My Lessening Sweet Tooth

I think one of the first indications I was becoming "old" was when I began to consider some recipes too sweet. 

I used to take a lot of pride in my love of sugar. "Oh, I need my sugar," I would say, and even when I no longer consumed it on weekdays I would still profess my love for it. 

Don't get me wrong, I still like a hit of sweet every now and then, but I've been experimenting with cutting back on sugar in recipes, and I've been amazed how low I can go. 

Take the beloved family bundtcake, which calls for 2 cups of sugar. I read somewhere that one can take off one quarter of the sugar called for in a recipe with no ill effects, and it was a success with 1.5 cups. Then, what they hey, I cut it down further to 1.25. Still excellent. 1 cup did not turn out so good, so I've been sticking with 1.25 cups of sugar. It still tastes really sweet to me, and Ben loves it. 

Then the strawberry fluff (the recipe I posted back in 2014, so freakin' long ago, has been heavily modified since, so I owe an updated one) calls for 1 cup of sugar. I went down to 3/4 cup. Then 1/2 cup. It's so good with a 1/2 cup, I'm not kidding! Half the sugar, and it's excellent! 

I make Busy in Brooklyn's blueberry apple crisp nearly every Shabbos. It calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, but I don't put any in. That's right. I've found if I cover the crisp and bake it for a long time—90 minutes to 2 hours—the fruits caramelize to such an extent that it tastes sugar sweet. (I also halved the oil.)  

And so it goes. I've been cutting back on sugar in recipes left and right and I've been amazed how the results are still plenty sweet. Our sweet registers are really unnecessarily high. 

I'm not claiming that cutting back on sugar automatically makes a dessert "healthy"—but it is certainly "not as bad" as the full amount called for. 

Sugar is a part of our lives. The people need sweet! But we don't have to be SO sweet. (I was watching Sugar Rush with my nieces and I nearly barfed. I'm so old.)  

Experimentation can be daunting, I know. But give it a try. See what happens. Or better yet, if anyone notices.

Sugar, with Boundaries

Due to a calamity that devolved following a bout of antibiotics, I find it difficult to consume sugar. Not just added, processed sugar, but natural sugars too. I can't have fruit every day, or else my stomach complains. It's very very sad. 

I've been off regular consumption for nearly two years. It sucks. Loving sweet used be part of my identity. Now sweet spurns my adoration, and gives a kick to the gut to boot. 

When I think I can handle it, I'll have a piece of bundtcake on Shabbos. Now, you'll have to understand that I waited all week for that freakin' bundtcake (made with whole wheat pastry flour), before my stomach went to pot. No sugar during the week, only on Shabbos, and it was bundtcake. 

ihearteating.com

I would carve myself a generous slice and enjoy. Now, I carve myself a tiny slice. I savor it. Then I "straighten out" the cake and have another bite. But then it's too much sweet. I have to pack it away. I pack it away. Mind boggling. 

David Leonhardt advocates a month without sugar. The problem with sugar that is ubiquitous in nearly all processed foods is that it messes with the palate. The tongue has high expectations of food, demanding an uber-shot of sugar. But when the brain is starved of such sugar levels, the palate reboots. It requires less to be satisfied. 

I would like to remind my audience, again, that I love sugar. It has been good to me when I needed a pick-me-up. My love goes hand in hand with Paul Rudnick's, who is well aware of the dangers of sugar but, quite simply, doesn't care. 

I am not advocating leaving it completely, forever. I can't even recommend quitting it for a month; unless galvanized by snarling intestines, I don't see that happening. 

It's your call how to limit it. Drink only water. Analyze nutrition facts and opt for a less-sugar cereal. Keep chocolate and cake to Shabbos.