What is that
The agave syrup - in Anglo-Saxon language "agave syrup" or "agave nectar - is a sweet food used as a natural sweetener.
It is produced by processing some species of the genus Agave, including the "American, the tequilana (or blue agave) and the salmiana.
Agave syrup is often advertised as a "healthy sweetener", but not without criticism from the scientific community.
In fact, due to its high fructose content (even higher than corn syrup), it can be responsible for the chronic increase in blood sugar (hyperglycemia), which is correlated with: overweight, insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia (all risk factors cardiovascular). Obviously, this happens exclusively in conjunction with an excess of portions and the frequency of consumption of the food.
Composition and Health
As anticipated, agave syrup is mainly made up of carbohydrates; specifically, 47-56% of fructose and 16-20% of glucose. The percentage differences between the products are probably due to variations in cultivation and to different species of agave.
At the same glycemic load (or portion), the glycemic index of agave syrup is comparable to that of fructose syrup. All in all, this is a reasonable parameter, as it is much lower than sucrose.
On the other hand, excessive consumption of fructose can also be deleterious and trigger:
- Intestinal fructose malabsorption symptoms
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypertriglyceridemia
- Reduction of glucose tolerance
- Hyperinsulinemia
- Metabolic syndrome
- Acceleration of uric acid synthesis.
Culinary Uses
Agave syrup is 1.4-1.6 times sweeter than sucrose syrup and is often used as a substitute for sugar in recipes. Being extremely soluble, it is used as a sweetener for cold drinks. Also, thanks to its stickiness , is sometimes used as a binding ingredient for breakfast cereals.
Vegans use it, similar to maple syrup, as an alternative to honey.
Raw foodists who, in addition to following a vegan diet, do not consume cooked foods, use a type of agave syrup called "raw or raw."
Agave syrup is marketed in various types: light, amber, dark and raw or raw. In the next chapter we will better understand how different products can be obtained from the same plant. Now, let's proceed with the organoleptic description of the various types of syrup. agave:
- Clear: it has a delicate, almost neutral flavor, therefore it is used in particularly delicate dishes and drinks
- Amber: has a medium intensity flavor, tending to caramel, and is used in dishes and drinks with a strong taste
- Dark: has quite intense caramel notes and gives a distinct flavor to structured dishes such as some desserts, poultry, other meats and fish.
Amber and dark agave syrup are sometimes used "straight from the bottle" as a topping for pancakes, pancackes, waffles, waffles and French toast.
The dark version is unfiltered and therefore contains a higher concentration of minerals.
The raw agave syrup has a more delicate, neutral taste and is produced at temperatures below 48 ° C; in this way it is possible to reduce the enzymatic denaturation of the catalysts naturally present in the agave plant.
Production
To traditionally produce the syrup of "Agave American And tequilana, the leaves of the plants must be cut when the organism has reached a minimum age of seven and a maximum of fourteen years.
The juice is subsequently extracted from the internal pulp, called “piña”, then filtered and finally heated to hydrolyze the polysaccharides into simple sugars; the main polysaccharide is called inulin or fructosan, as it consists mainly of fructose.
The filtered juice is concentrated until a syrupy liquid is obtained, slightly less dense than honey. The color varies from light, amber and dark, depending on the temperature and processing time.
L"Agave salmiana instead, it is processed differently. With the development of the entire plant, a stem called "quiote" also grows; it is decided before it completely emerges, leaving a hole where it is filled with the so-called "aguamiel". The liquid, collected daily, is subsequently heated to hydrolyze it. polysaccharides and prevent fermentation (at the base of the so-called “pulque”, an alcoholic drink).
There is also an alternative processing method to heat; this, patented in the United States, exploits the "enzymatic action of"Aspergillus niger (yeast) for the conversion of inulin into fructose; this microorganism is "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS), or "generally considered safe" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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