Costco's In-House Agave Is The Affordable Sweetener You Need To Try

Next time you're loading up your Costco cart full of deals, be certain to toss in some organic blue agave. Sure, blue agave arguably makes tequila worth drinking, but the syrup version can also be used to sweeten your food quite deliciously. Stock up on this Costco gem for a crowd-pleasing option that satisfies vegan, gluten-free, and organic diets alike.

Buying directly from Costco online can get you two 36-ounce bottles of the sweet stuff for only $10.99, which comes out to $0.15 per ounce. If you enjoy life on the sweet side, that's a deal you can't pass up. For comparison, Costco's 3-pack of organic honey weighs in at a stout $0.25 per ounce. 

And even though conventionally grown products are usually just as nutritious as organic, the organic label on these bottles might give you extra peace of mind. Plus, the back label assures you of a money-back guarantee, so you've got nothing to lose — except a flavorless drink or bland dessert.

If you're buying this hefty pair of agave bottles, you'd better have a plan to use it up. It's been proven many alternate sweeteners don't do well with heat. So, can agave syrup really hold its own in cooked foods and baked desserts?

A study published by the Foods journal noted that agave syrup can replace the majority of table sugar in baked goods — at least when tested in muffins — while mimicking taste, texture, and color in the final product. In fact, agave can be an effective corn syrup swap for baked goods like cookies and cakes that call for a liquid sweetener. Same thing with honey or maple syrup, although the sweetness factor may come on a little strong.

Also, a liquid sweetener like agave may be the answer to achieving the smoothest consistency for your blended frozen drinks, since table sugar doesn't dissolve as well at colder temps. To avoid a bit of grit in your frozen lemonade, opt for the smooth sweetness of an agave drizzle instead of granulated sugar. Or use it in your Southern sweet tea when you need to up the sugar content after it's already on ice.

Agave syrup has become one of the most popular alternative sweeteners in the last several years, probably due to the alleged health benefits of agave over traditional sweeteners. Costco's version, for example, lists 60 calories per tablespoon, which is pretty comparable to table sugar's 50 calories. However, agave syrup contains high levels of antioxidants. It's also lower on the glycemic index scale than sugar, so it won't spike your blood sugar drastically, as noted by UCSF Medical Center.

On the other hand, agave's impressively high fructose content accounts for its sweetness intensity, and therein lies the problem. You probably recognize the term "fructose" from the negativity surrounding high fructose corn syrup in discussions on food additives. Essentially, fructose's sweetening effect far exceeds that of glucose, and a recent analysis in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health notes that agave syrup's fructose may contribute to a fatty liver due to its excess fructose content (over 80% by composition, in fact). That's because fructose is processed differently than glucose and particularly stresses the liver to metabolize.

Overall, health experts generally recommend using any sweetener (including agave) only in moderation. So, when you try drizzling that tantalizing syrup onto your food, make more out of less by enjoying your treat mindfully and savoring every last morsel.