anyone know of any good books that cover it??

thanks

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Tuesday, November 06, 2001 - 08:49 pm: Edit

GOOD GOD MAN!!!!!!!!! SUGAR FREE PASTRY??????
Whats next???? Sugar Free Wedding Cakes?
Don't tell me.....when you get married, your going to have a fat free, sugar free,wedding cake.
George and I won't come if you do. You see, we are older guys, and we need that stuff.
Boy, I suppose your going to tell us next that eggs come in a roll too.
Good Luck.

By Cheftim (Cheftim) on Tuesday, November 06, 2001 - 11:24 pm: Edit

When I have time I'm going to investigate "Slenda". I understand it's left handed sugar. I have tried some products with it and they taste great.

tim

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Wednesday, November 07, 2001 - 05:09 am: Edit

SPlenda is suposed to be pretty good

CHefSpike, When something is called sugar free, Its not really made without "sugar" its just not made with traditional "white sugar"

It's still sweet... "Sugarfree" sweeteners are really many many times "Sweeter" tasting than reg. White sugar.But they tend, to me to have an after taste.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Wednesday, November 07, 2001 - 05:33 pm: Edit

Thanks. I knew that. I think.
Just having fun.

By Hellothere (Hellothere) on Monday, May 27, 2002 - 08:36 pm: Edit

I know that this is an old thread, but I thought I'd respond because I just discovered an all natural, non sugar sweetener called Stevia. In its natural form it tastes like sweet green tea, but I'm pretty sure that its available in more refined forms where the herbal taste is removed. I really don't know much about using it as a substitute for sugar in baked goods though, as, from what I understand, it is not allowed to be sold as a sweetener in the U.S. - I think its used as more of an herbal supliment type thing. I'm not in any way against refined white sugar; I just thought that this might be worth looking into (for those who can't eat refined sugar for whatever reason) as an alternative to that nasty-ass, cancer causing nutrisweet crap. Why do they even allow that stuff to be on the market anyhow?

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 05:16 am: Edit

I have heard of stevia
ever since the NY Times did a story on it, it is very popular.

I do some sugar free baking and people ask me about useing it all the time, I dont use it for a few reasons

The biggest is cost it is very expensive compared to other non sugar sweeteners, I tell them would you pay $x.xx more for the cookies I bake for you, they tell me no thats crazy, but that is what i would have to charge if I used stevia,
Plus it's sweeting power is unpredictable

It is sold as an hebel supplement because there has not been enough tests done on it as a food additve,

Remember when NutraSweet came out it to is from natural substances made from protiens , well now they say it may cause problems in people too

there is no one answer I warn people of the side effects of the products i use and let them make the choice.

By Spaolo (Spaolo) on Tuesday, June 18, 2002 - 12:08 am: Edit

There is a product called Isomalt, You can check it out at www.isomaltusa.com, is like sugar, mostly used for sugar works, the price is about $4.00 per pound.
It can replace the sugar as 1:1 proportion on any recipe
Enjoy!
Paolo

By Tmarta (Tmarta) on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 01:03 am: Edit

I have a book that relies on fruit juice concentrates, fruit and "safe" sweeteners for diabetics, such as brown rice syrup. There is a "Super-Sweet Blueberry Muffin" recipe that I modified slightly and it sold well. I will have to find it, (if you are interested), but I may need a little time, as my mother has taken suddenly very ill, and I have been and will be at the hospital with her, (I just can't sleep tonight). (New job, and they offered me time off.) Just leave a message and be patient
with me and I'll get back to you. I have had many requests for "homemade" diabetic cakes, but can't find a decent recipe for a real layer cake. I have another book that has a great recipe for a layered cheese pie, topped with berries in sugarfree gelatin.
Again, if interested, respond here, but bear with me.
(This is no way to spend a birthday)

By Thebaker (Thebaker) on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 07:38 pm: Edit

How is brown rice syrup safe for diabetics???

By Pastrycrew (Pastrycrew) on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 06:48 pm: Edit

Spaolo has the idea I think.

I've tried many brands of artificial sweeteners but isomalt works the best in that, it doesn't change the consistancy of your product, and, it's a "natural" product. Isomalt is a larger grain than regular sugar and in some recipes I've modified them where the isomalt is dissolved in the liquids of the recipes. Ex. make a tuile, dissolve the isomalt in the egg whites then proceed. (This really works well too as isomalt doesn't take on humidity so bad...the tuiles stay crisper longer...)

Isomalt isn't as sweet as sugar but I haven't had any complaints on it, in some recipes it actually is nicer to take out the sweetness a little. The problem is cost on the isomalt, the cheapest we get it here is 5$ a pound buying it at 45kilo lot.

We get isomalt type M. It refers to the size of the grain. Albert Uster "claims" to have three different sizes of isomalt grains but they aren't able to get it to Hawaii? They also said it wasn't available in southern California last place I worked....

Anyone out there seen the smaller grain isomalt? Is this a myth like the famous Kona Hawaiian Chocolate?

bt

By Spaolo (Spaolo) on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 10:07 pm: Edit

I think if You ask the company that You work for, they will be able to buy Isomalt directly from www.isomaltusa.com, Albert Uster was one of the first to introduce it to the USA market, but his price is quite high (usually 1 dollar per pound above the others). You can get it in here for under $4.00+sh, probably from isomaltusa for $2.00 (I saw also somewhere 20 lbs for 60.00$, but I can't remember where)
Good idea about the tuilles, I havent tought about it, I used Isomalt only once in London to make a Croquembouche.
I think that well used, it would make a killing marketing tip here in USA (but not only) where sugar free products are so popular.

By Spaolo (Spaolo) on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 10:17 pm: Edit

I found it!!!
Here it is Chef Bo web site, but I'm not sure if He still doing it (I mean to sale those products)
May be better to contact Him first to do the check out.
It cost $3.00 per lbs, plus a much smaller shipping fee than the one I just posted
Hope it help
Paolo

By Tmarta (Tmarta) on Wednesday, June 26, 2002 - 11:55 pm: Edit

Sorry that I took so long, but the world lost one of the best cook/bakers ever. A demanding taskmistress, but a true Italian (s)mother. A woman who had a magic touch with food, even a simple roast beef was sublime, her secret family sauce was red gold. Everything from her Thanksgiving feasts and Christmas pastries to her iced tea became legendary among family, friends and passers-through. She could make any cake or cookie beautiful without decoration ,any plate galmorous without garnish. A purist and perfectionist, she made me learn by doing.I'm here to carry on. (Thanks for letting me vent.)
The book that has many "natural, sugar-free" recipes is "The 'I Can't Believe This Has No Sugar' Cookbook", ed. by Deborah E. Buhr c.1997.
I don't know why brown rice syrup or date sugar is "safe" for diabetics. Apparntly it is assimilated differently than white sugar.Many of the recipes call for fruit juice concentrates. There are also tips for wheat-free, celiac, dairy-free and low cholesterol diets. Any of these come in handy in a bakery. You may find quite a market for special-diet baked goods. I did. And am using some of it now in the assisted living facility.