On hand, I have Splenda, Diabetiasweet and Erythritol.

Would a combination of these 3 make an acceptable substitute for all-around use in baking? What would the ratio be? If not...what else should I get?

I would like to make up a batch to keep handy.

Thanks for your help!

Deb

Although I don't feel this is a 1 size fits all situation.....this thread may help.


http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=301031

I probably have a formula using those ingredients on another board, but that was from at least a year and a half ago and since that time I've learned more about erythritol, making it defunct.

Like Kevin, I approach sweeteners from a recipe to recipe basis and that's what I generally recommend to others. If you feel like pre-mixing sweeteners would make your life a lot easier and you absolutely must have a ratio to work with. I'd go with something like this:

For 1 Cup sweetening equivalent use:
1/3 C. Splenda
1/4 C. Diabetisweet
3 T. granular erythritol

I'm assuming, of course, that you/your family/the people you bake for tolerate the isomalt in the diabetisweet relatively well (no stalling/laxation). If you want to pre-mix this, you'll need to make up 1 cup's worth and measure the volume. Depending on the shape of the particles, there's no way of knowing how they'll fit together/how much volume you'll end up with. When you do measure the volume, if you could let us know how much it comes to, that would be appreciated.

Btw, from a quality of sweetness perspective, this is a phenomenal combination of sweeteners. In baked goods, this is going to taste SO much better than splenda on it's own. From a carb perspective, though, the maltodextrin in the splenda could be cut out by using liquid splenda (or, for pre-mixing, pure sucralose powder) and the somewhat carby diabetisweet could be decreased/erythritol increased with the addition of some polyd. From a textural perspective, this will provide some gooeyness/chewiness, but not much (about 1/2 as much as sugar). Again, polyd would be a huge help in terms of sugary texture.

Thanks Kevin...actually that was the thread that got me thinking about doing up a "pre-mix". However, when it got into the chemistry-ism..I was overwhelmed!

Scott...I swear Alton Brown has nothing on you !!
I really don't know much about polydextrose and have started to do some research on this after reading the thread Kevin referenced. My erythritol
should be delivered Tues and I will probably try the formula has you have given. How do you think this will work in an ice cream?

Thank you both for your help!!

Deb

Your welcome!

Now, as far as ice cream goes...

Isomalt is a relative good freezing point depressor, but it's not as good as erythritol. The more erythritol you can use in ice cream, the more likely it'll be scoopable after being frozen. Without the polyd, though, erythritol has crystallization issues in larger quantities.

The bulk of sugar provides important emulsifying properties to ice cream as well. With half the bulk, you may end up with iciness/fat clumping.

I would say that it'll give you a far superior ice cream to splenda on it's own, but without polyd, the jury's out.

I think it's worth a shot. Try subbing this for sugar in your favorite egg based recipe. If you have xanthan gum, add a bit of that as well, maybe 1/2 t. per qt. of base.

You never know

What a wiz, Scott!! Thank you for taking the time to help me.

If I were to throw the polyd into the mix...at what proportions?

Since the isomalt in diabetisweet is somewhat suspect in both the carb impact/stalling area as well as the laxation area and since polyd performs the same textural duties, I'd drop the isomalt from a polyd mix (and add ace k). Here's the mix that I recommend:

For each cup sugar use:
2/3 C. polyd
1/3 C. granular erythritol
1/3 C. granular splenda (or liquid equivalent)
1 packet Sweet One ace k

If you've got the diabetisweet and really want to use it up, though, then I'd give something like this a shot:

For each cup sugar use:
1/2 C. polyd
1/4 C. granular erythritol
3 T. granular splenda (or liquid equivalent)
1/4 C. diabetisweet

Both of these blends match both the sweetness and the bulk of sugar.

nevermind -- -----------

Well..I used up all the diabetisweet on the feeble ice-cream attempt. (Can you say concrete cinder block????). Scott...your anticipated results seem to be dead on with the icing...but will try to thaw it some tonight to get a better idea of the texture. The taste, however, was very good and I think the combination of sweetners was excellent. I've read that glycerine may help with my "cement" problem!

I doubt I will bother with any more diabetisweet. The Sweetzfree I ordered came today and the PolyD is on its way. I'm extremely anxious to try so many of the recipes I've found. (Some especially great ones by Kevin).

By the way...the first ratio of blends you offered came to just slightly over 2/3 cup. Sorry I didn't get a more exact measurement!

Thanks for all your help......your knowledge just amazes me!!!

Deb

I bit of alcohol can not only flavor your icecream, but also helps keep it scoopable. I have had good results when adding a bit of booze (couple tablespoons of rum for example) and some glycerine.

Brobin

Unfortunately...this was a coconut rum ice cream and contained 1/2 c. rum. I did substitute 1 cup whole milk with 2T heavy cream w/enough water to make 1 cup....don't know if this contributed to the concrete! I guess in the future I will stick to the "tried and true" recipes of the experts on these boards...and stop trying to do it myself.
The recipe I was trying to adapt is one of Emeril's...Coconut Rum Ice Cream served over a grilled pineapple slice! Sounded soooo good to me!!!

Deb

Deb, don't fret. Once you start using polyd, you'll be able to increase the erythritol. Nothing is better than creating softer ice cream than erythritol.

You can always drink the rum straight while you chip away at your icecream.

Don't give up on experimenting, thats how you learn. I usually use a proven recipe first, then branch off from there the next time. Over time, you get pretty good at tweaking recipes to your own tastes and preferences.

Brobin

Now why didn't I think of that!!!!