Stevia?

[ceresone]

I'd like to hear the pro's and con's of stevia, you've convinced me not to use nutrasweet,etc. so- is Stevia safe? just think of the money i'll save if i grow my own sweetener.

[winter_unfazed]

Stevia's safe as air. It can evcen help prevent dental cavities.

[PhilosopherStorm]

Not to mention that it is a wonderful pick me up, or cooler when out in the garden. Just pick a leaf and chew on it while you work..

[Rats Patootie]

I'm not implying stevia isn't safe but just sharing my own personal experience with it. Both times I have tried it, aside from finding the taste disgusting, within 30 minutes I developed vertigo.

I have, however, used aspartame since it came on the market and I was buying Splenda from Canada several years before the FDA approved it's use here in the US. I use both as a sugar substitute and have consumed an average of 9 or 10 cans of diet pop a day for the past 2 decades. I have no health problems of any kind. I'm not advocating the consumption of chemicals or suggesting they're harmless because obviously the body would function better without them but on the other hand, "all natural" isn't synonymous with wholesome and healthy either, if you read food labels. (Snake venom is all natural but I wouldn't ingest it). If a food manufacturer adds an all natural ingredient but throws in a handful of chemicals, preservatives, stabilizers and such, where's the logic? Or the health benefit?

What concerns me more than anything else in the food industry though is GM foods being marketed without disclosure to the unsuspecting consumer. If I'm eating a tomato whose grandmother was a peanut, I want to know it. :eek:

Lynne

[Skywalker]

perhaps the bitter taste you are experiencing is because of the strength of stevia. After growing it, dry it and powder in a food processer. Then bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil, add 4 teas. stevia powder, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Chill and strain through a coffee filter in a funnel. Store in the fridge. 5 DROPS of this liquid are equal to 2 tsp of sugar, on Tablespoon of this extract is equal to about 9 oz. of sugar.

[Silent]

Another good recipe I learned from an OOM friend of mine is to fill a gallon jug with water and drop in one or two fresh stevia leaves; let steep for 24 hours. The stevia itself imparts a light flavor along with the sweetness; if more flavor is desired add some teabags to make a sort of 'Sun' tea or squeeze some lemons into the water for lemonade.

[Pharmerlaura]

:D We have a Stevia plant growing in the house. Tried to get it to go to seed with no luck.

[stubone]

Ithank i well try to grow stevia this spring.

[Pharmerphil]

Yes, it is the intensity of the sweetness that is the bitter taste you are getting, Stevia IS ver, very sweet, and needs only to be used in small quanities. A friend used it, and the fresh rhubarb to make a pie, it, I was told, was delicious.

[Sprocket]

I have used it safely for over two years now. It is extremely bitter and nasty if you try to dip your fingure in for a quick taste, but the minute you mix it with a liquid or with fruit as if making a smoothie it becomes so darn sweet that it will knock your socks off. It can be a bit fussy to grow in our cold michigan climate and prefers its status as an annual or a house plant. I have even gotten mine to go to seed but I have not planted them yet. If you do research on stevia you will find that it is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. There is documented evidence that it actually lowers blood sugar. This past fall I experimented with it while canning beets....yum yum. I suggest to anyone that they either buy one of the stevia books or look up some recipes online for a conversion from sugar...1/4 of a teaspoon is close to a 1/4 cup of sugar I think. It heats, cooks and bakes well while its synthesized counterparts change in to some really nasty chemicals. The FDA oks it as an herbal supplement but has not approved of it as a sweetner....hmmmm one only needs to look to the sugar lobby to figure this one out.
kim

[Ohiogal]

I'm familiar with Stevia. I've tried it and do find the taste good in cold drinks. Especially iced tea and lemonade. You mentioned canning beets with it. I"d like to try canning sweet pickles with it. I have a friend who is hypoglycemic and he loves my sweet B&B pickles, but he can't eat a lot of them due to the sugar that I use in the recipes. Any suggestion as to the strength to use on a recipe like that? I buy mine powdered at the health food store. Though this year, I'm going to grow some in the garden.

[zebraman]

Hey Ohiogal;I take it that Your'e not a Blond.Made me Laugh.Thanks-

[PhilosopherStorm]

I have used and grown Stevia off and on for years. Never ran into the bitterness that others talk about, which makes me wonder if the growing conditions might play a role..

talking about cool drinks, use lemon verbena and stevia to make a really nice lemonade.. (or as I oft prefer, a wonderful summer coctail)

[Sprocket]

Hey Ohio Gal,
My beet recipe called for a juice to be made of 1c sugar, 1c vinegar and 3c s of water. There are books that give you the recommended ratios. I believe that I used aprox 3Tab of stevia. It is 200- 300 xs as sweet a sugar so you can judge accordingly. I have eaten several cans so far and it tastes great...but then I am used to the different taste of stevia. It is not a bad taste, in my opinion, just different. It cooks and bakes well and does not transfer into some nasty chemical like aspartame does when heated, and at least so far the verdict is in on the canning....AWESOME. Next year I am going to experiment with the fresh herb and boil it directly in the water and straining the herb out. Give it a try with the pickles I think I will as I've been missing those bread and butter ones we used to make.

[Ohiogal]

Thanks Sprocket, I think I will try it. I think I'll make a syrup up first, then add the pickling spice. That should help me with judging how sweet to make it.

And no, I'm not blonde. :D

[Sprocket]

Good idea OG thats kind of how I did it with the beets. I made the juice and went from there.

[rosehebrew]

I tried planting stevia but the plants that came up were so fragel that I did not even transplant. I am in zone 8 and I think it is just a little too finicky to grow where I live, but love it and will continue to use it exclusivly. I am very picky about what I put in my body and the research that I have done has convinced me that it is a good thing.
Rosehebrew

[Gort]

Grew some a few years back, about 04-05. Got it from a garden center(think the plant was on year 2... as I was told it was aleft over... usually, from what they said, the first year is the sweetest, and 2nd and 3rd are less so, and by year 4...no sweetness?).
Anyhow... one type, extremely powdered, from the health food store, and somewhat pricey, is pure sweet, no bitterness.
Anothert type has a light licorice flavor.
The one type from the grocery stores(they are now selling 150-00 packets of Stevia) is somewhat bitter. Took me a while to get used to it, but now I mix it with other stuff,,50/50.
I like the Liquid the best, but it seems to go the fastest.
It has that light licorice flavor, not bitterness, and sweet!
Now I might have to go get some next week when I go towards the health food store, now that I am thinking about it!
It is kind of costly.
Good stuff, though.
The plant I grew had decent sweetness. Also grew white flowers on it in August.
I would take 4-5 leaves, and toss them in my coffee for 4-5 minutes.. and that did it.

[PAXLSI]

Yea the cost of Stivia is there, but compare it to the cost of sugar. We bought 4 oz back at the end of July for about $4.00 per oz. Still have some lift in Jan. we make about 3-4 gal of sweet tea a day and use stivia all the time. If we would of been using sugar for the tea our cost would have been douple the initial $16.00. Since I switched to using stivia in my tea I can get to sleep easier at night then when I use sugar.

[SusieF]

I understand that the stevia leaf is bitter and is best used in foods that cover the taste.

[EdlinUser]

I understand that the stevia leaf is bitter and is best used in foods that cover the taste.

Not true!

I munch on the fresh leaves; they're quite tasty and sweet.

My favorite herb tea: Put a sprig of lime basil and 2-3 stevia leaves in a cup. Cover with boiling water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

[Echinacea Pepperfoot]

The concentrated stevia powder, without all the fiber and green of the leaf, has a bitter aftertaste. The leaf itself is quite nice and not as concentrated. I grew it one year in my aged compost and it grew thrice as large as the little label from the garden center said it should.

About 6 years ago, I read that stevia was used as a contraceptive in Asian countries. I don't have the info as to how they went about it. Just consider it interesting trivia, and if you have fertility problems, consider another sweetener.

Aspartameas one person uses, contains formaldehyde. Splenda is chlorinated sugar. If you filter your drinking or shower water, you wouldn't want to use chlorinated sugar. And why would anyone willingly ingest formaldehyde? These are not natural foods, nor do they support the body's health, just in case long-term body health is something you're into.

I wonder why more people aren't using agave nectar though? It, like stevia, is blood sugar neutral, is natural (from catcus), and the flavor is much more mellow. No aftertaste. I use it and many other natural sweeteners (brown sugar, honey, maply syrup, stevia, lychee syrup, molasses). Agave can be pricy, but so is stevia. Though I use these all, honestly, agave is my favorite for ease of use and good taste (not for price, though, and that's why I still use brown sugars in my baked goods!)

Both stevia and agave are great for those who are watching their carbs, as well as diabetics. They're also good for the rest of us, as natural sugars that aren't so refined and overprocessed.

I would like to mention something interesting about sugar and molasses. Molasses is made by stripping minerals from sugar, which leaves the sugar white and dead. Ingesting sugar without its molasses actually strips minerals from your body's tissues when you eat it. So there is more to white sugar than just contributing to obesity, yeast imbalances, and decreased immune-function - it also contributes to malnutrition! Just be malnourished long enough, and all sorts of health probs will crop up. Molasses milk is a wonderful substitute for chocolate milk for kids and grups, in terms of supporting your health. I drink it sometimes when I'm craving it, though I should probably do it more often, as I have a sweet tooth (mybe you guessed, considering all the sweeteners I use :D).

[bunkie]

gort, from what i understand, you're not supposed to let the plant go to seed. that might be why it became less sweet. also, i read somewhere that it's better to buy plants rather than start them from seed...something about the sweetness amount being less when starting from seeds.

also, another way to start more plants from a plant would be from cuttings, that way one doesn't have to let it go to seed.

[Gort]

gort, from what i understand, you're not supposed to let the plant go to seed. that might be why it became less sweet. also, i read somewhere that it's better to buy plants rather than start them from seed...something about the sweetness amount being less when starting from seeds.

also, another way to start more plants from a plant would be from cuttings, that way one doesn't have to let it go to seed.

Interesting!
Thanks.