I e-mailed Splenda to find out if it can be caramelized (it can't) I
received in reply:

Dear Ed,

Thank you for visiting the SPLENDA(R) No Calorie Sweetener website. We hope
you became more familiar with SPLENDA(R) No Calorie Sweetener during your
visit to the site.

Unfortunately, we do not suggest making candy, fudge, fudge brownies or any
high sugar content foods using SPLENDA (R) Granular No Calorie Sweetener.
Sugar is responsible for the structure of these products and if you remove
the sugar there is no structure. SPLENDA (R) No Calorie Sweetener does not
brown or caramelize, so it cannot be used like sugar to achieve caramel
color or flavor and does not melt for candying.

In many recipes SPLENDA (R) No Calorie Sweetener can replace sugar
completely. However, some recipes, especially baked goods and desserts, may
require structure and bulk that cannot be provided by SPLENDA (R) Brand
Sweetener alone. For this reason, some of our recipes are adjusted to
compensate for the loss of structure. They may also contain
sugar-containing ingredients (eg. molasses, honey, chocolate syrup, etc.)
that also contribute important flavor elements and improve texture.

Recipes baked with SPLENDA (R) No Calorie Sweetener will bake faster than
those made with sugar. This is because sugar adds moisture to a recipe and
increases the baking time. When you take out the sugar and moisture,
recipes bake in less time. In addition, sugar makes a product brown and
without it the baked food will not brown and you may not realize that the
baked good is done, over baking it.

Our kitchen has developed dozens of delicious recipes available at
www.splenda.com or by calling 1-800-7-SPLENDA. Our recipes are all
developed for optimal results and require no modification.

Here is some additional information you may find helpful.

SPLENDA (R) Granular can be used almost anywhere you use sugar in cooking
and baking. SPLENDA (R) Granular works best in recipes where sugar is used
primarily to sweeten, such as in pie fillings, cheesecakes, sweet sauces,
marinades and glazes. SPLENDA (R) Granular also works well in quick breads,
muffins and cookies. However, its cooking properties are different from
sugar. Should you wish to adapt your own favorite recipes, the following
tips may be helpful.

1. Volume/Height
Sugar contributes volume to many recipes. When baking cakes, switching from
9" round pans to 8" round pans with 2" sides will help achieve a high cake.





Ed Ahern
February 21, 2006
Page 2

You may also try adding 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder and 1/2 teaspoon of
baking soda for every 1 cup of SPLENDA(R) Granular.

2. Creaming
When creaming butter or margarine with SPLENDA(R) Granular, your mixture
will appear less smooth than with sugar and may separate upon the addition
of eggs. This is normal.

3. Texture
Sugar can play an important role in texture. Cookies often rely on brown
sugar for their chewy, crunchy texture. Therefore, replace only the white
granulated sugar in your cookie recipes. In jams, jellies, puddings and
custards, sugar lends a thickening quality. With SPLENDA(R) Granular, these
recipes may be slightly thinner or soft set.

4. Flavor
You may wish to enhance the flavor in cookies, puddings and custards by
adding an additional ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract per cup of SPLENDA(R)
Granular.

5. Moistness
Sugar helps to keep baked-goods moist. In muffins and quick breads, the
addition of one-two tablespoons of honey and molasses will provide some
moistness as well as flavor.

6. Yeast Activation
SPLENDA(R) Granular will not activate yeast. Maintain at least two
teaspoons of sugar in recipes calling for yeast and replace the remaining
sugar with SPLENDA(R) Granular.

7. Spread
Cookies often rely on sugar to spread. Should you substitute all the sugar
for SPLENDA(R) Granular in your cookie recipe, you may need to flatten your
cookies before baking.

8. Browning
Baked goods made with little or no sugar do not brown like recipes made with
sugar. To help achieve a more golden brown color when baking with
SPLENDA(R) Granular, lightly spray the batter or dough with cooking spray
just before placing in the oven.

9. Bake Time
Recipes made with SPLENDA(R) Granular may bake more quickly than those made
with sugar. Check your baked goods for doneness a bit earlier than the
original recipe states.
-Cakes: check 7-10 minutes before stated bake time
-Cookies, Brownies and Quick Breads: check 3-5 minutes before stated bake
time.

10. Storage






Ed Ahern
February 21, 2006
Page 3

Baked goods made with SPLENDA(R) Granular will stay fresh for 24 hours, when
stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If you wish to keep
your baked goods longer, wrap well and freeze. Consult a sugarless canning
cookbook for instructions on sugarless canning.

In recipes where the amount of sugar is quite high, sugar often contributes
significantly to structure and texture. Therefore in recipes, such as
frosting, candy, fudge, caramel, pecan pies and angel food or pound cakes,
complete substitution of SPLENDA (R) Granular for all of the sweeteners may
not yield the best results. In these recipes, you may wish to wish to
replace only 25% of the sugar by creating a blend of sugar with SPLENDA (R)
Granular instead of full sweetener replacement.

We value hearing from our consumers. Please feel free to call us with any
additional comments or questions on our toll-free number 1-800-7-SPLENDA
(1-800-777-5363), Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Eastern
Time. You may also access our website at www.splenda.com for answers to
frequently asked questions, recipes, cooking and baking tips.

Tracey Ely
SPLENDA Consumer Relationship Center

--
Atlantis is only a myth if you haven't been there

"Ed Ahern" > wrote in message
...
>I e-mailed Splenda to find out if it can be caramelized (it can't) I
> received in reply:
>
SNIP

Thanks Ed for the information. My wife loves to bake and was wondering if
Splenda would work. I will pass on the recipe link they provided to her.



--


Jim

"Ed Ahern" > wrote in message
...
>I e-mailed Splenda to find out if it can be caramelized (it can't)

Splenda has a baking version, although it's a blend.
http://www.splendastore.com/product_...?T1=SPL+2300+8

Sometimes we will use regular splenda & brown sugar twin. I'm not a fan of
Saccharin, but we use it sparingly.


--
Joe W
T2 Nov '05
30mg Actos, 3gr(1/2 tsp or 500mg pill) Cinnamon, Diet(>100 carbs) &
30 minute walk(everyday) & BowFlex 3x/week
*****Diabetes, be proactive, not reactive.*****

What surprises me was in that whole 3 page email, the Splenda rep didn't mention the blend. Not once. She actually recommends making your own splenda/sugar blend without even mentioning the one they sell. Kind of strange.

I, personally, get the textural properties of sugar by turning to other suger free ingredients such as sugar alcohols and polydextrose. I get sweetness from splenda and texture/moisture/caramelization from other stuff. Forget that blend garbage. I won't have sugar in the house.