Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave, 44 Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2)

by Wholesome Sweeteners

Product Features

• Pack of 2, 44 ounce bottle (88)
• A perfect multi-purpose sweetener for beverages, fresh fruit and general table-top use
• Sweet, mild nectar is 25% sweeter than sugar
• Glycemic index of 39 or less; Natural sweetness without the blood sugar spike
• Specially produced at low temperatures and mildly filtered, it has a full, natural flavor

Product Description

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave is a natural sweetener extracted from the core of the Blue Agave plant. Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar is perfect for everyone, including raw-food enthusiasts!. This amber nectar has a distinct and delicious flavor that genuinely enhances foods' natural sweetness. It is certified Organic and GMO-Free, and appropriate for vegan and plant-based diets. It is stable, non-crystallizing and quick dissolving.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 5.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001P74NXM
• UPC: 012511214425
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (162 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228 in Grocery & Gourmet Food (See Top 100 in Grocery & Gourmet Food)
  • #5 in Grocery & Gourmet Food > Cooking & Baking Supplies > Sugar Substitutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The facts about Agave, January 21, 2011

By 

Pamela Rickey (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave, 44 Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2) (Grocery)

We all know that too much sugar, or fructose, is bad for you. And that includes agave, which is concentrated fructose. However, I like the taste of agave, especially as compared to other sugar substitutes, and I can use less of it than sugar (see below). It has a lower glycemic index (meaning the body metabolizes it slower reducing the risk of an insulin spike), and it is natural rather than chemically engineered like high fructose corn syrup. The key to all sugars is moderation. Unfortunately, almost all baked or processed foods that we buy are loaded with sugars, especially high fructose corn syrup. At least by baking my own foods I can have more control over my family's sugar consumption and I am happy to have found agave so that when I do occasionally bake sweets, at least I can use less of it.

Raw organic blue agave is not chemically processed as some have indicated. It is the pure juice from the blue agave plant. The juice is extracted by stripping the leaves of the plant, then chopping up the bulbous base of the plant which is heated to no more than 118° to get the juice flowing. The actual extraction is accomplished through centrifugal force and the juice obtained is then bottled. (I should mention there are other processes that can be used which would entail heating to a higher temperature, but which still results in juice without additives--although any natural enzymes would be killed at higher heat.) Blue agave has a glycemic index of 11 as compared to sugar which is 68-85. Calories are the same as sugar but it takes half as much to three quarters as much agave to be as sweet as sugar, meaning less calories for the same sweetness.

Compare this process to how High Fructose Corn Syrup is made. Corn kernels are soaked in warm water along with sulfur dioxide (a toxic gas). This makes it easier to separate the starch, hull, protein and oil components. The kernals are then milled wet to remove the oil. The remaining corn starch is washed. Next, three types of genetically-engineered enzymes are added to the resulting starch and water mixture. This breaks down the starch into glucose and fructose to create the desired balance of the two. The final step is an evaporation process to obtain the desired consistency.

So, you decide. Agave, (which does retain some minerals and nutrients found in the agave plant), highly refined table sugar with no nutrients, chemically engineered high fructose corn syrup, chemical sugar substitutes, which may have side effects or health risks, or other sweeteners such as Stevia, which is natural but leaves a bitter aftertaste?

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing flavor!, April 30, 2009

By 

J. Stenulis "Canes Mom" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave, 44 Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2) (Grocery)

Anyone with or WITHOUT insulin issues should use this in place of table sugar or artificial sugars! It taste like a good maple syrup, with half the calories and a very low glycemic load. I use this in my hot tea, over fresh fruit, in baking recipes, etc. It has endless possibilities.

As for price, you cannot beat the price here on Amazon! I order this two pack for the price of 8 bottles at Whole Foods. Try a smaller bottle from WF and if you like it, come back here to Amazon to save BIG.

112 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars PLEASE I implore you to do research before buying Blue Agave!, September 7, 2010

By 

R. Yoo (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave, 44 Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2) (Grocery)

Agave syrup (nectar) is basically high-fructose corn syrup masquerading as a health food.

Agave nectar has a low-glycemic index for one reason only: it's largely made of fructose, which although it has a low-glycemic index, is probably the single most damaging form of sugar when used as a sweetener. With the exception of pure liquid fructose, agave nectar has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener.

All sugar -- from table sugar to HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) to honey -- contains some mixture of fructose and glucose. Table sugar is 50/50, HFCS is 55/45. Agave nectar is a whopping 90 percent fructose, almost -- but not quite -- twice as high as High Fructose Corn Syrup!!!!

Based on the labeling, I could picture native peoples creating their own agave nectar from the wild agave plants. Surely, this was a traditional food, eaten for thousands of years. Sadly, it is not.

Native Mexican peoples do make a sort of sweetener out of the agave plant. It's called miel de agave, and it's made by boiling the agave sap for a couple of hours. Think of it as the Mexican version of authentic Canadian maple syrup.

But this is not what agave nectar is. According to one popular agave nectar manufacturer, "Agave nectar is a newly created sweetener, having been developed in the 1990s." In a recent article now posted on the Weston A. Price foundation's website, Ramiel Nagel and Sally Fallon Morell write,

Agave "nectar" is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from the starch of the giant pineapple-like, root bulb. The principal constituent of the agave root is starch, similar to the starch in corn or rice, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of chains of fructose molecules.Technically a highly indigestible fiber, inulin, which does not taste sweet, comprises about half of the carbohydrate content of agave.

The process by which agave glucose and inulin are converted into "nectar" is similar to the process by which corn starch is converted into HFCS. The agave starch is subject to an enzymatic and chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich syrup--anywhere from 70 percent fructose and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites.

"Agave syrup is almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing," said Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a fellow of the American College of Nutrition and an associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. "Fructose interferes with healthy metabolism when (consumed) at higher doses", she told me. "Many people have fructose intolerance like lactose intolerance. They get acne or worse diabetes symptoms even though their blood [sugar] is OK".

Agave nectar syrup is a triumph of marketing over science. True, it has a low-glycemic index, but so does gasoline -- that doesn't mean it's good for you.

If you simply must have some sweets, a small amount of agave nectar every once in a while isn't going to kill you. Just don't buy into the idea that it's any better for you than plain old sugar or HFCS.

Info is taken from Jonny Bowden, PhD, C.N.S.


So please. I implore each and every one of you to do your own research on this sham of a product and tell everyone you know. Write letters and let the world know that we won't fall prey to loopholes in "Organic Marketing". The fact that so many people use this because they are diabetic is quite frightening.