Behind the somewhat technical term ‘xylitol’ is a vegan sugar which is particularly popular in Scandinavia. The raw material for this, so-called wood sugar (xylose), hence the name birch sugar, occurs in birch wood. However, it is also made from other hardwoods and other raw materials such as corn cob residues, straw, cereal bran and sugar cane bagasse, the fibrous residues from sugar production. In terms of taste, xylitol hardly differs from normal sugars and is therefore an alternative for vegan baking and cooking recipes. With excessive consumption, birch sugar can have a laxative and bloating effect, so you should be careful with quantity. In addition to xylitol, erythritol, another sugar alcohol, is often used. Incidentally, sugar alcohol has nothing to do with alcohol in the colloquial sense and can also be used by alcoholics.