Agave syrup, also known as maguey syrup or agave nectar, is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

, including ''

Agave tequilana ''Agave tequilana'', commonly called blue Weber agave () or tequila agave, is an agave plant that is an important economic product of Jalisco state of Mexico, due to its role as the base ingredient of tequila. The high production of agavins (bran ...

'' (blue agave) and '' Agave salmiana''. Blue-agave syrup contains 56%

fructose Fructose (), or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and gal ...

as a

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

providing sweetening properties.

Production

To produce agave syrup from the ''

Agave americana ''Agave americana'', commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Mexico and the United States, specifically Texas. This plant is widely cultiv ...

'' and ''A. tequilana'' plants, the leaves are cut off the plant after it has been growing for seven to fourteen years. The juice is then extracted from the core of the agave, called the ''piña''. The juice is filtered, then heated to break the complex components (the

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

s) into simple

s. The main polysaccharide is called

fructan A fructan is a polymer of fructose molecules. Fructans with a short chain length are known as fructooligosaccharides. Fructans can be found in over 12% of the angiosperms including both monocots and dicotyledon, dicots such as agave, artichokes, a ...

, a

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

of fructose molecules. This filtered juice is then concentrated to a syrupy liquid, slightly thinner than honey. Its color varies from light to dark amber, depending on the degree of processing. ''Agave salmiana'' is processed differently from ''Agave tequiliana''. As the plant develops, it starts to grow a stalk called a ''quiote''. The stalk is cut off before it fully grows, creating a hole in the center of the plant that fills with a liquid called '' aguamiel''. The liquid is collected daily. The liquid is then heated, breaking down its complex components into fructose,

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

, and

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

, and preventing it from fermenting into

pulque Pulque (; ), occasionally known as octli or agave wine, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, ...

. An alternative method used to process the agave juice without heat is described in a United States patent for a process that uses

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

s derived from the mold ''

Aspergillus niger ''Aspergillus niger'' is a mold classified within the ''Nigri'' section of the ''Aspergillus'' genus. The ''Aspergillus'' genus consists of common molds found throughout the environment within soil and water, on vegetation, in fecal matter, on de ...

'' to convert the inulin-rich extract into fructose. In slightly greater detail, the polyfructose extract obtained from the mashed agave pulp is hydrolyzed via a chemical process patented in 1998, with inulin enzymes (obtained from ''Aspergillus niger''), to produce a hydrolyzed fructose extract. Concentrating the fructose yields the familiar syrup. Agave syrup (nectar) is listed on the inventory of foods

generally recognized as safe Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts under the conditions of its intended use. An ingredient with a GRAS d ...

(GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Composition

The carbohydrate composition in agave syrup depends on the species from which the syrup was made. In ''A. tequilana'' (blue agave), the syrup contains some 56% to 60% fructose, 20%

, and trace amounts of

, whereas in '' A. salmiana'', sucrose is the main sugar. Fructose molecules in ''A. tequilana'' syrup chain together to create

s and

fructooligosaccharide Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) also sometimes called oligofructose or oligofructan, are oligosaccharide fructans, used as an alternative sweetener. FOS exhibits sweetness levels between 30 and 50 percent of sugar in commercially prepared syrups. ...

s, which have sweetening effects.

Culinary use

Blue-agave syrup is 1.4 to 1.6 times as sweet as sugar, and may be substituted for sugar in recipes. Because it comes from a plant, it is widely utilized as an alternative to

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

for those following a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

lifestyle, and is often added to some

breakfast cereal Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm, cooked cereals li ...

s as a binding agent. The specific strain known as blue agave syrup is not recommended for people with fructose intolerance. Agave syrups are sold in light, amber, dark, and raw varieties. Light agave syrup has a mild and almost neutral flavor, and is therefore sometimes used in delicate-tasting dishes and beverages. Amber agave syrup has a medium-intensity caramel flavor, and is used in dishes and drinks with stronger flavors. Dark agave syrup has even stronger caramel notes and imparts a distinct flavor to dishes, being used in some desserts, poultry, meat, and seafood dishes. Both amber and dark agave syrups are sometimes used "straight out of the bottle" as a topping for pancakes, waffles, and

French toast French toast is a Dish (food), dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs as food, eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights (of Windsor).''Oxfo ...

. The dark version is unfiltered and therefore contains a higher concentration of the agave plant's minerals.

Nutrition

In a 100-gram reference amount, blue-agave

syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

supplies of

food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals and humans derive from food to sustain their metabolism and muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the carbohydrates, fats, and protein ...

and is a moderate source of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

and several

B vitamins B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in Cell (biology), cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referr ...

(table). It is composed of 76%

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

s, 23% water, 0.4%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

, and negligible

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

. Having fructose as its primary sugar, blue-agave syrup (56% fructose) is similar in fructose content to high-fructose corn syrup (55% fructose content), the most common sweetener used in US manufactured beverages. In a

tablespoon A tablespoon (tbsp., Tbsp., Tb., or T.) is a large spoon. In many English-speaking regions, the term now refers to a large spoon used for serving; however, in some regions, it is the largest type of spoon used for eating. By extension, the ter ...

amount (about 25 ml or 25 grams), blue-agave syrup supplies , an amount similar to the value per tablespoon for high-fructose corn syrup ().

Glycemic index

Blue-agave syrup has a relatively high sweetness factor because it is composed of 56% fructose, having an effect on

blood sugar The blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, blood glucose level, or glycemia is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood. The body tightly regulates blood glucose levels as a part of metabolic homeostasis. For a 70 kg (1 ...

comparable to fructose itself, as measured by its low

glycemic index The glycemic (glycaemic) index (GI; ) is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food. The GI of ...

(GI) of between 11 and 19.

References