Danielle Moore
Rice syrup – what is it made of? How does it taste? And is it a healthy sugar alternative? PraxisVITA took a closer look at the sweetener.
What is rice syrup?
Rice syrup is a sweetener that originated in Japan. It consists of oligosaccharides (multiple sugars), glucose (dextrose), and maltose (malt sugar) and contains minerals such as potassium (126 milligrams per 100 grams), sodium (50 milligrams), and magnesium (46 milligrams). The sweet syrup does not contain fructose.
How do you make rice syrup?
The syrup is made from ground whole-grain rice. Rice flour is mixed with water and heated. Natural enzymes are then added to break down the rice starch into sugars. The result is a syrupy mass reminiscent of honey. For this reason, the sugar alternative is also known as rice honey.
What does the sugar substitute taste like?
Rice syrup tastes a little less sweet than honey and a little bit like caramel.
How many calories does rice honey have?
The sweetener has 315 kilocalories per 100 grams. For comparison: table sugar has 387 calories per 100 grams. At first glance, you save calories when using it. Note, however, that resin syrup is less sweetening – to get a sweet taste, you have to use a little more syrup than table sugar.
What can I use rice syrup for?
Rice syrup is suitable for sweetening muesli, yogurt, coffee, and tea and for healthy baking. You can use it like honey. Rice syrup also tastes good on bread.
Where can you buy the sugar substitute?
You can buy rice syrup in health food stores, health food stores, drugstores, supermarkets, or online.
Replacing sugar with rice syrup in baking – how much?
If you want to bake with rice syrup, you can replace the amount of sugar specified in the recipe 1:1 with it. But note: Rice syrup is liquid – so use 10 percent less liquid than specified in the recipe.
Benefits of Rice Syrup
Rice syrup has a high proportion of polysaccharides and therefore enters the blood more slowly than table sugar. The blood sugar level does not rise as much, does not fall as rapidly and there is no craving for sweets.
Another advantage: since rice syrup contains almost no fructose (less than 0.2 grams per 100 grams), it is suitable as a sugar substitute for people with fructose intolerance. For vegans, rice syrup offers an alternative to honey.
Disadvantages of sugar substitutes
Since the sweetening power is slightly lower than that of table sugar or honey, more rice syrup is used for sweetening, depending on taste. Rice syrup is more expensive than sugar or honey: 500 grams cost around six euros.
