# Artificial sweetener question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 30, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948 "2018-12-30T23:32:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948/21 "2019-01-03T17:29:59Z")

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Well, yes, but we can’t measure sugar by length or area. The only way to describe a quantity of sugar by spatial dimensions is volume.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948/22 "2019-01-03T17:42:25Z")

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> [@TimeWinder](#):
>
> I’d use “weight” instead of “size.” “Size,” to me, implies volume, and by volume, this is incorrect.

I would agree.

Anyhow, it looks like the packets are sweeter, but the Splenda sold in bulk is one-for-one by volume to be used as sugar. So if a recipe calls for half a cup of sugar, half a cup of Splenda is used. The filler is maltodextrin.

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**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948/23 "2019-01-03T19:21:28Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> I would agree.
> 
> Anyhow, it looks like the packets are sweeter, but the Splenda sold in bulk is one-for-one by volume to be used as sugar. So if a recipe calls for half a cup of sugar, half a cup of Splenda is used. The filler is maltodextrin.

Yeah, my post (#11) breaks all these things down, but it’s largely been ignored in favor of my inadvertent sidetrack :smack:

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948/24 "2019-01-03T20:10:30Z")

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It’s also worth mentioning that in order to get the same sweetness-per-volume from bulk Splenda, they need to make the crystals a much more complicated and “fluffy” shape than the cube-ish shape of sugar grains.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-sweetener-question/826948/25 "2019-01-03T23:36:33Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> It’s also worth mentioning that in order to get the same sweetness-per-volume from bulk Splenda, they need to make the crystals a much more complicated and “fluffy” shape than the cube-ish shape of sugar grains.

Yeah, bulk Splenda is a very different texture than regular sugar. “Fluffy” is a good description of it. It’s very light for the volume. Maybe a bit like sawdust in terms of density? Or if you shredded paper into tiny granules. That’s what it feels like.

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