High-Intensity Sweeteners

High-intensity sweeteners, sometimes called low-calorie, nonnutritive, or artificial sweeteners, are typically 200 or more times sweeter than sugar. They provide only one function in baked goods: sweetness. High-intensity sweeteners are largely unsuitable as the only sweetener in pastry and bakery products, which rely on sugar for many functions besides sweetness.

The four most common high-intensity sweeteners in the United States are saccharin, the sweetener in Sweet ’N Low; aspartame, also known as NutraSweet and Equal; acesulfame potassium, more commonly known by its brand names Sunett and Sweet One; and sucralose, also known as Splenda. A fifth sweetener, neotame, was approved for use in the United States in 2002, but it is not yet in general use.