“Son, its so long since I have had a Payasam for Onam. Can you help?”

Our very first menu addition happened in a few weeks from our launch, and this product was not even in our distant plans of product development. It was the initial days of our launch and we were monitoring every customer orders personally. 3 weeks after we started operations, it was Onam, the biggest festival in Kerala. Onam is celebrated across religions and classes and there are a few customary celebrations, everyone part takes in. One of them is to have delicious Payasams, a sweet Porridge dish often made from Rice, Vermicelli or Dals

About 2 weeks after launch, we got a call from a customer. She was 82 years old, living alone with a home nurse and she had seen our ad and tries our Laddoos and loved it. But now, she had a new demand “Payasams were part of my Onam celebrations, but I have not had them for 30 years now. Its one of my wishes to have a nice cup of Payasams. Can you make them in Sugar Free? My nurse will not let me touch anything with Sugar. I have crossed 80, I don’t know how much time I have for my wishes”. We just could not say “No”

Even though our chefs at that time had not even tried to make a Payasams in Sugar Free (and we were clear we had to make it without any after taste), they took it as a challenge. After 6 days and twenty odd trials, we had a couple of flavors of delicious Payasams ready.

The happiness on our caller’s face was to be seen to be believed. She asked us for the bill, but we refused. We knew that the product development idea was worth a lot more the cost of the Payasams! This dish has been a staple in our Menu ever since and is still one of our best selling products. We also ended up developing 2 more new flavors of Payasams, including a brand new recipe that has not been tried anywhere else, even with Sugar. This version made with dried rice and dry fruits was one of the best sellers for us in the recent festive season

On Onam day this year (2021), we ended up serving Payasams to 1500+ customers! And we could have done even more, we ran out of stock quickly. We are always grateful for that one thought from our esteemed customer and her guts to give us a call and request for the same. She is truly a rockstar for us!

Pros of Sugar Substitutes

1. An effective product for diabetics

Sugar substitutes are a boon for diabetic people with a sweet tooth. As these products have very low-calorie count and Glycemic Index (which means they do not raise the blood sugar level fast), these are ideal for diabetic patients

2. Reduces calorie intake

With almost zero calories, Sugar Substitutes when consumed on a regular basis, restricts the calorie intake. This is ideal for people who are looking to cut down on calories to manage weight. It is also ideal for body builders and fitness conscious. For instance, a cup of tea has around 50 calories from the Sugar added. By switching to Sugar substitutes, the calorie count can be reduced to 1 calorie or less.

3. Easy to use

Because of its allied properties like sugar in baking, canning, and packaging, you will find them used in a variety of products. Packaged sugar substitutes are normally calibrated for Single usage, so there is no confusion on how much to use

4. Better oral health

Excess sugar consumption can lead to tooth cavities. Sugar often gets deposited in between teeth and causes bacterial overgrowth and thus, damages the oral health. Unlike sugars, Sugar substitutes do not react with the bacteria in your mouth. This means they do not form acids or cause tooth decay.

5. Naturally occurring Sugar substitutes are available

Unlike earlier, plenty of naturally occurring sugar substitutes are available. Stevia is extracted directly from a plant leaf, while sucralose is often made from Sugar itself. At Zeugar, we use only naturally occurring Sugar substitutes and do not use chemicals like Saccharine or Aspartame

Cons of Sugar Substitutes

1. After taste

Some Sugar substitutes do leave a sour or a bitter after taste. Many people may find the aftertaste very unpleasant. However, after taste can be largely reduced by selecting the right mix of Substitutes that blends with the natural taste palette of the dish being produced. At Zeugar, our many years of research has helped us arrive at the right mix of sugar substitutes that works for many dishes. In fact, our blind test indicates that more than 85% of people could not differentiate our Sugar Free dishes from their versions with Sugar

1. False sense of security

Some research suggest that some diabetic patients can develop a false sense of security while consuming Sugar Free dishes and this can lead to excess consumption of sweet dishes. While the Sugar substitutes themselves are often Zero calorie, the dishes will have other ingredients which will have rich calories. It is therefore important to manage consumption, even if they are Sugar Free dishes

3. Excess consumption can lead to Gastrointestinal distress

Loose motions, bloating or frequent gases are the most common side effects seen due to excess consumption of Sugar substitutes. Follow the instructions on the packaging is therefore important. At Zeugar, we have designed our pack sizes in such a way that having a pack of our sweet at any time is safe and will not lead to any issues.

However, there is one food revolution that is taking over the urban world, and that is the trend to switch to Sugar substitutes instead of Sugar. Sugar is often a big villain in ramping up the calorie count in our food, contributing about 420 calories per 100 grams of table sugar. It is estimated that about 15-20% of daily calorie intake comes from just Sugar. And given that an hour of jog can burn around  400 calories, avoiding Sugar completely can be equivalent of an hour of jogging every day !

But most of us find it difficult to totally give up on Sugar. Afterall, what is life without any sweetness! This is where artificial sweeteners can be a revolutionary idea. Low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) are sweeteners that contain few to no calories but have a higher intensity of sweetness per gram than sweeteners with calories—like table sugar, fruit juice concentrates, and corn syrups. Other names for LCS are non-nutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, sugar substitutes, and high-intensity sweeteners. Because LCS are many times sweeter than table sugar, they can be used in smaller amounts to achieve the same level of sweetness as sugar. By avoiding Sugar completely and by switching to artificial sweeteners, we can remove around 300-400 calories from our diet daily and that is a lot of calories to lose without any loss of taste.

So if you are planning to diet or hit a gym with vigor, first think of switching your diet priorities. Avoid sugar and switch to low calorie sweeteners. In India, products made from Sugar substitutes are often labelled as “Sugar Free” and all the leading food companies have products that are made without using any sugar and hence are low calories. Most high-end grocers also carry the sugar substitutes in a powder or syrup form, that can be used to cook your favorite dishes at your home.

Zeugar, that stands for “Zero Sugar” has the widest range of sweet dishes that are made from 3 sugar substitutes – Sucralose, Maltitol and Stevia. Our range include Cookies, Cakes, Pastries, Indian Sweets, Sundaes, Milk shakes etc. All our products are made without any added Sugar and have up to 40% lower calories as compared to an equivalent dish made with Sugar. Zeugar is now available to be shipped across India and physical stores are available in Kochi, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Calicut, Trivandrum and Thrissur.