Ethnobotanical Organic Sweeteners

[Teotzlcoatl]

Ethnobotanical Organic Sweeteners-

Stevia rebaudiana ~ "Stevia Sweetleaf" (Leafs)

Siraitia grosvenorii ~ "Monk's Fruit" (Fruit)

Gynostemma pentaphyllum ~ "Jiaogulan"

Capparis masaikai ~ "Mabinlang"

Fraxinus ornus ~ "Manna Ash"

Sclerochiton ilicifolius ~ "?"

Beta vulgaris ~ "Sugar Beet" (Roots)

Acer saccharum ~ "Maple Syrup" (Sap)

Agave tequilana ~ "Agave Nector"

Diospyros kaki ~ "Japanese Persimmon" (Scrapings of dried fruits)

Glycyrrhiza glabra ~ "Liquorice" (Roots)

Saccharum species ~ "Sugar Cane" (Stalks)

Ceratonia siliqua ~ "Carob"

Phyla dulcis or Lippia dulcis ~ "Aztec Honey Herb"

Bees = Honey

Taste Altering "Miracle Fruits"-

Curculigo capitulata or Curculigo latifolia ~ "Lemba" (Fruit, seeds and other plant parts)

Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii or Dioscoreophyllum volkensii ~ "Serendipity Berry" (Fruit)

Pentadiplandra brazzeana ~ "Baillon" or "Oubli" (Fruit)

Synsepalum dulcificum ~ "The Miracle Fruit" (Fruit)

Thaumatococcus daniellii ~ "Katemfe" or "Katamfe" (Fruit)

Possibles-

Parmentiera edulis

Emblica officinalis

monstera deliciosa ~ "fruit salad plant"

Edited July 2, 2009 by Teotz'

[Alice]

Teotz' you are addicted to making lists!

How about carob as an ethnobotanical organic sweetener?

Ceratonia siliqua ~ "carob"

"... a common sweetener and was used in the hieroglyph for "sweet" (nedjem)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carob

[Freaky Chicken]

What about-

Saccharum sp. ~ 'Sugar cane'

[Chiral]

Is there a fruit that isn't a sweetner... ...I think it would easier to make that list would it not.

H.

[Teotzlcoatl]

Is there a fruit that isn't a sweetner... huh.gif ...I think it would easier to make that list would it not.

Look up all those individually and you will see what I mean, especially the "Miracle Fruits".

Teotz' you are addicted to making lists!

Ya, I'm probably like... crazy or something...

What about-

Saccharum sp. ~ 'Sugar cane'

O ya... SUGAR! Forgot that one!

Although the entire point of this is to find healthier alternatives to sugar and to bring down the evil sugar corporations!

Ceratonia siliqua ~ "carob"

"... a common sweetener and was used in the hieroglyph for "sweet" (nedjem)"

Please keep 'em coming!

Edited July 2, 2009 by Teotz'

[genki]

teotz care to elaborate on your miracle fruits list, you might get more interest if you include what makes these plants special instead of just their name. these lists are a good starting point but if you've got more specific information why not share it too

Edited July 2, 2009 by genki

[planthelper]

monstera deliciosa ~ "fruit salad plant"

very common indoor plant, produces yummy fruit if grown outdoors under the right conditions.

fruit tastes like a mixture of pinapple, strawberry and litchi.

getting your hands onto this juicy fruit is not straight forward, first you have to wait till the green skin falls off, and than you have to be carefull to seperate the fruit from some nasty small spikes.

[coin]

after you eat amla fruit (Emblica officinalis), water tastes sweet for a while...is that a miracle fruit?

[Rabelais]

Synsepalum dulcificum ~ "Miracle Fruit"

I have this growing at the moment, just a young'n about 300mm high. Can someone tell me if this will fruit in a good sized pot? I don't think I am in a good climate to put it in the ground and would like to train it for more lateral growth and move it into the greenhouse over winters.

[herbologist]

Here is some info on the use of Curculigo latifolia in a taste altering chewing gum.

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5344659/description.html

Edited July 2, 2009 by salem13

[Teotzlcoatl]

teotz care to elaborate on your miracle fruits list, you might get more interest if you include what makes these plants special instead of just their name. these lists are a good starting point but if you've got more specific information why not share it too

I'm getting to that! First I tease you with the list!

after you eat amla fruit (Emblica officinalis), water tastes sweet for a while...is that a miracle fruit?

Taste altering fruits is what I consider a "Miracle Fruit" to be... so, yes, I guess that would be one... although I can't find much info on this fruit's taste altering effects... can you link me, coin?

Is there a fruit that isn't a sweetner... huh.gif ...I think it would easier to make that list would it not.

Yes there are many fruits which are not sweet... I suppose if you think about "normal" fruits with pineapple being the most exotic it's hard to think of fruits being anything but sweet... but that is incorrect!

fruit tastes like a mixture of pinapple, strawberry and litchi.

Litchi? Do you mean Lychee? Wait... is that the botanical name for Lychee? I think it may be...

Edited July 2, 2009 by Teotz'

[Teotzlcoatl]

Curculigo latifolia

Dioscoreophyllum volkensii

Pentadiplandra brazzeana

Synsepalum dulcificum

Thaumatococcus daniellii

I encourage EVERYONE to immediately begin locating plants and seeds of the above botanicals and cultivating and propagating them!!!

Edited July 2, 2009 by Teotz'

[MrPotato]

One company is selling a Citrus aurantium extract that is very similar, although a bit stronger, to stevia extract. They call it Oh So Sweet, here is a link to their raw material data sheet http://www.arnhemgroup.com/attachments/011...Info-OSS600.pdf

It is OK, but has a licorice aftertaste like Stevia

[MrPotato]

Maltol, extracted from Larch trees, isn't really a sweetener, but when you mix it with other sweeteners (both natural and artificial) it makes them sweeter and tends to lessen their aftertastes and make them taste more like sucrose. Here is the wikipedia link to maltol in case anybody wants to know more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltol

[MrPotato]

And I wanted to mention, Miracle Fruit is cool. I got hold of some freeze dried miracle fruit extract and had fun eating the extract and then eating lemons that tasted sweet with no hint of sourness and all that. Lots of fun. I have a miracle fruit plant growing out back, but it's not doing too good. Over winter it dropped all of it's leaves except the top 2 and it hasn't started growing back yet even though it is summer here in the US. The top 2 leaves are discolored reddish with just some green left on them.

Edited July 3, 2009 by MrPotato

[Teotzlcoatl]

Thanks Mr.Potato! If anybody has any more "sweetening" botanicals please post them here!

[Auxin]

Did you investigate these before making your 'list'?

Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum), even in the srains specially bred to reduce bitterness, is bitter and the sweetness is very mild. In unrefined form it could only be used as a sweetener in The most asian of asian foods like some kind of cuttlefish, bitter melon, cabbage concoction you'd find on a farm in korea

I personally like it as a tea tho, especially when I use one tea bag of it and one of green tea to make one liter of unsweetened tea, the jiaogulan doesnt make it sweet but does make it so I dont want to add sugar and one jiaogulan tea bag in a liter makes the bitterness in my personal enjoyment range (sometimes I make 1 bag of jiaogulan into 2 cups tea with no green tea, thats the upper threshold of my bitterness enjoyment range). Its good for you too- hypocholesterolemic, antihyperlipidemic, anticarcinogenic, etc. and it theoretically reduces chances of gallstones.

I'm probably like... crazy or something...

I thought the consensus was mildly autistic with a chronic case of american education

[Teotzlcoatl]

Yes, I did research them, thanks for you input.

Glycyrrhiza is on there... I'm looking for ANYTHING with a hint of sweetness!

Edited July 4, 2009 by Teotz'

[Drake]

Synsepalum dulcificum

I encourage EVERYONE to immediately begin locating plants and seeds of the above botanicals and cultivating and propagating them!!!

Synsepalum dulcificum Is something I have more interest in so far. I have had the tablets with the extracts, but I think it dose not come close to being as effective as fresh fruit picked off the tree.

Gynostemma pentaphyllum also sounds very interesting. I know shamans with certain drinks would have most interest in this, as there brews are bitter.

Very good information as always Teotz.

[coin]

Yes, I did research them, thanks for you input.

Glycyrrhiza is on there... I'm looking for ANYTHING with a hint of sweetness!

anything with a hint of sweetness...so do a search for Ayurvedic herbs with rasa=madhura ("taste=sweet".. which could be anything from shatavari to carrots).

I'm sure you could do the same for Chinese herbs but I don't know the terminology.

[Teotzlcoatl]

Ok, well that isn't exactly what I mean....

I'm just looking for any plant known for it's sweetening properties... not being sweet in and of itself, but that is has a sweetening action.

Never thought sweeteners would be so complicated!

[planthelper]

but, teotz you changed the original post again aswell, and that makes my post look not well placed with what now has turned out to be a post about natural sweeteners....

i remeber your first post originally included words like,

"what fruits do you know which are not just 1"

which meant for me fruits which posess various flavors.

anyway, not a big issue!

about you liking lists, i do aswell and often people with obsessive behavior like lists because everything seems to have it's order.

[coin]

umm maybe it's sleep deprivation, but how can a plant not be sweet in and of itself but have a sweetening action?

[Teotzlcoatl]

Like what coin?

[tenacioustornado]

Lippia dulcis is another one shouldn't be used often because of camphor though which is toxic.