agave nectar

food

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 21, 2026

Quick Summary

Agave nectar is a syrupy sweetener derived from the sap of agave plants, primarily the century plant (Agave americana) and blue agave (Agave tequilana). It is not true floral nectar but is produced by extracting, filtering, and heating the sap from the hearts of these plants. Agave nectar is used as a sugar alternative and is generally sweeter than table sugar due to its higher fructose content. While agave plants have a long history of use by Indigenous peoples for food, fiber, and alcoholic beverages like mezcal and tequila, their sap is toxic raw and requires cooking before consumption.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

agave
Uses
…source of mescal alcohols and agave nectar. To prepare mescal, the sap of roasted or pressure-cooked agave hearts is fermented and distilled; different species are used for different types of mezcal, with blue agave being the only species used for tequila. Similarly, agave nectar, a syrupy sweetener used as a…
Read More
…source of mescal alcohols and agave nectar. To prepare mescal, the sap of roasted or pressure-cooked agave hearts is fermented and distilled; different species are used for different types of mezcal, with blue agave being the only species used for tequila. Similarly, agave nectar, a syrupy sweetener used as a…
Read More

century plant
…fibre maguey and of “agave nectar” used as a sweetener. Despite their common name, most century plants do not live longer than 30 years; each rosette of leaves usually dies after flowering, though clonal pups at the base may persist.
Read More
…fibre maguey and of “agave nectar” used as a sweetener. Despite their common name, most century plants do not live longer than 30 years; each rosette of leaves usually dies after flowering, though clonal pups at the base may persist.
Read More