Acesulfame-K as an Artificial Sweetener

Acesulface-K was discovered in 1967 and, like the other artificial sweeteners, was stumbled upon by accident. Sold as Sunette, Acesulfame-K was FDA-approved in 1988 for use in tabletop sweeteners, dry beverage mixes, and chewing gum. It is 130 times sweeter than sucrose and is stable to heating and cooling, but it has a bitter aftertaste like that of saccharin. Read more »

Aspartame as Sweetener in Cooking

Like saccharin, aspartame was discovered by accident. In 1965, James Schlatter was doing research on ulcer drugs when he licked his finger to pick up a piece of paper and noticed that the finger tasted sweet. He realized that the sweetness came from an earlier spill in the laboratory. What Schlatter discovered was a substance that is 180 times sweeter than sucrose. Read more »

Saccharin as an Alternative Sweetener

Saccharin was discovered as a sweetener in 1878 by Constantin Fahlberg. The researcher noticed that his dinner roll tasted strangely sweet and traced it back to a saccharin substance he had accidentally spilled on his hands while working in his university research lab. Saccharin is now available as acid saccharin, sodium saccharin, and calcium saccharin. Read more »