Agave Nectar
Written: May 20 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Delicious & so much healthier!
Cons: Occasional mild structural problems
The Bottom Line: So good you'll think it's black magic.
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| owling's Full Review: Ania Catalano - Baking with Agave Nectar: 80 Recip... |
Agave nectar is a sweetener made from the agave cactus, the same plant we make tequila from. Agave has recently become the focus of much attention because of its surprisingly low glycemic index: this means that it converts to blood sugar in the body very slowly, which prevents the quick ups and downs associated with the ingestion of most sweets. This is great news for hypoglycemics and diabetics, who have to be careful of their blood sugar. It's also great for folks who struggle with their weight and their sweet tooth---the flood of insulin that accompanies a spike in blood sugar is what causes the subsequent crash in blood sugar, and this tends to make people eat more to bring their blood sugar back up again. By keeping your blood sugar more stable, you can have occasional sweets without kicking off so much of that cycle.
In Baking with Agave Nectar Ania Catalano presents over 100 recipes for using this intense sweetener, many of which are designed to be healthy in other ways, too. These recipes use whole grains, for example---pie crusts often involve oat flour, barley flour, whole wheat pastry flour, etc. Fruit substitutes for butter in some recipes, providing moisture and structure to cupcakes and the like. While some recipes use dairy (such as a banana cream pie that has whipped cream folded into a custard), others are vegan, such as a coconut custard pie made with tofu, of all things.
These are very different recipes. They don't simply substitute agave for processed sugar in 'normal' recipes. Ms. Catalano makes the assumption that if you're switching to agave, you're doing it because you want to be healthier in general. What amazes me, however, is the fact that she manages to do this without compromising the deliciousness of her recipes. In fact, these recipes are so utterly amazing that I wouldn't hesitate to make something from this book instead of a similar recipe from a non-healthy book, even if I weren't trying to be healthy in my eating.
The directions in this book are easy to follow, and the recipes are clear and easy to read. The photos are gorgeous and mouth-watering (the book includes photos for some recipes but not all). The only problem I encountered at all is one that's tough to avoid when dealing with whole grains: some baked goods lack a certain amount of structural integrity. One pie crust we made tended to fall apart pretty easily. Similarly, the chocolate chip cookies we made from this book tended to fall apart. However, I can virtually guarantee that once you taste a bite of either, you simply won't care about structure!
The coconut custard pie was the dish that most amazed me. The idea of a coconut custard pie based on tofu instead of dairy seemed dubious at best. Yet it was SO delicious that I could hardly stop eating it, and I would---in a heartbeat---make it again instead of a regular coconut custard pie. It was that good.
The banana daiquiri cupcakes were a similar shock. We thought they came out so well that we risked bringing them to a friend's retirement-from-the-army picnic. (Normally I try not to spring 'healthy' foods on unsuspecting people, particularly at a function where I don't know everyone.) The cupcakes were so good that I don't think a single person guessed they were healthy, and we got a ton of compliments on them. They disappeared VERY quickly.
If you're looking for a way to eat more healthfully but can't give up your sweets, I highly recommend Ania Catalano's Baking with Agave Nectar. You might not want to go back to regular desserts by the time you're done!
Review copy courtesy of Ten Speed Press
Recommended:
Yes
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owling
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Member: Heather Grove
Location: Maryland, USA
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