Agave sweetener composition and crystallization process

A process for producing a crystalline agave sweetener, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing agave syrup, a binder, and an anticaking agent to a mixer to form an in-process mixture;
• (b) heating the in-process mixture to a temperature of between 50° C. and 65° C. while stifling the in-process mixture at a constant rate;
• (c) applying a vacuum at a temperature of between 50° C. and 65° C. to evaporate water from the in-process mixture until a concentration of approximately 10% moisture is obtained in the in-process mixture, thereby producing a partially evaporated mixture;
• (d) transferring the partially evaporated mixture to a first evaporator and applying a vacuum at a temperature of between 50° C. and 65° C. to evaporate water from the partially evaporated mixture and produce an evaporated mixture having a moisture concentration of between 1% and 2%;
• (e) transferring the evaporated mixture to a tunnel freezer in order to lower the temperature of the evaporated mixture;
• and then
• (f) processing the evaporated mixture to produce crystals of 2 millimeters or less in diameter.