The Good: Flavorful, Inexpensive, Great taste, Surprisingly not terribly unhealthy
The Bad: Serving size is unrealistically low, Less easy to use than most dessert toppings
The Basics: Well worth stocking up on for anyone on a low calorie diet, Smucker’s Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping is robbed of perfection by its usability issues.
My wife and I have both been working hard to lower our caloric intake lately. She’s trying to lose some weight for health reasons and I am still struggling to burn off last year’s winter tummy. Still unwilling to give up ice cream, I picked up Smucker’s Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping to have a lower calorie option when it comes to topping my healthy ice creams!
And, as it turns out, the Sugar Free Caramel is one of the best low-calorie, sugar free, diet products I have yet tried! In fact, were it not for how hard it is to use this product, it might have been a perfect topping by my standards.
Basics
The Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping is part of Smucker’s ice cream topping line and it worked exceptionally well, largely because it is fairly simple and direct product which makes no promises other than that it will enhance the flavor of one’s ice cream. And it does that quite well. The 11.75 oz. glss jar has a large opening under its screw-off lid which allows one to stick a spoon in to easily dispense the topping. Unlike Smucker’s famous Magic Shell, the Dessert Topping is just that, a fluid one uses to further sweeten ice cream and it is delightful for that; it does not harden on the ice cream.
Ease Of Preparation
Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping is a bit annoying to use. It must be heated to properly be dispensed (otherwise it comes out in pretty massive clumps and does not spread at all). Unfortunately, it cannot be microwaved to heat up. As a result, one must run the jar under very hot water, let it sit heating up for three minutes, drain the sink (or bowl) the jar is set in, stir it up, reheat the water and resubmerge the jar. I usually have to do this for half an hour before it is actually spreadable! That’s a lot of work for something that then forces one to eat their ice cream faster!
Taste
For all of my ice cream topping reviews, I am utilizing Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip ice cream (reviewed here!) as it provides a neutral flavor base.
Opening the jar after it has been heated, the Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping smells just like a candle. It is warm, sweet, and buttery in the nose and it is oh so inviting!
On its own, the golden topping tastes sugary and buttery; a perfect representation of caramel. The Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping is sweet and as it lingers on the tongue, it takes on a slightly fruity flavor in addition to the caramel flavor, much like the way clover honey takes on a slightly enhanced flavor in honey.
On ice cream, the Sugar Free Caramel completely holds its own against ice cream. In addition to instantly overpowering weak or bland ice creams with its sweet, delightful taste, on more substantial flavors – and on bland flavors as they melt – the Sugar Free Caramel Topping spreads, taking on a creamy flavor that only enhances the sweet, buttery nature of its primary flavor.
The Sugar Free Caramel dessert topping leaves a very slight sweet and fruity aftertaste on the tongue. The aftertaste is not unpleasant and last only about two minutes after the last of it is consumed.
Nutrition
Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping is a dessert topping therefore not the most nutritious things in the known world, but this Dessert Topping is not really unhealthy. The primary ingredients are maltodextrin, water, and maltitol syrup. It is not vegan compliant as a result of nonfat milk being present in the ingredients list.
What is not a mystery is how high this product is in sugars. In each 2 Tb serving of Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping, there are 90 calories, none of which are from fat! This is a truly fat free product, which was a pleasant surprise! There is no cholesterol, but a consumer gets 3% of their recommended daily allowance of sodium out of a single serving of this topping! There is also no protein, so this is not something to try living off of. In other words, this product is not a nutritious food product, though it is not really detrimental in any ways, either!
Storage/Cleanup
Once open, the Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping must be refrigerated. Our jar has an expiration date of May 2, 2014 and I imagine it will keep at least until then.
This is a very light colored butter-like topping, which is very thick, so it will only stain anything that is light colored or that it gets ground into! Cleanup is easy with very hot water, but whites that get this golden substance on them will stain!
Overall
Smucker’s Sugar Free Caramel Dessert Topping is wonderful and a great way to positively reinforce achieving dieting goals with a treat that is likely to stay within one’s dieting parameters. Good enough to pass for fully sugared, the Sugar Free Caramel topping is worth trying!
For other ice cream toppings, please visit my reviews of:
Root Beer Magic Shell Topping
Smucker's Butterscotch Sundae Syrup
A&W Root Beer Dessert Topping
8/10
For other ice cream reviews, please visit my Ice Cream Review Index Page!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment