Reducing sugar

I have used artificial sweetner in coffee all my life but am now mostly using stevia as I understand it is a naturaly sweet alternative rather than a chemical substitute. I stopped sweetening fruits such as strawberries and raspberries but need to add a little stevia when using sharper berries. I'm diabetic so need to be stricter about bought products. Maybe when I retire I'll have time to bake my own lower sugar alternatives. I tend to modify recipes anyway but reluctant to change cake recipes too much in case it changes the consistency. Perhaps I should be more brave.

Just made a batch of Paul Hollywood’s mince pies for the freezer, completely forgot to put the sugar in the pastry! They taste lovely with just a bit of sugar on top.

Georgia101 Thank you That sounds promising. I must look at the keto diet.

I have a sweet tooth so do not buy any cakes, biscuits or pastries. If I want cake or scones I bake. I find not having the temptation in the house, for me is best. I treat myself once a week with coffee and either a scone or really naughty cheesecake, for a special occasion.

I agree that many of the bought goodies are quite over fatty and over sweet. I’m going to reduce the sugar in my favourite fruit cake recipe further than I did last time.

as a diabetic, i notice sugar is absurd too much of it in anything from orange juice to healthy flap jack. the worst thing for me is hidden sugar, i used to buy the no sugar, healthy option, low in fat and find they are as bad, so i just make my own whatever it is, then i know no sugar or salt means no sugar or salt.

If I remember correctly xylitol needs half the quantity but i have followed baking recipes with no problems.

Otherwise I have used date syrup in the past but that doesn't work with as many recipes.

I have used xylitol and no-one has noticed any difference at all in baking.

Like others here I often try reducing the sugar in recipes and most of the time there's no discernable difference in the tastefulness of the product. I always had a sweet tooth and now I'm in my 70s (better late than never) I'm trying to wean myself off sugary things. Fortunately I don't eat many sweets, biscuits or cakes, but do like sugary drinks so I'm cutting down on those.

Yes. I just don't make things that contain lots of sugar. If you don't make it you can't eat it. I'd rather not subject my body to it.

After cutting out sugar from tea/coffee/cereals I find many restaurant deserts too sweet now. I cannot stand sugar substitutes. After my mother was diagnosed with diabetes (she was a biccy/cake/chocoholic) and back then sugar free wasn't so easy to find & expensive. We put together a lovely hamper of sugar free items for her, it looked great & I was so pleased to have sourced such a selection. She gorged herself silly even though she knew not to, the more dad said don't the more she ate (I realised later it was the start of her dementia) she was dreadfully 'indisposed' with the adverse effects of so much sugar substitute. Claimed I'd tried to poison her on a regular basis to the end of her days!

In the past I've used American low sugar recipes only to find them sweeter than English recipes. So I think the take away from that would be if following American recipes only out a fraction of the sugar in. Those cupcakes too, they look beautiful but eating one with all the buttercream on, reàlly not good, they make me feel sick. Butterfly buns with a dab of buttercream, so very different

I find adding ripe wild blackberries to stewed apples adds enough sweetness for me (picked & frozen) but not for my DH who lashes sugar onto and into everything. If we go away I have to take a container of sugar because the provided bedroom satchets (for two people) are virtually gone after his 1st cup.

I've reduced sugar to 4 ozs and has worked well. Not brave enough to go to 3 ozs , would be worried about not having enough to beat air in with the fat. That's my limited approach to science!

I always third the sugar in cake recipes, no one has ever noticed!! Add a bit of mixed spice and sorted, GS loves them.

Have reduced sugar in recipes and turned out ok. Other ways to reduce sugar is to be very aware of what goes into drinks - I don't mean alcoholic ones. e.g. 13 tsp in a high street burger bar's milkshakes........... syrup flavoured coffees.........etc. etc.

Georgia101 you beat me to it! Was going to suggest stevia(?) leaf sweetener, which contains erythrytol, I think. M...s sell it. Be careful of sugar free sweets, I had two small gummy beers and my blood sugar went up 4 points.

Annepl - I use erythrytol sweetener in recipes instead of sugar, and the taste is no different to using sugar. I have often reduced the quantity of sugar in recipes, and also leave out salt if it's mentioned. I've never had anything turn out bad (at least for those reasons) . I found out about erythrytol when I started the keto diet, and my diabetes has reversed to pre-diabetic, and have been told I might even be non diabetic at all at my next check up due soon.

I wish I was like you Bradfordlass. I'm prediabetic and I struggle not to eat sweet foods. I so envy those who say I'm more a savoury person.

There is just one small thing I might take you up on Yehbutnobut - please don't assume that because you can't resist sweet things straight from the oven (which you seemed to imply) that I am the same.

I have taken many hundreds of delicious things from my oven over the years and never once been tempted to eat a morsel.

My diet is radically different from the one I was brought up on, simply because if I decide it is better for my health not to eat something, I simply don't eat it. EOS.

It used to be called willpower - to me it's just normal.

As I have a low-fat, wheat free, mostly meat and sugar-free diet - that gives you some idea of just what I do resist.

But put a plate of poached fish and broccoli, or a fresh avocado salad in front of me and that is my idea of heaven....

Yehbutnobut I haven't taken it the wrong way.
On this occasion I certainly did taste the Bakewell Tart (why not?) but it was essentially made for guests.

Not that I don't eat sweet stuff, I do.
However, I very much doubt a piece of Rice Krispie sugar-free slice, will result in this obese, 72 year old carking it.

I stay clear of wheat (99% of the time but I'm not obsessive) and as my grandson is sugar free, gluten free and dairy free, I'm researching and experimenting like mad so he doesn't miss out at Christmas.

Callistemon I am but it's nothing to do with calories, more the above for my dgs.
I long ago gave up on calories to prioritise for good health.

I can (and do) easily live without wheat and sugar and my daily diet has been low fat for decades but an 11 year old at Christmas deserves some wee treats so he feels like everyone else.

The Bakewell Tart experiment was the first time I'd made that particular recipe with less than half its sugar content and I expected it to fail. The fact it didn't, gives me courage to go on and try more things.

Dgs loves ginger cookies, so now I am trying to find and make a wheat free, sugar free version.

Sadly, so many of those who write about 'sugar free' goodies on the Internet, don't seem to realise golden and maple syrups, molasses etc is still sugar!

Yehbut, its not nice to be rude.

Are you experimenting with low calorie alternatives to traditional dishes? - that sounds an excellent thing to do, BradfordLass

Yehbutnobut that is rather rude

I think that BradfordLass is very knowledgeable about diet etc and has in fact written books on the subject.

I haven't reduced it that much,maybe 6 to 4. But I will try less next time.

Please don’t take this the wrong way BradfordLass but you say you’re obese. Why make something as delicious as a Bakewell Tart which is almost impossible to resist fresh from the oven, even with less sugar.

Or have I got it wrong and you don’t eat the fruits of your own baking.