Lakanto Sugar Free Maple Syrup, Monk Fruit Sweetened, 13 Fl Oz, Keto, Vegan

I am not a "keto fanatic", just a person limiting my carb intake. Lost about 24 lbs in 6 mo by simply being on a low-carb diet. I have remained on the low carb diet for the past 1.5 yrs by researching and finding foods that I can enjoy as substitutes for my old eating habits. Because there are so many alternatives offered these days, I have not found this to be difficult. I use "keto" or "keto friendly" labels on food items as a guide, and I have found the label to be very useful. That being said, I have found that the concept of "sweeteners" in the keto universe is a somewhat complex subject. Summarizing what I know about sweeteners: There are many sweetener alternatives available -- natural, artificial, and sugar alcohols. Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose (Splenda), Sweet N Low (saccharine), Equal (aspartame blend)) should be avoided. Claim to be zero calories, but they are not. FDA allows rounding error. Aspartame is also a bit controversial due to possible links with migraines, neurological health, and certain cancers. Sucralose claims to not affect insulin levels, but more recent research apparently shows that there is an insulin response. (See how complex this topic really is!) Sucralose is derived from sugar, so it is not exactly correct to list it as artificial. It has zero to no carbs, and may or may not affect insulin levels. Natural sweeteners (monkfruit and monkfruit blends, Stevia, Truvia). Glycemic index of zero, good for diabetics, good for keto. Stevia is a bit controversial: concerns over reproductive health, blood pressure Sugar alcohols (erithritol (Truvia), xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, isomalt). Sugar alcohols contain some calories and some net carbs -- but at a very low level. Erithritol (Truvia) is the best of the sugar alcohols (least calories, least net carbs, does not affect insulin levels). Maltitol, sorbitol, mannitol apparently do raise blood sugar levels for many people -- and should be avoided. Note that many keto-labeled foods are sweetened with some of these questionable sugar alcohols. Again-- this turns out to be a very complex area of research. Other: Maltodextrin (highly processed, rapid increase of insulin levels), allulose (does not raise insulin levels, occurs naturally in fruits but has 90% fewer calories than sucrose, is a rare sugar that is not being produced in large quantities presently, is not metabolized by the body). Allulose is a potentially very good sugar substitute for diabetics and keto. This is an "up and comer" low calorie sweetener. Back to Lakanto Maple Original syrup: Sweetened with monkfruit and erithrotol. Both sweeteners are excellent for keto and diabetics. Many other "maple syrups" claim to be "keto friendly" -- but you have to look at what sweeteners are being used. Most other brands of keto friendly maple syrups are not using keto-friendly sweeteners. Do your research right here on Amazon. You will see that I am correct. As far as the taste: tastes pretty much exactly like maple syrup to me. Thickness: Has the same consistency as real maple syrup. That is: it is "liquidy" and thin -- just like the real thing. I am always amazed by the reviews of the various maple syrups, where people complain that the syrup is not thick enough! FYI: maple syrup -- true, natural maple syrup -- is NOT thick. It is thin and "liquidy". The fake stuff that you buy or get at "pancake chain restaurants" is not real maple syrup. It has been substantially thickened. So, don't go comparing real maple syrup to the crap that the big commercial brands are hawking as "pancake syrup".

Ok, let's look at the brass tacks about this product. I'm going to look at taste, thickness, and aftertaste. I want to look at these because these are many of the subjects of the reviews posted; especially the negative reviews. When reviewing the product, if we want an HONEST review, we must avoid the human nature of comparison. You'll understand what I mean as we go on. Taste - A problem with this product is that it includes the word "Maple" in it. This causes people to compare the taste against real maple syrup. The fact is, the label says "Maple FLAVORED". It's not maple syrup; it's maple FLAVORED syrup, and no maple FLAVORED syrup tastes like real maple syrup. The question is, is the flavor good. Honestly, even that is suggestive as not everyone has the same idea of pleasurable. We all have foods we like that others don't like. In my opinion, this syrup has a very pleasant taste. Thickness - When I poured the syrup out, I noticed that is was not very thick. I immediately remembered the reviews complaining about the thickness. Then I got to thinking, "What's the big deal with thick syrup?" My goal in syrup is to add a little flavor to the pancakes or waffles. Why does it have to be thick? I paid $10 for this product and the fact that it's thin allowed me to put only about two tablespoons on my pancakes and I had the added flavor that I desired. Some people need to get over the pettiness of little things and understand the purpose. The purpose is a little flavor added to the food. Aftertaste - Aftertaste can be another comparative term; but not always. Aftertaste is aftertaste, I don't have to compare it with anything else to know that there's an aftertaste. Yet, people are acting like this product has a horrible aftertaste. Does it have an aftertaste? What doesn't? Meat, broccoli, potatoes, drinks, everything that has a taste has an aftertaste. Here's where the comparative comes in. Compared to pure sugar... there is a slight aftertaste. It's a slight hint of artificial sweetener aftertaste that someone has to be concentrating on to taste. Compared to other diet syrups this product has no sweetener aftertaste. When I take a bite of pancakes with this syrup I get an aftertaste of a nice maple FLAVOR, a sweet sensation on my taste buds, and it lingers for a few seconds after. Conclusion, for a diet syrup that is maple FLAVORED, I give this product five stars and would recommend it to any of my friends who are trying to cut out sugars.

This is something I ordered because I came across a recipe on-line for no bake gluten free unicorn cookies that I wanted to try on my kiddos. The author said they were paleo, but seriously, sprinkles dude. I don't eat paleo, and even I know...sprinkles totally disqualifies a recipe from being paleo. And if you remove those, all you've really got is a gluten free paleo nut butter cookie. But anyways, I digress. So the recipe calls for half a cup of maple syrup, and there was pretty much no way in anywhere I was going to do that unless I could find no other way. Thus, I purchased this product. So I have tasted it and my daughter has tasted it. I only told her it was a new brand of syrup, not what kind. She's 10, and has the kind of sweet tooth that would make an unscrupulous dentist rub their hands together with glee. Good thing I know ours aren't, they have done a great job of not pushing to over treat things and giving us rather pointed reminders about proper dental hygiene, so they check out :) Anyways, she thumbed up it and said it tasted good. No questions asked. So, it passed enough like regular syrup for her to be quite happy about it. I tasted it, and I could taste a faint bitter edge, but I'm guessing that's the flavoring that's in it to give it that maple feel. It definitely did not taste like cough syrup, as one reviewer stated, and I definitely didn't taste a hint of bacon as another reviewer pointed out. It tastes similar to many a high fructose corn syrup fake maple syrup. I happen to prefer real maple syrup for taste, I just rarely indulge because of the sugar content. I find this to be a more then adequate sub. However, I do have some comments to make about the labeling on the back. I have included a picture, because at the time of my purchase, there wasn't a picture with the ingredients or the nutritional info available. I'd like to draw your and the maker's attention to the part of the label where this is described as a zero calorie syrup, and then I'd like you to pan down to the nutritional label, where you can clearly see those 21 calories marked, which I am assuming is attributable to the vegetable fiber they put in here, I'm guessing as a thickener. Though honestly, it's still pretty thin syrup wise. Anyways, 21 calories and zero calories are not the same thing, so minimally, I'd recommend they reevaluate the wording on their label. Now, it lists Natural Flavoring, which the manufacturer in the questions section describes as proprietary and they won't disclose what's in it. My very good friend Mrs. H. and I were discussing this one just last weekend. It's a very interesting way of putting who the heck knows what into something and not have it regulated. So, that's something to be aware of in case it's going to bother you. I suspect, I *hope* it's not anything too noxious, and I'm still planning on busting out some gluten free unicorn cookies with this stuff. But those are just things for you to be aware of in case they matter to you... (I took the star off for the labeling issue and the thinness of the product, because it may not hold together my cookies the way I want and I may need to add extra coconut flour...)

This is my second order of this item. I am following a low carb diet and this works perfectly into it. With a better quality sweetener than those "chemical-ly" sweeteners in other low carb/no sugar maple syrups, this tastes great. You cannot tell it is not cane sugar. I have taken to having a great low carb french toast replacement that I would encourage each of you to try. You would never know there is no bread. The recipe is also great to teach younger kids and they can make their own french toast without using a stove or using those chemical and sugar laden frozen french toast products. Here is the recipe (easy to memorize too). In a microwave-safe bowl (I use a soup bowl), put two ounces of cream cheese (1/4 of an 8 ounce brick - which you can teach kids to cut in half and cut in half again to get the two ounces) and warm it up for about 15 or 20 seconds in the microwave. This just gets the cream cheese soft for mixing. Now add two eggs, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of this maple syrup in the same bowl. Mix it up. It WILL BE LUMPY -and that is ok!. When the cinnamon and maple syrup are well mixed in with the eggs and cream cheese, microwave for 45 seconds. Remove from the microwave - you will notice the egg/cream cheese mixture started to cook along the edges. This is what is supposed to happen. You are going now mix it all again, creaming the partially cooked mixture along the sides into the uncooked mixture in the center, making it as smooth as you can, but remember it will still have some lumps of cream cheese - and that is ok. This really turns out well. When done mixing, microwave another 2 minutes. When done, remove from the microwave and turn upside down on a plate. Melt butter and mix in some more of this maple syrup; adding as much of each as you like on your french toast and pour it on top. I like a lot of butter and another tablespoon of the maple syrup. Your tastes and that of your kids may vary. Now enjoy - this has the same taste/texture of french toast without all the bread. Your microwave times may vary as well, so adjust times as needed on your microwave - if the two minutes seems to leave it still a little runny in the middle. You can try adding an extra 15 second or 20 seconds. You can try other syrups on it as well, but I tell you, this is soo soo good - and so easy to make. I don't' turn mine out on a plate, I eat it from the bowl it cooked in so there is only a bowl and fork to wash.

I must say that this is the best sugar alternative maple syrup out there. Yes, there is a tiny aftertaste but the maple flavor disguises it sufficiently. Recently changing to an NSNG diet (No Sugar, No Grains) this is an excellent complement to pancakes and as a sweetener for treats. Along with a pat of Kerrygold on my coconut flour short stack beside the bacon, it completes the perfect NSNG Sunday Breakfast! Closest to Mrs. Butterworth as you can get and still be sugar free! Even my kiddo enjoyed it. I am really looking forward to changing up some treat recipes and using this as the alternative sweetener source. Totally worth it and I am so glad I tried it. Next, I am going to add it to my pork and ham recipes. I really appreciate reviews and got so much information from the ones below. I thought that I would add my own, because this way of eating can get trying when you don't want to feel deprived (or that you are depriving your kid some treats!) but knowing all of the inflammatory properties of regular sugar and flour, it is nice to feel good about having a sweet alternative that doesn't take like chemicals or have an unpleasant aftertaste. I'm nearing the four-zero soon and my choices everyday now reflect the fact that I want to better and preserve my health. It is hopefully a long life and I want to live it as happily and healthily as I can and I want to teach my kid healthy habits. Little choices add up to big results. The only downside I have found is the bottle opening itself. Unlike the usual syrup bottles found at the market, this one does not have the small spout in the cap but it is simply a cap and a fairly large bottle opening. It can be easy to accidentally over pour! So I have a lovely little dispenser I picked up at the local dollar store exactly like the ones at diners. Eating Happy and healthy, thanks to the Anna Vocino cookbook and podcasts, and enjoying this syrup! And, you will too!

Better than some low calorie syrup, but not my favorite. It was kind of expensive, but I also bought it in a very low quantity. Obviously it's much healthier than real syrup, and I like that the texture was actually thick and sticky, while a lot of fake syrup tends to be more watery

It’s unreal how this w exactly like the sugary pancake syrup but has barely any calories! I use it as a sugar substitute when making a “healthy” version of cookie dough. It’s worth the high price in my opinion.

Im always super excited to find products with monkfruit and buy Lakanto granulated sweetener so I wanted to try the maple syrup. I like the flavor, texture and that it has monkfruit but a little goes a long way. This syrup is really sweet and this is the only Lakanto product I feel like had a diet after taste. Sadly, I probably wont buy again.

Great taste

A mi me pareció una excelente opción para disfrutar de hotcakes sin culpa y sin impactar mi glucosa, muy buen sabor en general, es un poco líquido pero bastante bueno, si lo volvería a comprar

The only con to this sugar free syrup is that it is a bit expensive. It has a great maple syrup taste and I like that it's a bit thin, like real maple syrup. I put this on some keto pancakes and my mouth thought it was eating regular pancakes and syrup. It's that good.

Si, es bastante líquido (en lo personal lo prefiero así) solo que quizá sería bueno un dosificador en la tapa, ya que es solo una rosca El olor es idéntico a maple, de sabor (mi paladar es uyyy jejeje) si se llega a sentir un ligero sabor a edulcorante pero es muy muy leve y solo al inicio… de ahí sigue predominando el sabor idéntico a maple) al destaparlo únicamente es cuando huele un poco a alcohol pero igual muy ligero

It taste soo good