What is Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend made from?
Pure Sweet contains two ingredients: erythritol and stevia leaf extract.
What is stevia leaf extract?
Stevia leaf extract is born from the sweet leaves of the stevia plant. The Stevia Leaf extract is a proprietary blend that is made exclusively for PureSweet so you don’t get the licorice or metallic aftertaste. To extract the plant’s intense natural sweetness, stevia leaves are harvested, seasoned from a young aged part of the plant, and dried. The leaves are then steeped in hot water. The liquid extract is filtered, purified, and dried, resulting in the crystallized stevia leaf extract. Over 200 times sweeter than sugar, the stevia leaf extract is an important sweetening ingredient in Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend.
Is it true that the stevia leaf extract in Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend has no aftertaste?
Yes. Stevia leaf extract is taken from the more tender part of the plant where it has no aftertaste.
Why is PureSweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend less than 1% stevia?
Stevia leaf extract is a high intensity sweetener and this means that a tiny bit of stevia leaf extract goes a long way. Erythritol is an ingredient in Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend that gives the sweetener a big robust flavor and maintains the intensity as it goes over your taste buds. Erythritol is necessary to provide the sweeteness intensity along with enhancing the flavor you mix use it with.
Is Pure Sweet Sweetener Proprietary Blend and stevia leaf extract the same thing?
No. Pure Sweet Sweetener Blend contains two ingredients: erythritol and stevia leaf extract. Stevia leaf extract is the common or usual ingredient name for the extract derived from the leaf of the stevia plant. Pure Sweet is harvested from only the most purified extract part of the plant that gives it a sweetener taste with no aftertaste.
What is erythritol and why does Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend contain erythritol?
What is Erythritol?
Naturally found erythritol is a sugar alcohol made from simple sugars derived from plant starches. It looks and tastes like table sugar, though it is about 30% less sweet. It was discovered in 1848 by Scotsman John Stenhouse. Erythritol is the largest ingredient in Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend by weight, and is used as a sugar-like crystalline appearance and texture in Pure Sweet Blend. The erythritol used in Pure Sweet Blend is produced through a natural fermentation process. Fermentation is the process by which an organism metabolizes or “digests” one or more food sources to produce a desired product. Fermentation occurs naturally in a variety of different foods given the right conditions and is used to produce wine, beer and yogurt. In the case of erythritol, a natural yeast digests the simple sugars such as dextrose and other nutrients and produces erythritol. After fermentation, the erythritol is filtered and dried into crystals. Erythritol is small; found naturally in a variety of fruits, such as grapes and pears, as well as in mushrooms, and certain fermented foods such as soy sauce and wine.
Do major public health organizations support the use of Erythritol?
Yes. In 2014, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, declared erythritol “safe” in a comprehensive, science-based report on the use of non-nutritive sweeteners. The American Diabetes Association states, “Foods with low- or reduced-calorie sweeteners can have fewer calories than foods made with sugar and other caloric sweeteners. That can be helpful if you’re trying to lose weight or even to prevent weight gain. These products often times also have less carbohydrate which can be helpful in managing blood glucose levels.”
How does the body metabolize Erythritol? (don’t read this if you don’t want to read about your insides)
The major part of erythritol goes into the body through the bloodstream, after being absorbed via the small intestine. The major difference between erythritol and other sweeteners is that it doesn’t have any laxative effects in normal quantities, which are common in other sugar alcohols. The main reason behind this is that more than 90% of erythritol is absorbed before entering the large intestine. Your body fully absorbs erythritol but can’t break it down, so it provides (virtually) no calories and does not produce a glycemic response. Most erythritol is absorbed into your bloodstream in the small intestine, and then for the most part excreted unchanged in your urine.
Is it true that the stevia leaf extract and erythritol in Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend are highly processed or made with toxic chemicals?
As with almost all finished food products, the journey from field to table involves some processing. The sweet components of the stevia leaf need to be extracted from the leaf, like vanilla needs to be extracted from vanilla beans. The erythritol in Pure Sweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend is made from a natural fermentation process. Like in other finished foods, including table sugar, processing aids suitable for use in food are used in the production of both stevia leaf extract and erythritol. These aids help either extract, isolate or purify components of the ingredients. Under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, our processing aids are not subject to labeling requirements because they do not have a technical or functional effect in the finished food and because they are either not present or are present at insignificant levels in the finished product.
Why doesn’t PureSweet Proprietary Sweetener Blend use erythritol sourced directly from fruit?
PureSweet is committed to sourcing only the highest quality raw materials available. The erythritol we use is produced by fermentation and is the same as similar to the erythritol found naturally in a variety of fruits, such as grapes and pears. All ingredients in PureSweet are sourced from the United States and Europe. Additionally, PureSweet’s packaging and production locations are all in the United States.