Agave vs. Sugar — What's the Difference?

Native to Mexico

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, refers to sucrose, a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose.

Natural sweetener source

A sweet crystalline or powdered substance, white when pure, consisting of sucrose obtained mainly from sugarcane and sugar beets and used in many foods, drinks, and medicines to improve their taste. Also called table sugar.

Contains high fructose

Any of a class of water-soluble crystalline carbohydrates, including sucrose and lactose, having a characteristically sweet taste and classified as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and trisaccharides.

Succulent plant

A unit, such as a lump or cube, in which sugar is dispensed or taken.

Used in tequila production

(Slang) Sweetheart. Used as a term of endearment.

Agave (, UK also , Anglo-Hispanic: ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of South America. The genus Agave (from the Ancient Greek αγαυή, agauê) is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves.

To coat, cover, or sweeten with sugar.

Any of numerous plants of the genus Agave, native to hot, dry regions of the Americas and having basal rosettes of tough, usually spiny-margined leaves. Agaves are grown for ornament, fiber, and food. Also called century plant.

To make less distasteful or more appealing.

A plant of the genus Agave, which includes the maguey or century plant (Agave americana), which produces a gigantic flower stem at maturity.

To form sugar.

A genus of plants (order Amaryllidaceæ) of which the chief species is the maguey or century plant (Agave Americana), wrongly called Aloe. It is from ten to seventy years, according to climate, in attaining maturity, when it produces a gigantic flower stem, sometimes forty feet in height, and perishes. The fermented juice is the pulque of the Mexicans; distilled, it yields mescal. A strong thread and a tough paper are made from the leaves, and the wood has many uses.

To form granules; granulate.

Tropical American plants with basal rosettes of fibrous sword-shaped leaves and flowers in tall spikes; some cultivated for ornament or for fiber

To make sugar or syrup from sugar maple sap. Often used with off.

(uncountable) Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.

(countable) A specific variety of sugar.

Any of various small carbohydrates that are used by organisms to store energy.

(countable) A small serving of this substance (typically about one teaspoon), used to sweeten a drink.

(countable) A term of endearment.

A kiss.

Effeminacy in a male, often implying homosexuality.

Diabetes.

(dated) Anything resembling sugar in taste or appearance, especially in chemistry.

Compliment or flattery used to disguise or render acceptable something obnoxious; honeyed or soothing words.

Heroin.

Money.

(programming) syntactic sugar.

(transitive) To add sugar to; to sweeten with sugar.

(transitive) To make (something unpleasant) seem less so.

In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the syrup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; with the preposition off.

(entomology) To apply sugar to trees or plants in order to catch moths.

To rewrite (source code) using syntactic sugar.

(transitive) To compliment (a person).

To remove hair using a paste of sugar, water, and lemon juice.

(minced oath) Used in place of shit!

A sweet white (or brownish yellow) crystalline substance, of a sandy or granular consistency, obtained by crystallizing the evaporated juice of certain plants, as the sugar cane, sorghum, beet root, sugar maple, etc. It is used for seasoning and preserving many kinds of food and drink. Ordinary sugar is essentially sucrose. See the Note below.

By extension, anything resembling sugar in taste or appearance; as, sugar of lead (lead acetate), a poisonous white crystalline substance having a sweet taste.

Compliment or flattery used to disguise or render acceptable something obnoxious; honeyed or soothing words.

In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the sirup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; - with the preposition off.

To impregnate, season, cover, or sprinkle with sugar; to mix sugar with.

To cover with soft words; to disguise by flattery; to compliment; to sweeten; as, to sugar reproof.

A white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative

An essential structural component of living cells and source of energy for animals; includes simple sugars with small molecules as well as macromolecular substances; are classified according to the number of monosaccharide groups they contain

Informal terms for money

Sweeten with sugar;

Crystalline sweetener

Derived from plants

Contains glucose and fructose

Used globally in cuisine

Impact on health debated

While agave has a lower glycemic index, its high fructose content may not make it a better choice.

Agave syrup is used as a sweetener in foods and beverages.

No, sugar can be brown or white, depending on the refining process.

Agave is sourced from the agave plant, predominantly found in Mexico.

High fructose consumption can be associated with liver issues and other health concerns.

Sugar is often extracted from sugarcane or sugar beets and then refined.

Agave is generally sweeter than sugar.

Sugar typically has a more neutral taste than agave.

Yes, it has a mild and specific flavor, different from regular sugar.

Yes, there are various forms like white, brown, raw, and powdered sugar.

Yes, but adjustments for sweetness and liquid content might be needed.

It can lead to obesity, dental problems, diabetes, and other health issues.

They can be used interchangeably with adjustments, but they may alter the recipe's texture and flavor.

Both contain similar calories per gram, but because agave is sweeter, you might use less.

It's made by extracting and purifying the sap from the agave plant's core.