I am looking into cutting our families sugar intake and am interested in Stevia. It is very expensive, so I want to use it wisely, so I want tips on how to use it. I bought the white powdered kind. Also, I was wondering if anyone has had success in growing the plant and if it is better to grow it yourself, or do you get better product from the white powder?

Maylene

-- Maylene (zedanka@aol.com), February 16, 2001

Answers

I have tried stevia; I even have two stevia cookbooks (which I will sell if you want them). I really think there is just no substitute for good ole'sugar/honey/maple syrup. The only thing I really like stevia in is lemonade. It works in very flavorful items like chocolate brownies, but not in light flavored stuff like pudding. You can use it in tea, just a pinch. I tried it because I was going to go off of sugar completely, and just didn't want to do without sweets! Well, that didn't work for me. Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), February 16, 2001.

Maylene: This was mentioned on a posting in the archives about Nutra Sweet. Look under Health and go to the one on Nutra Sweet. Some one grows and uses it successfully. Good luck. I'd like to try growing it myself. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), February 16, 2001.

I haven't tried Stevia yet. I hear it is hard to germinate. Where are you buying it? You may want to purchase in bulk from an herbal supplier. check out the other thread on the forum where people are giving sources for bulk herbs. you may save money that way.

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), February 16, 2001.

Hi, I have been raising stevia for the last three years. I think it is wonderful.E-mail me and I'll send you my web page. Daryll

-- Daryll (twincrk@hotmail.com), February 16, 2001.

Tried it once, I wasn't really all that impressed with the stuff. Too expensive to boot.

-- Bob Johnson (Backwoods_Bob@excite.com), February 16, 2001.

stevia also comes in liquid form.

-- amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), February 17, 2001.

Stevia seems expensive, but since you use so little of it to sweeten the same as sugar, it really is not that costly. I did a cost analysis of it and it came out to be only slightly more expensive than bulk sugar. I tried to grow it here in East TN but didn't have much luck. I purchased the plants from Johnny's in Maine.

-- Mary in East TN (barnwood@preferred.com), February 17, 2001.

I've used stevia for about a year. I was hoping it tasted like sugar , but it doesn't. I started getting used to it by mixing just a little with the sugar in the sugar bowl, then mixing it about half and half. I don't know if I'll ever use stevia straight it just tastes strange all by itself. I tried to grow it from seed last year and none germinated. I'm going to buy a few plants this year.

-- debra in ks (solid-dkn@msn.com), February 19, 2001.

I've not tried it yet, but after reading about it in this time's Countryside, we're defnitely going to order some of the plants. Found some in Shepherd's Garden Seeds. The article said that the dried leaves and stems was the least used method, but has anyone tried it? How would we be able to "process" it to get the white powder instead?

-- Rick & Leslie W (whomestead@hotmail.com), February 19, 2001.

I just wanted to mention that Stevia is sold through Horizon Herbs located in OR. That is where I bought some of my herbs. They have a discription and a little info in their catalog. It mentions that Stevia is a heat dependent germinator. 80- 85 degrees! So that may be why some have had no luck with it. I have not tried it myself... yet.. :) Brenda

-- Brenda (brenclark@alltel.net), March 19, 2001.

I use stevia powder every day. I find it delicious when mixed with nonfat plain yogurt and when used in fruit smoothies (made with milk, fresh and frozen fruit, tofu, and stevia). I especially recommend its use with yogurt, which is highly nutritious but in its sweetened form is loaded with sugar; with stevia the nonfat plain variety tastes as good to me as the sugary versions. I have also tried stevia in coffee, unfortunately with less success. In some contexts (e.g., yogurt) I love it, but in others (e.g., coffee) the aftertaste is too strong.

One comment on price: in its powdered form, stevia is expensive only when considered per unit weight. Stevia is so much sweeter than sugar that it's reasonably priced per unit sweetness. The stevia I buy (KAL brand) costs $10 for 1357 tiny scoops. I use about two scoops to sweeten a cup of yogurt or one very large smoothie, which is 1.4 cents. I rarely use more than four scoops a day, but even at that rate $10 worth lasts almost a year. I consider that quite inexpensive.

-- Michael Hartl (michael_hartl@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.

I have candida, which means I can have no sugar at all, and after reading of the side affects of aspartame I will not eat it either. I have stevia in liquid form, and it made delicious tea. So last night I made a berry swirl cheesecake using only a half tsp. of the liquid. It tastes great, just as good as I remember it tasting when Mama made it! I had cheated this week and ate cherry pie (a fruit that requires more sugar than others) and quickly regretted though it tasted wonderful. This way with stevia I can have a little dessert without worrying about hurting myself! As to growing plants, go to www.steviaplant.com ; there is an article there on no fail growing of stevia seeds. I haven't tried it myself (I have a black thumb, not a green one!) so I think I will stick to the ready made stuff. There is an amazing amount of places to purchase stevia on the web, just enter bulk stevia in a yahoo search and you get more results than you want to look through! I have read that green stevia powder has more of an bitter after taste than the liquid and white powder if that helps anyone. The liquid has a very sweet aftertaste that stays in my mouth for quite a while and is very pleasant. I got it from Grain and Salt Plains. Anyway..hope this helps :) Caitlin Lorraine

-- Caitlin Lorraine (caitlin8@flash.net), August 03, 2001.