Does Xagave Brand Agave Nectar Contain High Fructose Corn Syrup?
This section will answer three questions: (1) Is Xagave raw and organic (2) Does Xagave contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and (3) Is the fructose in Agave the same as the fructose in HFCS?
The short answer to the questions above are: Yes, No and NO!
Why I use Xagave.
Before I answer any of the questions above and get into the details, I want to address the bigger question of why I use agave generally, and Xagave, specifically. First and foremost, Xagave tastes delicious and is a wonderful alternative to sugar for cooking, canning and baking. As a home-grown chef (one who enjoys cooking as a hobby), I have found that I can make foods taste better while at the same time saving significant calories (virtually thousands of calories in a number of recipes) from both carbohydrates and fats without giving up anything on the taste and texture of the foods I cook. I know of no other alternative sweetener on the market that can make this claim. Besides saving calories and tasting delicious, Xagave (and agave, generally) is a low glycemic food that has a number of health benefits due primarily to its inulin content. Please refer to our cookbook, Delicious Meets Nutritious, or our website for recipes and additional information on the health benefits of Xagave.
The HFCS Rumor or Urban Myth.
The origin of this rumor, best I can tell, comes from two sources. They are both articles written on the Internet. One article (I'm sorry, but I cannot remember the source) was about a person who overheard at a convention from an individual that someone was putting HFCS in their agave. In a court of law, this would be considered hearsay and is the stuff that urban legends are made of. I cannot speak for all brands of agave on the market, but I can assure that Xagave does not dilute its agave with HFCS.
The second source of this rumor is an article published in NaturalNews.com by a so-called Citizen Journalist writer named Rami Nagel. Rami refers to one incident when a company, Western Commerce Corporation, in 2000, was shut down for the fraud of using HFCS in their agave nectar. I do not have any direct information on the subject and cannot speak to it. Rami then continues to refer to the process of how agave nectar is made and, in essence, states that agave is no different than HFCS and that agave will have the same negative effects. Rami makes a number of assumptions, but his whole argument is based on the statement that: "The principal constituent of the agave is starch, such as what is found in corn or rice." (NaturalNews.com, Sunday, November 23).
The problem is that his premise is 100% incorrect and false. HCFS is derived from corn starch and there is no starch in agave nectar. Given that the entire premise of his argument is wrong, I do not think it necessary to address his other points -- and there are many incorrect points; including the allegation that a chemical process is used to make agave and that the temperature at which agave is processed exceeds 140°F.
The key point is to understand that plants either store energy as "starch" or as "fructans." Plants have one or the other and not both. Both Blue (Agave Tequilana) and White Agave (Agave Salmiana) store their energy in "Fructans" and neither have starch. I cannot speak to the process of how other companies Agaves are made, but I can address how Xagave is made. Again, Xagave is primarily Agave Salmiana. Agave Salmiana plants are "milked" twice a day after they mature to extract the juice. The Aguamiel, or juice from the plant, begins to ferment very quickly. The juice is immediately put into a vacuum evaporator to remove the excess moisture at temperatures that do not exceed 117°F in order to avoid fermentation. The vacuum permits the excess moisture to be withdrawn at these low temperatures (virtually room temperature). Organic and vegan certified enzymes are immediately introduced to convert the complex sugars to simple sugars in a process called hydrolysis. The sugars in Xagave come from this process and they are in no way chemically refined or thermally treated in temperatures in excess of 117°F. To the contrary, HFCS is derived from corn starch that involves thermal, chemical and enzymatic processes that introduce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to convert the corn starch to fructose. Glucose is also introduced during this process and the end product is a combination of pure fructose and glucose (the combination of fructose and glucose differs dependent upon the application). The point of this paper is not to provide a detail of how HFCS is made. If you are interested in more information, please go to Wikipedia or other sources. On the other hand, the point of this article is to show that the fructose derived from corn starch and the process of making HFCS versus the fructose in agave and the process of making agave nectar is like comparing the calories and health benefits of an apple versus a candy bar. The apple offers a lot more and so does Xagave -- it contains vitamins, minerals and fiber. In summary, I believe that consumers need to understand the following. Xagave is an organic, natural sweetener that tastes delicious, has a low glycemic index and can save you a significant number of calories if used appropriately in lieu of sugar in cooking, canning and baking. Please remember that agave is caloric and can be over consumed the same as salt, red wine, orange juice and potatoes. Consumers need to be aware and make sure that they purchase an agave brand that they can trust. There is a lot of different agaves on the market. In Mexico, you can buy home-brewed Tequila on every corner and, unfortunately, the same can be said about the agave market. Not all agaves are created the same. Buy a brand that you can trust -- and you can trust Xagave.
