Lakanto Pure Monk Fruit Sweetener Extract Powder - Erythritol Free, High Purity MV50, Mogroside 50, Great for Coffee, Tea, Smoothies, Desserts, Jams, Cereal, Dressings, Sauces (0.71 oz - Pack of 1)

According to the description, this powder contains a 50% concentration of Mogriside V, the active super-sweet component of Monk Fruit. If so, this stuff is the most concentrated Monk Fruit extract I have found available. That means two things. First, it has no fillers to modify the taste or change the digestive characteristics. Second, you MUST mix this with something else before using it, in order to be able to measure out the correct amount. 25mg is the indicated serving size, which is about 1/200 of the amount of granulated sugar you would use (weight of about a teaspoon of table sugar). Even with the included scoop managing a measurement of this amount routinely out of the provided container is not easy without spilling or releasing some powder into the air, which you will quickly sense. So for consistency you need to pick a carrier sweetener to blend it with just to be able to easily handle for routine use. And depending on your usage needs, pick an appropriate dilution. I use allulose, at about 20 to 1 for table use, but some people won't like the taste, cost or have digestion issues with allulose. If allulose works for you, and don't mind paying a bit more, it would be easier to get one of the prepared monk fruit allulose blends. For some, using lactose as a carrier may make sense. Some may want to try erythritol, or some xylitol, or mannitol. If you don't like or have digestive issues with sugar alcohols, you can always mix this Monk Fruit extract with real table sugar. At about 10:1 you can replace most of your table sugar usage by 10-20X ( on cereals, in drinks, or with fruits). So the great thing about this product is its concentration which gives you the flexibility to create the best alternate sweetener for your needs. But some reviews here have said it is also a problem. It can be, if you are not careful when using it right out of the bottle. But if you need an alternate sweetener, you know what your recipe, dietary goals and constraints are, and are willing to do some careful preparation, this is the stuff to start with. Also, I have yet to try more than one bottle of this Monk Fruit extract, and may change my rating if later bottles fail to meet the MV50 standard.

After receiving this product, I noticed that it had a fairly distinct scent/smell. Not unpleasant but different. Tasting it is a bit off putting as there is also a strong flavor that goes along with the sweetness. As for applications, I have thought about them and realized that as a sweetener there is probably limited areas where I would want to use it. First in baking that calls for sugar, it would be difficult to use as those recipes are utilizing more than just the sweet property of sugar. Volume and other properties play an important role in baking. Alternatives such as using mixtures various sugar alcohols could cause digestive problems. Drinks, teas or other drinks with very specific flavor profiles would probably not tolerate the taste change that using this sweetener would cause. Alternatively where this does shine would be in smoothies or lemonade using lemon juice. Sweetening any tart strong flavored drink where the somewhat strange monk fruit taste could easily be covered works very well. Don't really know about coffee as I do not like coffee at all, but it would probably work fine. Rather expensive, but when used to replace sugar for calorie reduction to me it seems to be a very cost effective sweetener. I picked up an allulose/monk fruit sweetener to try to make lemonade. It works very well as a bowel cleanser. This on the other hand does not have such an effect at the low usage levels needed. Just remember that this is extremely sweet, and the amount needed for most applications should not really impact the taste of what it is being used on much.

Ignore the 3 stars; this is comments only, but U gotta give stars to comment (why?) The picture on the screen is a lot larger than the bottle I got, which was only 1/2 full, smaller than a typical salt shaker. However, I can't blame the seller for that; I shud have looked at the dimensions. It is only 0.17 ounces. So far as I can tell, there is another brand of apparently the same thing at much lower price/ounce: (~$30) for 5 ounces: Morning Pep 100% Pure Monk Fruit extract sweetener, No Erythritol, Monkfruit Extract Powder, NON-GMO Project Verified, Keto Certified, OU kosher, No Fillers Zero Calories | Over 450 Servings | 5 oz . For some reason Lakanto rates their product at 804 servings. To be fair it should be noted that the MorningPep brand does not say what the Mugroside V concentration is. I think that Lakanto is 50%, the highest available to mere consumers; and Mugroside V concentration may vary between brands, Mugroside V being the actual "sweetener" in Monk Fruit. I haven't taste tested these products yet, however. I think that using monk fruit requires a lot of trial & error because different people have different taste buds/taste system (Remember that Pres Bush I did not like broccholi). To me pure monk fruit tastes nasty, but it seems if it is mixed with other sweetener(s) the mix is pleasantly sweet. Braum's no-sugar-added icecream lists monk fruit & allulose as sweeteners (& it also has lactose) & is delicious, "perfect" sweetness to me. For me it takes an awful lot of allulose itself to sweeten my coffee, if it ever does satisfactorily.

A little goes a long way. Works great in coffee, tea, smoothies, yogurt, and more. So glad to have a source of pure monk fruit! I think this is the most practical form. I’ve also tried pure stevia powder but I prefer this. It’s a bit sweeter with less aftertaste.

This is very sweet, you only need a small amount. Works well in anything requiring sweetness but I mostly use in my coffee and oatmeal. Expensive but it lasts awhile and in my opinion superior to artificial sweeteners.

This is by far the best sugar substitute out there. A TINY bit goes a long way. The flavor is pure - no nasty aftertaste.

Like other reviewers mentioned, and as described, this monk fruit is extremely sweet. That is a plus as it means we only need a little shake and the contents will last a long time. I put tape over half of the shaker top in order to better control the amount that comes out. Use too much and the taste is not right plus money is wasted. Monk fruit is known to be unsuitable for cooking, so we just use it in coffee, tea and smoothies. It’s saving me calories. I selected this product because it’s just monk fruit. it was the right selection for us.

Absurdly expensive; you can get 20 times this much at Whole Foods for a third the price. AND, it tastes absolutely awful. Avoid. I feel really ripped off by this one.