I've never used vegetable glycerine for anything except hand lotion (great for cracked heels!)  But since I can't use barley malt (due to gluten) and honey doesn't seem to like me -- and since glycerine is the only other Teacher Superfood sweetener -- I thought I might give it a try.

So -- how do you use it?  I have a vague impression that you do NOT simply substitute it one-for-one for honey or agave.  But can you use it in cookies?  How much do you use (compared to other liquid sweeteners)?  Anything I'd better *not* try to do with it?

      

Any and all tips will be greatly appreciated!

barley malt has gluten in it?  I did not know that!  I just bought some to try, but am also trying to cut down on the gluten...so perhaps I will put it aside for a while.  I only ever use sweeteners in baking stuff, so I can use honey instead or agave or glycerine.

Quoted from Carol the Dabbler

I've never used vegetable glycerine for anything except hand lotion (great for cracked heels!)  But since I can't use barley malt (due to gluten) and honey doesn't seem to like me -- and since glycerine is the only other Teacher Superfood sweetener -- I thought I might give it a try.

So -- how do you use it?  I have a vague impression that you do NOT simply substitute it one-for-one for honey or agave.  But can you use it in cookies?  How much do you use (compared to other liquid sweeteners)?  Anything I'd better *not* try to do with it?

      

Any and all tips will be greatly appreciated!

In my experience it is stronger and denser than the same amount of sugar (if you can compare a liquid with a solid!!)
I'd say, just try it, and keep accurate notes of how much you use next to the recipe, adjusting next time. F'rinstance, half a cup sugar, try 2 tablespoons v.g. and see what happens. Notice that it will make the mixture wetter, so other adjustments may also be necessary.
Jenny

Start with one half the amount of vegetable glycerine as per the amount of sugar in the recipe. If it calls for 1 cup sugar use 1/2 cup veg. glycerine.

Gumby, if you're just trying to "cut down" on gluten (rather than cut *out* gluten), then barley malt shouldn't be any problem.  But it's made from barley, which is a gluten grain, so it can be a problem for gluten-sensitive individuals.

Jenny & GCG -- Thanks!  Your advice sounds sort of like what "they" say about substituting honey for table sugar -- it's sweeter than sugar (perhaps even more so than honey), and requires some adjustment of the amount of liquid in the recipe.

I'll try some in my favorite idiot-proof cookie recipe, see how it goes, and report back here for the benefit of other glycerine newbies.

how would it taste in oatmeal? and does it pass through your system without counting as caloric?

Quoted from Carol the Dabbler

Gumby, if you're just trying to "cut down" on gluten (rather than cut *out* gluten), then barley malt shouldn't be any problem.  But it's made from barley, which is a gluten grain, so it can be a problem for gluten-sensitive individuals.

Gotcha, thanks Carol. If I try it I will keep an eye out for gluten symptoms.  My master plan is to cut the gluten down/out to see if it doing what I think it might be, and going from there to see how much I can tolerate comfortably.

I'll be watching for your veg glycerine thoughts...I've never tried it in food either.  

Gumby, if you think you may be gluten sensitive, you may not be able to tell by just cutting back on gluten.  Some individuals react even to gluten in their shampoo!

Since my lab tests gave mixed results, I decided to just go totally gluten-free and see what happened.  I stopped eating/using anything with the least bit of wheat/rye/barley/oat derivatives in it (including my old shampoo), because otherwise if I had not felt better, I wouldn't have known whether it was because of trace amounts of gluten that I was still eating, or because I wasn't sensitive after all.

Alternatively, of course, you could cut down on gluten, and if you still don't feel better, then you could try cutting out any remaining traces, and see if that makes a difference.

I feel so much better now that I plan to continue being totally gluten-free.

I've used veggy gly in several things; I usually use 1/2 the amount as a substitute for sugar. It does seem to have a slight aftertaste (to me) but it is better than sugar in terms of a spike (agave nectar doesn't spike me, either).

I'm sure I read somewhere that cooking vegetable glycerine reduces its sweetness. Or have I got that wrong?

I can't get it here anyway, but I'm sure I could get some in the UK when we go home.

Agave has a bitter after-taste to me. Molasses is a better sweetener (and tastes great on oatmeal).

I've never tried veg gly in a cooked food...only in chocolate mousse (tofu) and in ground flax seeds with cinnamon.

Quoted from jayneeo

...and does it pass through your system without counting as caloric?

Quoted from Wikipedia - Glycerin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerin

Glycerol is also used as a sugar substitute. In this regard, it has approximately 27 calories per teaspoon and is 60% as sweet as sucrose. Although it has about the same food energy as table sugar, it does not raise blood sugar levels, nor does it feed the bacteria that form plaques and cause dental cavities.

Thanks, Don.  That's useful info -- sounds like glycerine has several advantages over other sweeteners.

Has anyone used it in cooked or baked foods?  Does the heat change the flavor at all?

thanks for answering my slightly inane question...

I love it in tea, but haven't had quite as good of luck with baking with it. However, I haven't experimented that much.

Now I am sugar/sweetener free except on rare occasions so it isn't a priority for me, although I still have 1/2 gallon of it in the pantry.