All about Stevia (as a sugar substitute)

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In a previous post, I mentioned that I am a stevia user. Many of you had never heard of it, so here's some information.

Stevia rebaudiana is a fairly unassuming and tender perennial shrub of the aster family (Asteraceae), native to the northern regions of South America.

The primary compounds of Stevia that are responsible for its taste are steviosides and rebaudiosides. The extract of stevia is approximately 30 times sweeter than cane sugar, or sucrose,yet has only 1/300 of the caloric value. It does NOT increase blood sugar levels, in fact it may regulate them to some degree. This is how we started using the herb as my wife is hypoglycemic.

Here are some links;

http://www.stevianow.com/ http://www.richters.com/

An interesting side note- The FDA has not approved stevia as (GRAS) -Generally Regarded As Safe--and it seems that the fake sweetener companies have had something to do with it. After all, why would they want you to sweeten your coffee with something that you could grow practically free in your yard? Get more info about this at...

http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/stv-faq.txt

-- Jason (AJAMA5@netscape.net), January 18, 2001

Answers

Response to All about Stevia

I always thought it was because no company wanted to get the product through FDA testing - time intensive and costly. Why would sugar producers or artificial sweetening companies want approval of a product that is so cheap to produce. Plus, anyone can grow their own. I'm glad I found something to replace NutraSweet - I believe that stuff is really really bad for you. Thanks for the sites.

-- Linda Al-Sangar (alsangal@brentwood-tn.org), January 18, 2001.

Response to All about Stevia

Hi Jason, ok, so how do I use this stuff, I have a pound of it sitting in my cupboard I bought a year ago. It's already ground to a rough powder, not real fine like cornstarch, but ground, how much to a cup of hot beverage, say, compared to a teaspoon of honey (haven't used sugar in decades) for sweetening power? Does it have to be ground up finer? How long does it keep, it's sealed up in a glass jar? Thanks for your help!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 18, 2001.

Response to All about Stevia

I have only used the liquid extract....a drop or 2 in tea and 4 or 5 in coffee. I have used fresh leaves...both dried and "just picked"....but only in hot tea. Generally speaking we use honey for cooking and a little white sugar sometimes. This will be the first year I have attempted to grow it myself...I live in North Alabama so it should grow good. It is a tropical plant though...I don't know if I can keep it growing through the winter.

-- Jason (AJAMA5@netscape.net), January 18, 2001.

Response to All about Stevia

I do use stevia on occasion. What I use it for is sweetener in cookies and treats. One thing to watch out for is that it reacts with baking soda. If you are after flat cookies, go easy on the baking soda. I use 1 teaspoon to replace 1 cup of white sugar. I also do not totally replace the sugar as the aftertaste becomes to strong. I need to use it because my children (6,5,2) are sugar sensitive and become slightly to excessivly hyperactive when they eat white sugar. We naturally limit treats, and my 2 older kids know to ask if something has sugar in it. But they have to have sweets sometime because it isn't fair that Daddy gets to have sugar and they can't. Stevia has proved to be a way that I can make cookies without overloading them with sugar. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), January 18, 2001.

Response to All about Stevia

Who sells stevia seeds?

-- Sandy in MN (jpevans_56353@yahoo.com), January 21, 2001.


Response to All about Stevia

You can get the seed at : Pinetree Garden Seeds... www.superseeds.com

-- Lynn(MO.) (mscratch@semo.net), January 21, 2001.

Response to All about Stevia

Can you use it in canning recpes? I would love to cut the sugar out of my jams and canned fruits. Any thoughts?

-- Evelyn B. (evandjim@weserv.net), January 23, 2001.

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