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Agave Nectar

The nectar of the agave plant, agave is now widely available and can be found in the baking aisle of most supermarkets. Lately, it has become the darling of the baking world, for a variety of reasons. Agave falls low on the glycemix index, which means that it is slowly and gradually absorbed into an individual’s blood stream, thereby preventing spikes in his or her blood sugar. Bakers have also increasingly turned to agave since it is 25% sweeter than sugar, meaning that you can use less of it to achieve the same sweet hit. It is also neutrally sweet, making it an ideal choice whether you’re cooking with fruit, baking with chocolate, or whisking together a citrus flavored cake. Available in both a light golden hue, or a darker amber liquid, agave tends to add a lot of moisture to baked goods. A note of caution however! If you’re attempting to substitute agave for granulated sugar in a recipe, it’s important to know that agave can darken a baked good more than granulated sugar. It may also cause cakes and cookies and the like to bake a bit quicker so keep an eye on the oven. The best piece of advice I can give you is to experiment and see what works for you. Agave seems to be the answer most of the time.