Has anyone had experience with monkfruit. (I’m not sure if it’s two words or one word monk fruit) sweetner?
Is it packaged like granulated sugar?
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I have never used it, but I believe it comes as either a liquid or a powder. The powder may be mixed with other fillers, like what happens with stevia. I do like the taste of monk fruit sweetener (tried some plain on my tongue once). It doesn’t have the sort of bitter taste that stevia can have.
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I’ve heard about Lakanto. Unfortunately, it would seem that the Lakanto products mix in sugar alcohols such as erythritol, or other “tols”. If I am mistaken about the mixing, can someone point me in the correct direction? Monk fruit sweetner sounds great in theory. There’s so much to learn. This is a whole new way of shopping & cooking. Today, I purchased my very first celeriac!
I’ve seen this one, which seems to be pure monk fruit extract. I have never tried it, though (quite expensive). I may give it a try if I can determine it’s safe for me, because it would be great to avoid the minor digestive side effects of the stevia with inulin I’ve been using…
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Please keep us posted if you do decide to try it.
I don’t like the taste of stevia; it’s difficult to articulate specifically what’s wrong with stevia, except that it leaves an after taste.
For the most part, if I bake or make a dessert, I reduce the amount of sugar greatly.
Can you use coconut flour?
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I can use coconut flour. My main challenges with baking are doing so without wheat, dairy, and eggs.
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Right…I recall that.
The “flour” needs a “binder” to give it some stickiness. Is that where the egg comes in? Does the gluten in wheat flour also serve to give the food some stickiness/structure so that they don’t “crumble” or fall apart?
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Yes to both.
Eliminating one of these ingredients isn’t too hard, but eliminating all three makes it hard to have baked goods come out without either crumbling to dust or being too dense to eat.
I find, especially with low-carb baking, there is also a huge reliance on eggs. Many recipes have more than half their volume as eggs. One or two eggs are fairly easy to replace, but replacing four, five, six or more becomes much more challenging.
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I do this as well: for example, I reduce the sugar by 25% in the GF banana bread that I bake for my husband. He likes the flavor and I find no adverse effects on structure.
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I got samples two years ago and loved it. Didn’t seem to affect my sugar so I ordered a case (Amazon). I use it all the time, usually two packs for a 32 ounce tea. I still love it and it has never once given me a spike. It comes in packets like all the other sweeteners but they are orange. Anddddd…it’s natural and not bitter.
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Great to see you around here again!
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Thanks! I’ll have to give it a try! I’m nearly out of my Equal and I’m headed to the store tomorrow. I’ve seen it on the shelf, so I know they have it. I use Stevia for cooking/baking, but for my tea I’ve always used Equal.
I think I’m in the minority with my fondness for Stevia. We use both the granular and powdered in cooking/baking. We didn’t like the Stevia equivalent for brown sugar though.
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Let me know what you think!
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try adding guar and/or xanthane gum to your bread recipes. they provide the elasticity not found in alternative flours. Both are natural foods and you only use a very small amount in your bread recipe.
I learned to use them a couple decades ago when I was having gluten issues and developed a bread recipe that was better than any store bought gluten free bread and didn’t crumble…ao experiment as I did, I used no more than 1/4 tap of each for a 3lb loaf using a multiflour recipe. I used sorghum, buckwheat (NOT wheat product), tapioca and one other flour I forget. The key was the the xanthane/guar gums to provide the elasticity. Oh I also added lecithin but don’t remember why.
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I can add I have been using monk fruit liquid extract by NOW (always reliable for me) and love it. Works well adding sweetness to my Thai style Chai iced tea using unsweetened Walmart house branded Vanilla Almond milk (it has zero nut taste and just enough of the fat taste like cow’s milk… I know I hate that it’s Walmart brand too!). works super in coffee as well.
I typically add 4-9 drops depending on the beverage. Like the taste and doesn’t have aftertaste like pure stevia extract. It was about $9 for 2.0oz bottle on Amazon and should last me at least 3 months.
Looked at powdered/granulated versions of Monk fruit and, as usual with these sort of products, erythritol which to me makes for a pointless product… I also do not tolerate erythritol at all well. But there are dry powder products which are pure and and not contaminated with additive products. Prices were about $10-$12 for a 2 or 3lb bag if I recall. Have not ordered any but intend to when I stock up on almond, cauliflower and other flours to experiment with low carb pancake/waffle batter mix… my above gluten free bread recipe made awesome Belgian waffles too so hoping I can get it right for low carb waffles & pancakes as both are my kryptonite! hahaha
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love stevia and it’s unique licorice aftertaste too. I use the whole plant extract by NOW. Hate how over time the bottle cap gets super glued to the bottle requiring vice-grips to remove sometimes but worth it.
I learned that the extract can serve to protect wounds from infection much like you can use honey (honey is 100% antibacterial and so far no known bacteria will grow on it)…just a weird aside. hahaha…
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One thing I really like is a sweetener of Monk Fruit and Stevia. I only use it in my coffee (not for cooking) and then I don’t use a lot (maybe 1/2 a teaspoon at the most). I really do enjoy it and a cup o joe with it and some cream doesn’t budge my BS at all.
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In regards to creamers, I’ve started making my own creamer (that’s basically just sweetened cashew milk) to use in my coffee and love it. It’s really easy with the Vitamix. I just make a batch of cashew creamer and almond milk every weekend and it lasts me throughout the week. None of the additives, mystery ingredients, or (for me) risk of cross-contamination of the store-bought brands. The only downside is that the cashew creamer does come out a little grainy, and I haven’t found a way of successfully straining it (unlike almond milk, which is thinner and strains fine).
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