Using Stevia as a sweetner

[bcsman]

A few years back I grew Stevia in my garden, I know that it can be used as a healthy sweetner but don't know how to proccess it. Has anyone used Stevia before?

[CatheyJ]

I used to use it as a sweetener years ago. I purchased it from the health food store in powder form. It is very sweet.. you only need a tiny amount to equal the sweetness of sugar. Sorry, I dont know how to process it. I will be interested to hear the responses. ( you know, I hear its also used as birth control in some countries)

[Psycho Chef]

The FDA just told Celestial Seasonings that stevia was an "unsafe food additive"

for more info check this out
FDA warns Hain of stevia use; calls herb unsafe: Scientific American

[CatheyJ]

Stevia has never been approved by the FDA anyway right? The "dangers" of it seem to be no more harmful than the "side effects" of most of the drugs that the FDA put their stamp on.

[Luc_H]

Originally Posted by CatheyJ

Stevia has never been approved by the FDA anyway right? The "dangers" of it seem to be no more harmful than the "side effects" of most of the drugs that the FDA put their stamp on.

Most probably true Cathy but Stevia is not a drug that the side effects outweigh the benefits. Stevia is only for adding a sweet taste and the FDA are ruling that if that is the only reason to use stevia the the side-effects outweigh the benefits.

Luc H

[CatheyJ]

Originally Posted by Luc_H

Most probably true Cathy but Stevia is not a drug that the side effects outweigh the benefits. Stevia is only for adding a sweet taste and the FDA are ruling that if that is the only reason to use stevia the the side-effects outweigh the benefits.

Luc H

Good point!

[shortstack]

That's a bummer...I just found this stuff and started using it. I was hoping it would be a good alternative but now I'm not so sure :-(

[shel]

Originally Posted by shortstack

That's a bummer...I just found this stuff and started using it. I was hoping it would be a good alternative but now I'm not so sure :-(

You might want to try Xylitol ....

shel

[chefswanny]

Don't jump off the stevia bandwagon just because the FDA hasn't approved it. I believe the benefits far outweigh the inconclusive studys that the U.S. FDA is adhering to. Stevia has been used as a sweetener for thousands of years, originating in South America. There has never been any reports of toxicity from the use of stevia world wide. The Japanese Food and Drug Safety Center has found stevia to be non-mutagenic. I find it rather interesting that the USFDA approves a product like aspartame (linked to causing blindness, seizures and brain tumors) and doesn't approve stevia. Maybe it has something to do with the chemical and cane sugar lobbyists in Washington???

Anyway...if you still want to use stevia and you have access to the plant, the fresh leaves can be added to tea. You can dry the leaves and sift them to remove the stems, then grind into a powder to use in cooking. Remember that stevia is 10 to 15 times sweeter than cane sugar.
Stevia also will not have the same characteristics as sugar because the molecular makeup of sucrose and stevia is completely different. Sucrose will caramelize when heated. This is a basic principle for almost any baked good and to substitute takes a little trial and error.

Send me a PM if you are interested in further resources, as I cannot yet post attachments.