Jan
03
Question to the Readers: Agave Nectar
By
Ok, there’s a big ingredient in my pantry thanks to Costco and that’s a supersized bottle of Agave Nectar. I have to confess, I have yet to open it and need to start experimenting.
Do any of you use agave nectar in your cooking and, if so, how? Is there a recipe you like to use with Agave Nectar?
5 Comments
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Hi Lys,
I LOVE it. I just substitute it for white sugar or honey 1 to 1, so if the recipe calls for 1 cup of white sugar, then I use 1 cup of agave nectar. But some folks say, because it’s sweeter than sugar, that you only have to use 3/4 cup agave nectar to every 1 cup of sugar. You need to experiment.
Also I don’t change anything else, but some recipes say to increase the flour by 1/4 cup or to decrease the liquid by 1/4 cup, because obviously, it’s more liquidy. Try it in something like banana bread first. Here’s a recipe I posted: http://foodnetworkmusings.blogspot.com/2009/01/worldwide-blogger-bake-off.html
Good luck!
.-= Sue´s last blog ..The Cablevision/Food Network Dispute – Is What Women Want Not Important? =-.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:04 AM
Hiya!
Welcome to the world of cooking/baking with agave nectar. I use it exclusively instead of other sweeteners and keep a blog dedicated to my experiments with it.
I always use 2/3 to 1/2 as much agave as I do sugar. It goes a long way and is 3x sweeter than granulated sugar. Also, I drop the oven temperature by 25 degrees F because recipes using agave nectar brown quickly.
In the past, I have balanced the liquid with a little coconut flour (a tablespoon or so) because the high fiber content in coconut sucks up the liquid nicely.
Please come visit my blog to see some of the many uses of agave there are. Altered Plates = http://alteredplates.blogspot.com.
Good luck!
.-= Deb Schiff´s last blog ..A Whole Different Kettle of Cranberries =-.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:25 AM
My agave nectar tends to get used for Hot Buttered Rum. Mix some brown sugar, butter, agave nectar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove together, melt that in hot water, add some rum. So tasty. Great for the winter.
http://thefoodgeek.com/blog/2008/12/17/hot-buttered-rum.html
As it’s supposed to be flavor-neutral, I’ve tried it in coffee and tea, but that doesn’t really work for my tastes. I have not yet tried it in baking.
.-= Brian J. Geiger´s last blog ..The Many Faces of Yeast =-.
January 18th, 2010 at 4:13 PM
We are clearly cut from the same cloth, darling! I LOVE agave. if you want flavor neutral, you have to get the light version, which is simply filtered more, not light like artificial.
Dark agave is a great sub for honey and brown sugar, light agave for everything else. It’s especially good in cocktails because it dissolves into cold liquid with no problem! More here in my post here: http://southphillyfashionista.com/?p=960
January 27th, 2010 at 12:16 PM
I just saw an episode of Good Eats and Alton Brown used agave nectar in his from-scratch margarita. It’s a perfect fit! Though, he also mentioned that it’s flavor neutral as well. I have yet to try the stuff.
.-= michelle´s last blog ..A ROOM FOR BABY =-.