The demand for sugar-free and low calorie sweets has considerably gone up in the city, thanks to a new breed of weight watchers and health conscious foodies.
The sugar-free sweets aren’t limited to the quintessential cheese desserts of Odisha, they are available in many other varieities as well.
According to Bimbadhar Behera of the very popular Nimapara Sweets, the sugar free chhena poda, when introduced was an instant hit. The other sugar-free sweets that they offer include kalakand, rasabali, rabidi and steam cake. The steam cake available in small cups are particularly in great demand even among diabetics, he informs.
Even though sugar-free sweets are priced atleast ` 100 to ` 200 (per kg) more than sugared versions, people aren’t reluctant spending on them, he says, adding while the regular chhena poda costs ` 180 per kg , the sugar-free costs ` 300 per kg.
Behera, who is also the president of the Utkal Misthaan Byabasayi Samiti, however warns that the sugar-free sweets should be consumed on the same day and not stocked as they have less preservative capacity and are prone to fungus.
The very famous Bikala Kar rasagola is another delicacy that comes without sugar today and is priced at ` 5 per piece while the regular one comes for ` 3.50 per piece.
Says Mahavir Prasad Yadav of the very old Cuttack Sweets Stall, the demand for sugar-free sweets has certainly picked up lately. Besides chhena poda and kalakand, Cuttack Sweets Stall offers peda, kaju barfi and sandesh. While the sugared barfis come for ` 480 per kg, the sugar-free varieties are priced at ` 700 per kg.
‘’We offer only peda , chhena poda and steam cake in sugar-free categories but the demand is more than our supply,’’ admits PP Krishnan of Venus Sweets, adding, the daily stock of sugar free sweets gets exhausted much before the day ends. Several other shops in the city have the same story to narrate. The popular Shree Kunj also offers sugar-free kalakand and milk cake. ‘’We also take orders for such sweets for several parties,’’ informs owner Ghanshyam Periwaal.
Similarly, Narula Sweets, that has earned a name for itself in recent times, offers khoya barfi and kalakand in the sugar-free variety.
Besides the sweet shops, several hotels and caterers in the city also offer a lot in the sugar free section. Informs Pradeep Jena, Vice-President, Pal Heights, ‘’we have provided sugar free cream caramel custards and fruit custards in parties being held at our hotel on many occasions. Mostly the demand comes when the party expects a considerable number of guests with health complications but otherwise also the trend of low calorie sweets is surely picking up.’’
On the other hand, Sandeep Sharma, VP & GM Operations HHI, says besides sweets, sugar-free ice-creams are much in demand. ‘’Several brand names today deal in sugar-free ice creams and we also serve them in buffets at times,’’ he informs. ‘’We also make sugar-free chhena poda, but people want to experiment, particularly in high-end parties like low calories mousse or souffle even though the cost escalates when it comes to sugar-free varieties,’’ he informs.
Anup Kumar Bagai of Khatta Mitha, a very popular caterer in the city, informs they have been getting regular demand for low calorie and sugar free sweets for most of their parties, particularly the corporate ones. ‘’These sweets are no less in taste and are healthy too, thus leading to their increased demand,’’ he says explaining their varieties of sugar-free sweets and desserts - gajar and moong halwas, kheer sagar, malpua, puddings, souffles, cakes, pastries, ice-creams and their very own sugar-free kulfi. ‘’Earlier, we used to supply kulfis only for diabetics at the parties but then we noticed that a sugar free counter attracts people in large numbers and we had to increase the supply gradually,’’ he confesses.
So, next time you want to gorge on mouth-watering sweet delicacies without worrying about those extra kilos, think sugar-free.
DIABETICS BE CAREFUL:
While admitting that the increased consumption of such sweets points towards a healthy trend, Sunita Sahoo, Senior Dietician, Apollo Hospitals, however warns diabetics not to take too much liberty with sugar-free sweets. ‘’Since it is not easy to be informed about the kind of artificial sweetener used in making these sweets, people with diabetes should be careful unless they are cent percent sure,’’ she informs.
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