Have You Tried Agave?

Agave is a sweetener that according to Wikipedia comes from a succulant plant that grows mostly in tropical areas. I started really hearing about agave last winter, but didn’t give it a try until this spring. I bought a bottle of organic raw blue agave several weeks ago so I could give it a taste test.

Image (c) L Gerlach

Since then I’ve been using it as a sweetener when I would normally use sugar, or honey. I’ve used it on my fruit salad in the morning (I usually taste it first to see if it needs any sweetener at all). I’ve also used it to mix in with crushed strawberries and blueberries when I put them over ice cream.

One tablespoon of agave is about 60 calories, and you’re supposed to use 25% less than you do sugar. It’s also supposed to have a lower glycemic index, meaning it won’t send your blood sugar levels into a tail spin.

I haven’t tried baking with it yet, I usually use either honey, or evaporated cane juice for that. Maybe I’ll give it a try in some cake or cookies soon. You can use agave to make frozen treats and ice cream, I’v heard it freezes fine.

Have you ever tried agave? What’s your take on it?