Stevia???

[Megs79]

Does anyone use this as a sweetener?  I've been thinking about trying it out but I'm nervous.  I'm trying to ditch sugar, but I absolutely detest artificial sweeteners.

Does it taste weird? If I put it in tea or coffee, how would it effect the flavor?

Where can I get some?

[LanneyD]

never heard of it

[foolsgold]

My wife is trying to open a tea house and is considering having that as an option.  However, I remember reading something where it is not approved to be used in food since the FDA hasn't given it the a-OK.

She's tried it and has been happy with the flavor and results.

[Megs79]

never heard of it

It's an herb that is a really strong sweetener, apparently.  It's non-caloric and natural.

Thanks for the input foolsgold.  I've read if you use too much, you end up with a bitter taste.  I tend to like my tea and coffee on the sweet side (about 2  generous spoonfuls of sugar), so I was wondering how much is too much?

[MissKitty]

Megs, I use Stevia, but normally only to sweeten tea and small stuff like that--I've not used it in baking yet.  I like the taste of it, but I personally think it's almost too sweet. That said, if you like two teaspoons of sugar in your tea this would definitely be up your alley. I normally have one teaspoon in mine, and the stevia packets I bought are equivalent of two teaspoons. I just pour half the packet in my tea and I'm good to go.

It's got a different taste to it than sugar, but I don't think it tastes "plastic-y" like artificial sweeteners do. If you want to try it I can mail you a couple of packets of it. PM me with your address.

[Megs79]

Thanks, MK, but I got some over the weekend.  I bought SweetLeaf Stevia Plus, which interestingly enough has 1/5 the fiber of a bowl of cereal in each packet.  

I just put 3/4 of a packet in my mint tea.  Not bad at all.  It has a little bit of a sweet aftertaste, but it's not fake tasting like saccharine, aspartame, etc.  I will have to tell one of my friends about this- she has PKU so she can't have aspartame.

[love]

I think the sweetleaf stevia is the best tasting stevia I have tried, I love the added fiber in the steviaplus.  The new liquid flavors are great too, a few drops of the root beer stevia in sparkling water and you have your very own healthy natural soda.  If you want to bake with the stevia you must add a bulking ingredient because stevia does not activate yeast like sugar does. So if you add applesauce, fruit puree, fruit juice, coconut milk, rice milk, yogurt or any other ingredient that will add moisture and bulk and taste good with your recipe.  For every one cup of sugar that is replaced with stevia you must add 1/2-1/4 a cup of the bulk. When I make my banana bread I use one extra mashed banana which works wonderfully to keep my bread moist and fluffy.  check out www.sweetleaf.com for more recipes and an equivalency chart that shows how much stevia to use in any recipe.

Stevia is the healthiest sweetener I have found that doesn't have calories, carbs or a glycemic index.  Stevia comes from the stevia plant that has really sweet leaves.

[whigsgeek]

I must try this Stevia of which you speak so highly. Is it stocked with the sugars and artificial sweeteners, or do stores put it in the organic section, or is it only available in nutrition stores or other specialty shops?

[snakelady]

Stevia is not approved by FDA for use in food or beverages in the US for sweetener or flavoring or any other purpose.  

BUT, due to loopholes in the current laws it is available as a "nutritional supplement" so check your local health food store.

[MissKitty]

Snakelady is right---probably the best source for Stevia is the local health food shop. I've also seen it at Wild Oats.

[Kwyjibo]

Hmm... this thread is inactive for two years and suddenly a guest comes along that knows all about the subject and makes his/her one and only post in a sweatener thread?  My guess is love works for sweetleaf.

[Butter]

Maybe they just really love Stevia.  A lot.

[Jonathan]

Hmm... this thread is inactive for two years and suddenly a guest comes along that knows all about the subject and makes his/her one and only post in a sweatener thread?  My guess is love works for sweetleaf.

You're so cynical.


and you're also probably right.

Besides, I thought we closed all the "guests can post" loopholes.

[foolsgold]

We've been looking into using stevia at the teahouse and have just bought a box of the sweetner to try it in cooking.  

We also bought a stevia plant, but don't know if there is a way to process it.  I think we can mash it and extract the oil, but has anyone ever used the actual plant?

[Juliana]

If it's such a good sweetener, why hasn't the FDA approved it?