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| Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener | 
 enlarge | Author: Ania Catalano
Creator: Lara Hata
Publisher: Celestial Arts
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $9.62
You Save: $6.33 (40%)
New (33) Used (6) from $9.62
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 20635
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 134
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 6.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 1587613212
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.815
EAN: 9781587613210
ASIN: 1587613212
Publication Date: March 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Even before its health benefits were being touted on Oprah's daytime show, agave nectar was finding fans among dessert lovers seeking to reduce or eliminate processed sugar in their diets. In BAKING WITH AGAVE NECTAR, natural foods chef Ania Catalano shows how to creatively integrate this up-and-coming natural sugar substitute into every sweet tooth's repertoire through a variety of delectable recipes. From breakfast goodies (Pumpkin Muffins, Stuffed French Toast) to cookies (Chewy Double Chocolate Meringue) to desserts (Bread Pudding Souffles with Bourbon Sauce, Pear Frangipane Tart), Catalano makes agave nectar accessible and appealing to health-conscious bakers of all levels.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
Tasty and Better For You October 5, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
When I first saw that there was a book about baking with agave nectar, I became intrigued. As like the majority of people in the US, I too need to lose weight. I do eat a healthful diet, but I am easily seduced by desserts! This, coupled with family members that need to minimize their simple carbohydrate consumption, I could not wait to see this book!
Ania Catalano is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet School of New York. She is also the owner of her own catering and cooking school in Connecticut, Gourmet Whole Foods.
Maybe you have no idea what agave nectar is. Well, it is a natural unrefined sweetener that has a lower glycemic index. It comes in a syrup form and is sweeter than sugar. Safe for children and adults, it is allergen-free and vegan. Because it is high in fructose, it does not stimulate insulin secretion when consumed. Unlike honey, agave nectar will not crystallize and can be stored on your shelf for 2 years!
Catalano demonstrates a wide variety of ways to utilize agave nectar while still managing to keep flavor and texture of the final product. All of the recipes that I tried were extremely successful and no one was able to tell that sugar was not used.
Chapters in this book include: Muffins, Tea Breads and Breakfast Dishes; Cookies and Bars; Cakes and Cupcakes; Pies, Tarts and Crisps; Ice Creams, Frozen Yogurts and Sorbets; Special Treats; Frosting, Fillings and Sauces. She also includes a glossary, a list of sources, as well as information about agave nectar.
Each recipe will indicate whether that recipe is vegan, gluten-free, neither or both. This is helpful as I do have a friend that enjoys vegan baking, and yet another that is gluten-intolerant. Examples of the recipes that my family enjoyed were: Quinoa Corn Blueberry Muffins, Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mocha Hazelnut Cake (gluten-free), Chocolate Almond Silk Pie (vegan) and Chocolate Gelato.
I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars, not giving it a full five stars due to limited photographs
 Disaster results August 18, 2008
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I was extremely excited to find this book. I use agave nectar in my coffee, in dressings and in sauces and I was thrilled at the possibility of being able to bake with it. I ordered the book and read it from cover to cover. I then set to spend over $150 on ingredients listed in the book. I ordered the sprouted flours from one store, the oat and barley flours and other items from an amazon seller, the essences and dried fruits from another store and I patiently waited for everything to arrive, giddy at the thought that I will bake these wonderful bars, cookies and cakes.
Well, I first tried the zucchini drops. Inedible. My four year old spit it out, my 10 year old said there were awful and my husband put it down after one bite. In retrospect I think it was the sprouted flour, which gives an unbearable vegetable taste to everything you put it in. It's the first desert that I had to throw away in 20 years of baking. I thought it was just bad luck and the next day I tried the coconut bars. How can something which includes coconut, chocolate and walnuts not turn out good? I'll spare you the details but this was the second desert of my life who ended up in the trash can. I didn't even dare to try it on my family anymore. Using the 9x13 pan that the author suggested the crust ended up being a 1mm deep crumbly, vegetable-tasting mess and the filling didn't taste any better.
In my house, we eat healthy and we love agave nectar. But something is seriously wrong with these recipes. I should have paid more attention to the fact that some of the 5 star reviewers did not yet try the book but some of the lower rating reviewers had experiences similar with mine. Oh well, I'm now turning to the other book I bought along with this one, "Sugar-free and fruit sweet" by Janice Feuer and hope to have better luck with it.
 I wish the recipes came with nutritional and ingredient substitution information. August 18, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm glad this book has the "search inside" feature so you can see what you're buying before you order it. The front matter includes interesting information about Agave Nectar, which I've enjoyed for the past year or so. I wish Ania Catalano had included nutritional information (like the number of calories and carbohydrates per serving) with her recipes. While many of the recipes look great, it's hard to know whether they are really "healthy" for someone who is diabetic and needs to loose weight. Also, I'd like to know what I could use instead of some of the harder to locate ingredients. While she does provide places where at least some of the ingredients can be ordered, sometimes you want to be able to make something with what's readily available. (This is especially true when you live overseas.) As a whole, the price of the book seems reasonable.
 Recipes look good July 23, 2008
1 out of 11 found this review helpful
I am a French pastry chef and my mother, who lives with us, was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I just received this book and am looking forward to trying some of these recipes. I have never baked with some of the ingredients listed in this book....sprouted spelt flour, agave nectar, agar flakes, silken tofu, soy milk powder, and arrowroot powder are all new to me. I'd like to research these ingredients to better understand their properties....before I start baking. Overall the recipes look relatively simple and there are photographs throughout the book. I hope my attempts at these recipes will have better results than some of the other reviewers have noted.
An update to this review 5 months later:
After making a number of recipes from this book it is safe to say that I have had good results with the recipes. I baked the strawberry shortcake a few times this past summer and my mother very much enjoyed it. We have made the bean brownies a number of times with good results. And everyone at our Thanksgiving dinner enjoyed the spiced pumpkin apple cupcakes. Since having to go gluten and dairy and soy free last month I have begun to experiment with agave nectar and gluten-free flours. So far I have had good results using almond flour, eggs, and agave as the basis for my desserts. And we continue to enjoy the bean brownies. Many thanks to Ms. Catalano for putting this valuable book together.
I'm new to agave nectar ... June 24, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
...and I needed a book to help me use it when baking. The recipes are easy to follow. I've only made a few and I love this cookbook! My husband hasn't noticed a difference in the taste. He doesn't know I've stopped using sugar. Can't wait to try the brownies tonight! There are recipes for candies, frostings and ice creams, too! Definitely a great buy.
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