Proposed Vegan-Friendly Sugar Adjustments: Agave Syrup (Subject to Change)

In the previous article, I shared a sugar composition suitable for vegans using maple syrup and maltose. However, I've been concerned about the taste, as it lacked sweetness and felt slightly bland.

Therefore, to improve the flavor, I experimented with a new ingredient ratio using agave syrup, which is primarily composed of fructose.

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Comparison Before and After Changes

Before Changes:

• Ingredients:

• Acacia Honey (Hachiya): 3g
• Multifloral Honey (Fujii Beekeeping): 3g

After Changes:

• Ingredients:

• Agave Syrup (Sakura Jirushi): 3g (changed ingredient)
• Maple Syrup (Morinaga＆Co., Ltd.): 3g (changed ingredient)　

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I reconsidered the components of sugars in terms of flavor.

Both agave syrup and acacia honey are primarily composed of fructose and have similar carbohydrate content, so I believe the agave syrup can substitute for the acacia honey.

The multifloral honey, primarily composed of glucose(about 0.6 times sweeter than sucrose) and containing about 80% carbohydrates, is approximately 0.5 times as sweet as regular sugar. Maple syrup, composed mainly of sucrose with around 65% carbohydrates, is about 0.6 times the sweetness of regular sugar. On the other hand, maltose syrup, primarily composed of maltose (about 0.3 times sweeter than sucrose) and containing around 70% carbohydrates, is about 0.2 times as sweet as regular sugar. Therefore, I believe maple syrup can serve as a substitute for multifloral honey to maintain similar sweetness levels.

The result of the test baking with currant rice bread is great!

It has a beautifully delicate crumb, like silk.

The agave syrup has a slight, peculiar taste, but this flavor does not remain after baking. I feel the taste is better than the previous one. Since this ratio does not use maltose syrup, the fermentation time does not need to be extended compared to the original recipe.

However, this consideration is based solely on the sugar composition prior to fermentation, so there may be changes in flavor due to the fermentation process.

I would like to experiment with other ingredient ratios, and I will share the new recipes once they are finalized.