Coconut is shaping up to be the foodie ingredient of the decade with coconut sugar being touted as the next big thing in natural sweeteners. So when I spotted a pack of the Loving Earth brand, I thought I’d check it out and see how it compares with regular brown sugar. Here are my reactions to its taste, nutrition and sustainability.
Nutrient |
Per 4 g serve (level teaspoon) |
Per 100 g |
Energy, kJ | 62.7 | 1567 |
Protein, g | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Fat Total, g | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Saturated, g | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Carbohydrate, g | 4.0 | 100 |
Sugars, g | 3.0 | 75 |
Sodium, mg | 9.0 | 225 |
At the high price, this Loving Earth sugar is not something you can afford to use in bulk. A teaspoon in your herbal tea or on top of your porridge oats won’t break the bank but I can’t see families using it every day nor many of us being able to bake crumbles or cakes where the recipe calls for one whole cup of it.
Nutritionally it’s no better or worse than brown sugar except for it’s sodium content (read my post on coconut sugar in general). There may be more minerals (magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium) but a spoon here and there isn’t going to lift your mineral intake hugely. You’d be better off eating more green vegetables, lean meat, fish and whole grains for your minerals.