Sweeteners

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ScottM

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I'm struggling to find a decent sweetener without having to go down the ole supermarket spenda route. As you will all be aware with cider kits the yeast sachet often contains around 5g of yeast and the rest is sweetener. Most of the ciders I have produced with these kits have been moderately sweet, so how on earth do they manage it with such a small amount?

Is it a concentrated sweetener or is it something to do with the process or other ingredients? Can this sweetener be bought? Chucking in half a tub of splenda for a batch seems like overkill if there was a much smaller alternative.

I would also love to get a hold of the concentrate flavours that are used in these sorts of kits. One little pouch with about 100ml of liquid flavours a 25L batch? I don't think there is anything in the supermarket that even comes close to those concentration levels.
 
Would it be as simple as crushed sweetener tablets? The sort Auntie Norma puts in her tea during the diet season :D

Not tried them since I can't have sweeteners (cause migraines) but seems like a decent idea, easier to store too than a 3m x 3m box of splenda :lol:
 
Frogfurlong said:
Would it be as simple as crushed sweetener tablets? The sort Auntie Norma puts in her tea during the diet season :D

Not tried them since I can't have sweeteners (cause migraines) but seems like a decent idea, easier to store too than a 3m x 3m box of splenda :lol:

That's a really good point, those are far more concentrated than the powders. I doubt they would need crushed as they dissolve easily but I guess it wouldn't hurt.

Surely a product must be available in bulk powder form for general use though? Baking, cooking and brewing are 3 obvious areas.
 
Frogfurlong said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1Kg-Pouch-BIRCH-XYLITOL-Sugar-Free-Sweetener-1000g-Kilo-/230583983078

Xylitol does not caramelise or ferment with yeast.

:D

Pricey stuff though, and not concentrated that I can see so would be used 1:1.

Ive been looking at sucralose. It looks the part, same as the little sweetener tabs. 600x sweeter than sugar. Pricey at around £18 per 100g but at 600:1 works out not bad. I'm guessing that's what the companies use.
 
http://www.blackburndistributions.com/h ... 80-148-173

Aspartame tends to be the food industry's darling of choice. 200x sweeter than sugar and cheap too with a typical price of approx £5 for 25g you can see where the price savings add up

sugar = £1 per kilo (approx)
Aspartame = £20 per kilo

sugar 1:1
Aspartame 200:1 = approx £0.10 for equivalent sweetness.


This stuff is the real killer for me, it causes severe migraine which can set me in bed for days.
 
Frogfurlong said:
http://www.blackburndistributions.com/healthcare/sweeteners-&-flavourings/aspartame-powder/p-80-148-173

Aspartame tends to be the food industry's darling of choice. 200x sweeter than sugar and cheap too with a typical price of approx £5 for 25g you can see where the price savings add up

sugar = £1 per kilo (approx)
Aspartame = £20 per kilo

sugar 1:1
Aspartame 200:1 = approx £0.10 for equivalent sweetness.


This stuff is the real killer for me, it causes severe migraine which can set me in bed for days.

I cant do aspartame, I avoid it like the plague. Sucralose seems a lesser of 2 evils. Think ill give it a go. 1/4 tsp per batch seems a bargain lol
 
ScottM said:
http://www.amazon.com/EZ-Sweetz-2oz-Liquid-Sweetener-Servings/dp/B002MO765O

There's something in america that sounds handy.
Be careful with US sweeteners, they do not have the tight regulations we have in the UK and one well known US one is banned here as it is believed to be highly carcinogenic.
Because it was a company owned by a former US President it got pushed through over there!!
 
Kinleycat said:
ScottM said:
http://www.amazon.com/EZ-Sweetz-2oz-Liquid-Sweetener-Servings/dp/B002MO765O

There's something in america that sounds handy.
Be careful with US sweeteners, they do not have the tight regulations we have in the UK and one well known US one is banned here as it is believed to be highly carcinogenic.
Because it was a company owned by a former US President it got pushed through over there!!

Oh no I definitely wouldn't go with a US one. For the obvious reasons and because shipping would be crazy (and take forever).

I was just using it as an example :)

Sucralose seems to be signed off by everyone as far as I can tell.
 
Well I got my sucralose and I set about giving it a go today. Man that stuff is POWERFUL.

I wasn't really sure how much to add to a DJ so I went with what I thought would be a reasonable amount.... 1/4 tsp. I then added 40g of sugar for carbonation. Stole a little sip while bottling and it's stupidly sweet. I'm hoping that once the priming sugar ferments out that it'll be a bit dryer but I can't see it having the effect that I'm after.

For future reference, 1/8th of a tsp absolute tops per DJ :D
 
im tempted by the xylitol, then u can market the wine as anticariogenic like all the chewing gums :lol: also i think the more conc ones taste a bit iffy-sucralose looks promising like-mind u xylitol is quite the laxative...
 
Not used Stevia on account of reliable reports that is does have a bitter after taste. It is a 'natural' product though and some people favour it on the grounds that it is 'better' than Splenda which is artificial. In truth both products are produced using a reasonable amount of processing.

If you wanted to produce flat cider you could always add a CT to put an end to the yeast and then just use sugar syrup to sweeten up naturally?

My choice is splenda as a non-fermentable sweetner.
 
Thrupney_Bit said:
Not used Stevia on account of reliable reports that is does have a bitter after taste. It is a 'natural' product though and some people favour it on the grounds that it is 'better' than Splenda which is artificial. In truth both products are produced using a reasonable amount of processing.

If you wanted to produce flat cider you could always add a CT to put an end to the yeast and then just use sugar syrup to sweeten up naturally?

My choice is splenda as a non-fermentable sweetner.

Alas I'm not a flat cider fan or I would be sorted :D

I would recommend looking into pure sucralose. Splenda is just sucralose with other added "filler". Doing away with all the filler nonsense should make for a cleaner brew, I would have thought anyway.

The downfall is that the stuff is bloody expensive (£23 for 100g delivered) but it goes a ridiculously long way as it's the eqiuvalent of 60kg of Sugar :D
 
Do you get the same hideous "diet coke" aftertaste with any of these sweeteners?
 
Zedilly said:
Do you get the same hideous "diet coke" aftertaste with any of these sweeteners?

No idea yet, will need to wait till the brew is ready. I think most sweetened alcoholic drinks are done with sweetener though.
 
1 gallon of vino just went down the sink. I seriously can't believe how powerful this stuff is. It REALLY is 600x sweeter than sugar. I put 1/4 tsp in a gallon by accident (meant to put it in the cider) but was bottling it anyway so thought I would make do with a "sweet" wine. Totally undrinkable, I let the Wife try it (who likes sweet stuff) and her face was a picture.

It's not just sweet, it's not just overly sweet... it's OMFG WTF is THAT sweet lol.

Measuring spoons ordered, this stuff can't be guessed.
 
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