Go easy on the sugar

by Rosalee M. Brown

Sugar, correctly balanced in foods, improves its flavour. Research shows that even newborn infants prefer sweet to bitter and sour tastes. Sugar can add a characteristic crispy or crunchy texture to baked goods and caramelisation. Sugar can add caloric value to the diet of persons having difficulty meeting their caloric needs without increasing volume.

Excess sugar

There are various sugars used in food preparation and manufacturing. Sucrose and fructose are the most widely used. Sucrose is used in households and also commercially. High-fructose corn syrup is used more widely than sucrose because of its flexibility in being used in many types of food preparation, and also its cost, being more economical than sucrose.

Sugar is widely used in processed foods and at home and can subtly add to one's caloric intake and can lead to excess calorie consumption, overweight, and obesity. High sugar intake can also affect our dental health, can cause indigestion and even excess flatulence in some individuals. Sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol used in low-calorie foods, are mostly the cause of this excess gas.

Strike the balance

Use up to half or less the amount of sugar you normally use in beverages as your taste buds can adapt. Many baked goods such as cakes and puddings can use 50 per cent less sugar without affecting quality.

Your Christmas puddings are laden with fruits, which is a source of sugar, so your taste buds will not know the difference when you use less sugar. Some baked snacks can be made with up to quarter the sugar then washed with a light syrup before baking to give that immediate sweet zip.

Use less water

When using fruits such as sour sop, star fruit, or any other fruit in season, use less water when extracting the juice. Sometimes these beverages contain too much water, then sugar is used to improve flavour. Soursop juice tastes delicious when extracted with a small amount of water. It can be flavoured with fresh orange juice or lime with no sugar added. The same applies to many other fruit drinks.

Sweet fruits such as ripe bananas or mango can be used to flavour, bread pudding for example and a light syrup can be added to wash the top before you bake. Sorrel is traditionally a very sweet drink, but experiment with less sugar in a sorrel brewed with less water, add ginger or some orange rind and serve on ice. You will discover a great refreshing drink without excess sugar.

Rosalee M. Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.