Monk Fruit Sweetener

WHAT ARE MONK FRUIT SWEETENERS?

Monk fruit, also known as lo han guo or Swingle fruit, is a small round fruit native to southern China. Monk fruit sweeteners are no-calorie sweeteners that can be used to lower one’s intake of added sugars, while still providing satisfaction to enjoy the taste of something sweet.

HOW ARE MONK FRUIT SWEETENERS PRODUCED?

Monk Fruit has been used for centuries in Eastern medicine as both a cold and digestive aid. Extracts from monk fruit are also being used in tabletop sweeteners and to sweeten packaged foods and beverages. Monk fruit sweeteners are produced by removing the seeds and skin of the fruit, crushing the fruit, and then filtering and extracting its sweet portions into liquid and powdered forms. During the production of monk fruit sweeteners, monk fruit extract is often blended with erythritol in order to taste and look more like table sugar. Erythritol is a type of polyol, also referred to as a sugar alcohol, that contains zero calories per gram.¹