally arrived when the postman delivered them to the Kat house. I was almost as excited as when I got the X-ray glasses I ordered from a comic book when I was 8. Okay, so I head to the kitchen, and take a little taste like I’ve seen the drug cops do when checking out cocaine on TV. My initial reaction was…Mmmm, good!

Here’s the lowdown on Swerve. It's a lot like granulated sugar in consistency. I think it's just slightly less sweet though. Sometimes the first few sips of beverages with artificial sweeteners taste pretty good when ice cold to me, so I did a warm drink test, and Swerve passed with flying colors. I dipped fresh strawberries in it, and they were great too. It did not have that Gawd Awful aftertaste like other sweeteners unless I added heaps of it in a beverage, so I’d say when overdone, it has a funky flavor. My friend Cathy who must have been a cat in a previous life, because her tasted buds could easily pick out a grain of medicine in a pound of hamburger even likes it and she hates ALL artificial sweeteners of any sort in any item. It is a sugar alcohol, however just as their website states, it did not cause gas or other stomach distress as other sugar alcohols do to me. It's hard to find in the local markets here in Maryland, so you may have to order it online. They had a sale at my local health food store, so I picked up 2 bags of regular, and one of confectionery. It can be used, and measured just like regular sugar too. Swerve has recipes on their site, one of which is for Strawberry Shortcake, but I haven’t found time to try yet…it looks awesome. I'm so glad Martha mentioned this product because it is a winner in my opinion.

Thanks Martha!

 

Ok-just piping in to say i love the way you write:) Made me smile.

Great style and good information.

Thank you,

And your comment made me smile too, Thanks back at ya!

Ordered my samples! It sounds intriguing. I like the part of it not having a laxative effect. Please let us know how the granular and confectioners work/taste!

I too ordered the sample pack (just one though, LOL!) and agree with Kat! First I opened one and did the wet finger in the packet test. It definitely has the look and feel of regular sugar. The taste was very much like sugar too! My daughter dislikes sugar free because of the aftertaste so I had her do the above mentioned finger test and she said it tasted like sugar to her too.

I used the rest of that and the other two packets in a medium DD iced coffee. I would normally use 3 packets of artificial sweetener in that size, but it wasn't quite sweet enough for me. I will admit that I am not a big coffee drinker. I like it full of cream and a little on the sweet side. So, on that I agree with Kat that it isn't as sweet as sugar/artificial sweetener. I haven't ordered more yet, but I definitely will be! Cooking with Splenda doesn't work well in my mind. Now I have to find some sugar free chocolate chips (hummmm, Netrition?) and there will be some chocolate chip cookies in my future!

Martha 

Martha, walmart has sugar free chocolate chips.  Just bought some last week.  Just FYI

What department? I have looked in the baking area at mine with no luck. What is the brand and how do they taste? Thanks!

I will definitely go out and order the samples because I also can be sensitive (sometimes yes, sometimes no) to artificial sweetener aftertaste.  I think that is why Crystal Light now tastes weird to me (have a bunch in the pantry that have been there for almost 6 years, LOL... Not sure they are even any good for anyone else at this point!)

Lora