Agave Nectar - Mineral-rich Low-glycemic Sweetener
Agave nectar is a natural liquid sweetener with a low glycemic index and a fruity, delicious taste that will enhance the flavor of any food or beverage. An exciting new product, it is extracted from the agave plant, a cactus-like plant that has been used by Native Americans for thousands of years.
Of the 136 species of agave in Mexico, the blue agave—Agave tequilana weber azul—is considered the finest in the world. This is the agave from which our Premium Organic Agave nectar is made. Blue agave nectar is an excellent sweetener for diabetics, carbohydrate-intolerant hypoglycemics, and anyone who wants to avoid wide fluctuations in their blood sugar levels.
Blue agave is higher in fructose-producing carbohydrates than other types of agave, and has a glycemic index of 10-11. Because it is so high in fructose (about 85-90% of its sugar content) and fructose does not stimulate digestive insulin secretion, agave nectar absorbs slowly into the bloodstream and has less impact on blood sugar levels than other natural sweeteners. It has a lower glycemic index than honey, and is at least 25% sweeter than either sugar or honey, so you can replace them in any recipe by using 25% less agave syrup.
The beneficial qualities of our agave nectar are numerous:
- Low glycemic, to help keep blood sugar levels in balance
- Rich in minerals
- Certified organic
- Low in calories
- Safe for children
- Good for sweetening all types of beverages and foods
With a flavor somewhere between honey and maple syrup, agave nectar is an excellent sweetener for teas (hot and iced), smoothies, desserts, energy bars, or any cooked or raw food recipe. As it is highly soluble and will not crystallize or harden in the bottle, it is ideal for use in cold beverages and to sweeten cold foods. It particularly enhances the flavor of fruity food and beverages, and can be used instead of fruit juice concentrates in spreads and yogurts. It also increases the water retention properties of food, and will add to the shelf life of breads and other baked goods.
We offer two varieties of agave nectar:
Premium Dark – 85% fructose, made with 100% Agave tequilana weber azul. A mineral rich, dark syrup with a vanilla-like aroma. Truly one of a kind!
Premium Light – 85% fructose, made with 100% Agave tequilana weber azul, filtered to clarify the syrup. The light has the natural solids removed through a fine filtration process, creating a liquid that can be used in recipes that require a more neutral base.
Premium Quality from the Blue Agave
Our blue agave nectar is derived from the carbohydrates present in the agave plant, using a totally natural thermic (heat) process with no chemicals involved. To produce our organic agave nectar, juice is expressed from the core of the agave (the piña). The juice is then selected to become dark agave nectar or filtered to create light agave nectar.
Both of our Premium Organic Agave nectars contain naturally higher concentrations of fructose than other agave syrups on the market, because they are made from premium blue agave plants, using precise processing techniques. Our farmers in Mexico use HPLC to make chromatographic studies on sugars, monitoring closely the mineral and sugar concentrations of our agave nectars—the best available in the market.
Interestingly, the production of agave nectar is very similar to the way a bee creates honey. The bee adds enzymes to the complex sugars of nectar, which changes it into the simple sugars that make up honey. It is also through enzymatic action that the complex sugar found in agave juice is changed into a simple sugar sweetener—agave nectar.
The raw agave juice is regularly harvested from living plants by Indian peoples native to central Mexico. To do so, they must slice off the top of the plant and hollow out its core. Then the plant is capped with a stone. The pineapple-shaped agave plant secretes its nectar into the center of the plant, rather than into flowers like most plants do. The nectar collects in the hollow center for several days, after which the milky white “juice” is removed by ladle, one plant at a time. In a way, the process is similar to tapping a tree for maple syrup collection.
The name agave comes from the Greek word for “noble.” Organic agave syrup (and tequila) is made from the sap from hearts (piñas) of the agave or maguey (pronounced “mah-gay”) plant. This plant is actually related to the lily and amaryllis (it has its own genus, Agave). It is known as a succulent and, although it shares a common habitat with many cacti, it is not one itself and has a different life cycle. A mature agave plant has leaves 5-8 feet tall, and is 7-12 feet in diameter. It has a lifespan of 8-15 years, depending on species, growing conditions, and climate.
Several different species of agave are allowed for use in the production of mescal, an alcohol similar to, yet quite different than tequila, and these other species of agave are used to make most agave syrups. But of the 136 species of agave in Mexico, the blue agave—Agave tequilana weber azul—is the only one allowed for use in tequila production and it is also the only agave used to make our Premium Agave Nectars.
