# What is your favorite sweetener? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665 "2010-07-06T03:08:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 6, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/21 "2010-07-06T21:49:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not a fan of the stevia or the Splenda or the liquid stuff–it all has a vaguely off taste during the food, and a truly vile chlorinated aftertaste. And forget trying to use any significant amount of it without that chlorinated taste completely dominating everything. Yech. “Tastes like sugar,” my big fat ass. From what I understand, that varies from person to person: Some folks get the aftertaste, and some don’t, and for those who don’t, it’s virtually indistinguishable. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/22 "2010-07-07T01:45:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > From what I understand, that varies from person to person: Some folks get the aftertaste, and some don’t, and for those who don’t, it’s virtually indistinguishable. I remember in high school biology class one day the teacher passed around little strips of paper and told us to taste them. To some of the students, they tasted very bitter; to the rest of us, they just tasted like paper. The teacher explained that the paper had been soaked in a chemical whose name I don’t remember. Only people who possess a particular allele can taste this chemical. I often suspect that this sort of phenomenon is at play when I see people complain about flavors. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/23 "2010-07-07T02:03:09Z")
Sugar is the only acceptable sweetener for me. Thank G-d I’m not diabetic or fat. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/24 "2010-07-07T02:56:40Z")
Sweet ‘n’ Low ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/25 "2010-07-07T04:39:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > …I like the mix of Ace K and aspartame best. This is what Coke Zero uses and I like it the best as well. For stand alone I sweetener I like aspartame the best. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/26 "2010-07-07T05:02:19Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve always liked the way the pink packet stuff dissolves in iced tea, and that is the only time I use a sugar substitute. Same here. I always use regular sugar, except if I order iced tea at a restaurant and they only have unsweetened. Real sugar just doesn’t dissolve in a cold glass of tea like the pink stuff does. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/27 "2010-07-07T05:29:44Z")
I bought the hype. I only use Splenda nowadays. Though the financial decision is not the best (I have not done the math), but the idea of using less is better for me. Also, I’m trying to lose weight. I might not be too smart, but I like the idea. For a while there, before I quit drinking soda, I tried Pepsi with Splenda. None of my friends liked it. But there was only a slight aftertaste. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/28 "2010-07-07T10:21:10Z")
Liquid splenda, no fillers … sweetzfree dot com. Acetasulfamene K/sunnyK/sunette has a vinyl taste, if I want to taste vinyl Ill lick a diner seat. Stevia has a liquerice taste to it, not matter which formulation it is. I detest that flavor because of too many liquid meds back in the 60s used to mask bitter flavors with it and it makes me want to vomit now. Saccharine tastes bitter, not sweet at all. Equal has a slight after taste. Sugar/honey/maple syrup/molassas/sorghum/agave nectar all have their uses - I will use sugar as it is a texturizer, and the others have other flavorings that are why you use them in recipes. I avoid high fructose corn syrup as it is a known migraine trigger for me. I know what the damned commercials say “it is safe when used in moderation” but when manufacturers put it in everything, there is no moderation. I will frequently make either a sugar syrup or use honey in place of it unless I absolutely have to have it for the chemical reaction/texturizing ability of it but I tend not to eat the resulting products. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/29 "2010-07-07T11:02:32Z")
I don’t sweeten much stuff. I don’t put it on cereal or have it in tea or coffee. I use palm sugar in Thai cooking and I have a packet of Splenda that, at a guess, I have had for maybe 3 years. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/30 "2010-07-07T12:21:51Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > I remember in high school biology class one day the teacher passed around little strips of paper and told us to taste them. To some of the students, they tasted very bitter; to the rest of us, they just tasted like paper. The teacher explained that the paper had been soaked in a chemical whose name I don’t remember. Only people who possess a particular allele can taste this chemical. > > I often suspect that this sort of phenomenon is at play when I see people complain about flavors. That’s PTC (phenylthiocarbamide) paper. And people definitely do experience taste differently. [Supertasters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster) experience flavors more strongly, and often have more food aversions because of this, than non-supertasters. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/31 "2010-07-07T13:44:17Z")
Sugar (or honey or jaggery) only. I don’t know _anyone_ who ever uses artificial sweeteners, apart, perhaps, for diet soda drinkers. I’m surprised that other sweeteners are so common elsewhere. Is it an American thing? When did it become so popular? And why? I never encounter it here in Scandinavia (or the rest of Europe for that matter). ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/32 "2010-07-07T13:53:40Z")
Sugar. Nothing else even compares. I remember the first time I saw packets of Splenda at the coffee statio nat work. This was several years ago, when it was just becoming readily available. I had seen commercials for it, touting how it was “made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar”. So I decided to test that theory by opening a packet and eating it. It took me the whole afternoon and about 17 cups of coffee (I drink it black, no sugar) to get the chemical taste out of my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665/33 "2010-07-07T14:14:29Z")
Saccharin. To me, it’s the sweetest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-sweetener/545665.md?page=1)