# What's the deal with Sucralose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 10, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773 "2020-12-10T16:03:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/1 "2020-12-10T16:03:41Z")
I bought a jar of Mt. Olive Sweet Relish the other day. I didn’t look closely at the label, but it does clearly say “NO SUGAR ADDED”, and it also says 0 calories per serving. All is still fine. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/SXuX8N2.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/SXuX8N2) The intersection of Cucumber&Vine is cute, though. But then I tasted it. BLEEECH. Looking at the ingredients, I noticed Sucralose. I hate the taste of it and I find it as a sweetener in more and more products. Examining the label again, I see the little “Splenda” logo. Damn. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/gPrpTkj.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/gPrpTkj) Why? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/2 "2020-12-10T16:12:38Z")
Well, it does say it’s a sweet relish and also that no sugar is added. So presumably they need _some_ way of making it sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/3 "2020-12-10T16:13:53Z")
“Why” what? What’s your question? Are you asking why artificial sweeteners in general are commonly used, or why sucralose is preferred over other artificial sweeteners, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/4 "2020-12-10T16:24:19Z")
Sugar is sucrose. Artificial sweeteners are not. All other sugars must be named specifically. Fructose, dextrose, invert sugar (honey), agave nectar, corn syrup, etc. On packaging sugar means sucrose, per the FDA. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/5 "2020-12-10T16:31:02Z")
I hate that stuff too. I think they think people want sweet stuff every where, even if it doesn’t need it. I would assume that on a package like that it means that it was supposed to be naturally sweet and nothing added. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/6 "2020-12-10T16:32:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Are you asking why artificial sweeteners in general are commonly used, or why sucralose is preferred over other artificial sweeteners, or what? Everytime I’ve tasted something where sucralose was used as a sweetener, I’ve found it horrible tasting. I can’t understand why it is used, unless most people like the taste. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, it does say it’s a sweet relish and also that no sugar is added. So presumably they need _some_ way of making it sweet. I assumed other ingredients added sweetness. Like maybe a sweet pepper? > [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I would assume that on a package like that it means that it was supposed to be naturally sweet and nothing added. BINGO! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/7 "2020-12-10T16:36:11Z")
I purchased a vinaigrette salad dressing recently that boasted “Only x calories per serving”. Not surprising, as vinegar is low calorie. The first time I tried the dressing it tasted ok, then the sucralose taste hit me. I checked the ingredient label and yep, sucralose. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/8 "2020-12-10T16:37:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Everytime I’ve tasted something where sucralose was used as a sweetener, I’ve found it horrible tasting. I can’t understand why it is used, unless most people like the taste. I can’t find anything about sucralose in particular, but, because of genetic differences, different artificial sweeteners taste different to different people. > **[Study: Why Fake Sweeteners Taste Disgusting to Some People But Not Others -...](https://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2013/08/22/study-fake-sweeteners-taste-disgusting-people/)** > > I’ve never understood how my husband doesn’t like cilantro. “It’s so lemony and bright and fresh and DELICIOUS!” I’ll trill, as a take a big \[…\] ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/9 "2020-12-10T16:39:15Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > different artificial sweeteners taste different to different people. Cool! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/10 "2020-12-10T17:04:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Everytime I’ve tasted something where sucralose was used as a sweetener, I’ve found it horrible tasting. I can’t understand why it is used, unless most people like the taste. Anecdotally speaking, it’s the only artificial sweetener I can stand. I drink mostly “lite” liquids that are half or quarter the calories because of sucralose. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/11 "2020-12-10T17:10:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Anecdotally speaking, it’s the only artificial sweetener I can stand. Huh. For me, that would be saccharin (sweet&low). ---
**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:** [December 10, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/12 "2020-12-10T17:24:40Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I think they think people want sweet stuff every where, even if it doesn’t need it. Yeah, but this is _sweet_ relish. People who are buying it want it sweet. You can’t have a sweet relish without adding something sweet into it, like sugar, or artificial sweeteners. Cucumbers are not anywhere near sweet enough to make that which is normally regarded as sweet relish. As for sucralose, I don’t like it on its own, but combined with Ace K – I dunno what it is – but the Ace K takes that weird greasy kind of aftertaste/feeling on the back of my tongue or something I get with Splenda on its own. Those two combined taste closest to sugar to me. On their own, I like aspartame and saccharine probably equally well, but I haven’t had the latter in ages. Then well down is sucralose. And then Stevia, which is a natural sweetener, but I find god fucking awful. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/13 "2020-12-10T17:29:09Z")
sucralose is sugar with a small change in the molecule. it puts chlorine atoms in place of hydrogen ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/14 "2020-12-10T17:40:14Z")
Nitpick. It replaces three -OH ions with chlorine. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/15 "2020-12-10T17:51:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Fructose, dextrose, invert sugar (honey), agave nectar, corn syrup, etc. I was stumped by the reference to invert sugar having something to do with honey. I had assumed that “invert sugar” had something to do with L-glucose, the non-digestible left-handed version of ordinary right-handed glucose (D-glucose). I ended up on a Google dive into the world of sweeteners and discovered L-glucose was a dead end, and really isn’t used in anything. I still have no idea why a mixture of glucose and fructose is called “invert sugar”. Can anyone tell me what the heck is inverted about it? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/16 "2020-12-10T18:08:59Z")
I don’t know. It goes back to the 19th century so you have to look at word usage then. One WAG. Invert sugar is a physical combination of glucose and fructose rather than a chemical combination the way sucrose is. Around the same time homosexuals were called inverts. Both are metaphorical extensions of the more literal “upside-down.” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/17 "2020-12-10T18:20:39Z")
Uh, how many sweet cucumbers and vinegar have you tasted? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/18 "2020-12-10T18:53:26Z")
None actually, but I’ve seen things like apple sauce and the like say no sugar added, and to me that means that any sugars would be natural. But any more I’ve only seen it to mean they add a bunch of artificial sweeteners. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/19 "2020-12-10T18:53:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Huh. For me, that would be saccharin (sweet&low). I am bizarro you. Like sucralose (for a very broad definition of “like” - it’s my least offensive artificial sweetener), utterly despise saccharin. Like to the point I used to wonder why anyone still manufactured the vile stuff when superior fake sugars had been invented. Probably should have guessed there was a genetic component - my mother’s affection for saccharine now halfway makes sense. I had thought she was just being old and stubborn 😆. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773/20 "2020-12-10T18:57:20Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > None actually, but I’ve seen things like apple sauce and the like say no sugar added, and to me that means that any sugars would be natural. But any more I’ve only seen it to mean they add a bunch of artificial sweeteners. Sure, but apples are naturally sweet. That’s why you can sell a product full of apple juice and claim “no sugar added”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-sucralose/927773.md?page=2)