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Taste test for artificial sweetners

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dkw12002@yahoo.com - 30 Mar 2007 02:29 GMT
Since Splenda costs about twice to three times what Equal does, and
Sweet and Low is even cheaper, I decided to do my own taste tests for
the three.

Only Splenda makes the granulated stuff, so if you want some
additional bulk in a food, you have to use it. For cereal and drinks
though, you have a choice. The packets of all three brands contain 4
calories per packet, first of all, so they are not zero calories, but
they are allowed to round off to zero from 4, which is rather
dishonest.

For me the 3 tastes are distinct and quite different. I like Equal
best by far. It tastes sweeter than Splenda for the same number of
packets, although both taste good. Sweet and Low just tastes nasty to
me....a bitter aftertaste that isn't present with the other two.

Then I noticed something unusual. When you use BOTH Equal and Splenda
together, the food tastes even sweeter than the same amount of either
one alone. Try it.

I started buying much less Splenda though, since Equal is much
cheaper...and the generic or store brands even less-expensive. dkw
JulieB - 30 Mar 2007 02:55 GMT
On Mar 30, 11:29 am, "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Since Splenda costs about twice to three times what Equal does, and
> Sweet and Low is even cheaper, I decided to do my own taste tests for
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> packets, although both taste good. Sweet and Low just tastes nasty to
> me....a bitter aftertaste that isn't present with the other two.

Equal (aspartame) was originally marketed as having no bitter
aftertaste.  This is true - it acutally has *no* aftertaste.
Unfortunately, real sugar does have an aftertaste, or, more
accurately, it stops tasting after a relatively short period of time.
Aspartame's sweetness takes about twice as long to cut off.  This is
why you can generally tell the difference between real sugar and
aspartame, and why aspartame tastes sweeter - it actually just stays
sweet for a longer period of time.

Splenda (sucralose) has a sweetness profile much closer to that of
real sugar which is why most people prefer it.  I've never studied
Sweet & Low :)

Julie.
RCE - 30 Mar 2007 08:37 GMT
> Equal (aspartame) was originally marketed as having no bitter
> aftertaste.  This is true - it acutally has *no* aftertaste.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Julie.

Years ago a chemist explained to me how the artificial sweeteners work.
Unlike sugar, they really are *not* naturally sweet.   Your tongue has
different sensory areas that detect sweet, bitter, and other "tastes".  The
chemical components of artificial sweeteners fake out the tongue by
selectively stimulating the "sweet" sensors only.  The sweet taste is not
real ... it's only in your mind, according to him.

RCE
Del Cecchi - 30 Mar 2007 14:42 GMT
>>Equal (aspartame) was originally marketed as having no bitter
>>aftertaste.  This is true - it acutally has *no* aftertaste.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> RCE

All tastes are just due to the sensory reaction of your tongue and nose.
 So if something activates the sensors corresponding to "sweet" it is
sweet, naturally.  Now if you want to say that only sugars are
"naturally sweet" then artifical sweeteners aren't, but that is a
tautology.  I vote that the chemist is a doof.

Signature

Del Cecchi
"This post is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions,
strategies or opinions.”

dkw12002@yahoo.com - 30 Mar 2007 20:26 GMT
> >>Equal (aspartame) was originally marketed as having no bitter
> >>aftertaste.  This is true - it acutally has *no* aftertaste.
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
> "This post is my own and doesn't necessarily represent IBM's positions,
> strategies or opinions."

Apparently there is a lot of subjectivity to the taste of sweetness.
My reading says sucralose is supposed to be much sweeter than
aspartame, weight for weight, yet to me the aspartame as packaged
tastes sweeter. One or the other of these was first developed as an
insecticide I read, but didn't work so well. One brave researcher
decided to taste it and found it very sweet, so they made a sweetner
out of it instead.

Does anyone remember Sen Sens. There were or still are a small candy
that is a strong licorice flavor. I always thought I detected another
flavor in there...soap. Turns out Sen sen is made by a soap company.
DKW
 
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