Sugar-free Honey (LC, GF, SF)

So, lately I’ve been obsessed with honey. Or should I say the recreation thereof.

I’ve tried so many honey flavorings and been disappointed that I’ve lost count. I’ve tried a host of sugar-free honey substitutes and have either been disappointed in the flavor and texture or couldn’t tolerate them (the mighty maltitol!)

I love the consistency of  Honey Tree’s Sugar Free imitation honey (available in grocery stores. I got mine at Wal-Mart I think) - it’s thick and sticky and the taste even though not intensely like honey, could count as close enough. But it’s essentially maltitol syrup and I can barely cope with tiny amounts, never mind the amount I might need to have some honey on toast or a little in tea or drizzled over some yogurt.

I also tried a commercial xylitol honey substitute and well, let’s just say that the only thing that actually reminded me of honey, was the bear squeezy bottle it came in!

Honey is just not an easy thing to imitate, especially while also keeping it low-carb and the gastric distress to a minimum.

So, I thought I’d try and use some of the real thing for flavor, borrow some of the texture of the commercial imitation honey and fill the rest with a more acceptable sugar substitute.

 

The result was quite good!

 

 

It tastes a LOT like actual honey, the carb count is much reduced, and the texture is like thick runny honey! And considering that I only use a couple of  teaspoons  full here and there, the gastric side effects are non-existent!

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup xylitol

1 tsp raw honey (get one with a really intense flavor)

2 tbsp. HoneyTree’s Sugar Free Imitation Honey

1 packet of Sweet One  (optional)

 

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Let everything melt and keep on stirring it. It will start to bubble quite vigorously, go with it! Let it bubble for about 2 minutes, then take off the heat.

Let cool for about 10 minutes and then pour into a glass jar.  Let it cool completely! It will thicken quite a bit!

 

{See all the thick sticky goodness?}

 

Makes about 1/3 of a cup of sugar-free “honey”. The carb count depends on how much you count for the sweeteners and what kind of honey you used! 1 tsp of honey usually ranges in the 6-8 g of carbs area.

Tips:

• If you don’t want to use the maltitol and can take the higher carb count, you could also just use the raw honey and xylitol, melt it in the saucepan and “stretch” the honey a bit that way! It will make for a slightly darker product but it has a nice intense honey flavor!
• If you happen to have some of those xylitol imitation bottles in your pantry too and you are looking for a way to use them up, add 2 tbsp. to the recipe above and boil it with the rest of the ingredients. It gives you even more of a “honey” yield, and it takes on the honey flavor and texture of the other ingredients!

 

Note:  Much like regular honey, once this cools down and sits in the jar for a day or two, there will be a little recrystallizing. It isn’t hard like erythritol however, it is more like creamy white honey and a quick nuke in the microwave, or a dip of the jar in some boiling water to warm it up gently, will take care of that.