6 Tips to Really Love Stevia
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Do you think that stevia tastes bad? You're not alone. Find out why stevia tastes so bad and get 6 Tips to help you deal with stevia's bitter taste and start to really love it!
I've been eating stevia for a long time now – ever since I knew that I had candida. I was quite the sugar-aholic but am now reformed from that habit and am glad to know that stevia is one of the more healthy sugar alternatives.
If you don't LOVE stevia (and even if you do), then this is the post for you. Even if you love stevia, the following tips are great ways to love it even more and to deal with the bitter stevia taste issue.
Are you a stevia lover?
Do you wish you were?
Do you wish you could enjoy all the pros of stevia without the palate-intruding cons?
Well look no further! Today I am going to share with you some tips and tricks that will help you enjoy each and every trip you take to Stevia-land without the stevia taste problem that's oh so common! Read on to learn more.
When I first heard about Stevia, I was ecstatic. I thought it was a godsend to my candida-ridden body.
What is Stevia?
1. Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant and can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar (the typical range is 200-300). As a result, depending on the recipe, stevia can be either simple, or pretty hard to use in recipes. Check out How to Use Stevia here.
2. Stevia is a zero calorie sweetener that does not contain any sugar or carbohydrates, nor does it feed candida.
3. Easy on your digestion–stevia lacks the unpleasant tummy-lurching side effects that are a characteristic of some other non-candida feeding sweeteners (think sugar-alcohols, like xylitol).
4. Stevia comes in many forms with varying amounts of processing. Among theses are: homemade extracts, liquid or powder extracts and ground stevia.
– Homemade extracts, also known as “teas”, are made by steeping the leaves of the stevia plant, which can often be found at local greenhouses.
– Liquid or powdered extracts are made by using either water or alcohol to extract two types of glycosides from the leaves of the stevia plant (Stevioside and rebaudioside A). Here's a super simple way to make Homemade Liquid Stevia–on the cheap.
– Ground Leaves – The third process simply involves the grinding of dried stevia leaves into a green powder with no extraction process.
I remember taking that first bite of baking prepared with this new (to me) and exciting sweetener with delicious thoughts dancing through my head of treats that had been off-limits for so long.
Well, was I ever disappointed! My palette was bombarded with a strong, unpleasant flavor and bitter aftertaste. What had I just put in my mouth? I was thoroughly displeased, and quite defeated. Fighting candida exhausted me and ignoring my sweet cravings was getting to me.
Well, I thought, I'll just have to live without sweets for a while longer. That turned out to be waay too tough, so much so that I thought I'd try stevia again, this time a different brand. And again it was gross. The only thing that irritated me more than the awful taste was that it seemed some people couldn't taste it at all! I watched in awe as my father-in-law devoured half a plate of stevia brownies all the while raving about how good they were!
Well, I decided I was going to make myself enjoy stevia if it was the last thing I did. So everyday I ate a piece of the remaining brownies with the hopes that eventually I would not be able to taste it either.
Right? Wrong.
The experiment lasted a couple of weeks in which I saw no improvement in my tolerance of that bitter stevia taste. I knew I had to try a different approach if I was going to learn to love it.
I am now a huge stevia fan and you can find it in almost every dessert recipe I make. It took a little time and effort but it was well worth it, as stevia is now my sole sweetener and probably will be (other than fruit) for a long time. Yes, I like it that much. In honor of my affection for stevia, I put together some tips and tricks to help you go from hate to love painlessly, so you too can enjoy a refined, sugar-free lifestyle and not find that stevia taste to be so problematic!
Why Does Stevia Taste So Bad?
Our taste buds have receptors that identify sweet, bitter (and also sour and salty) flavors. Interestingly, there is only one receptor that identifies sweet tastes, but there are 25 different receptors for bitter ones! One reason for stevia's bitter taste is that the stevia plant has chemical compounds that interact with both the sweet and bitter receptors, leading to its signature bitter aftertaste.
However, if you get quality stevia (and also follow the tips in this post), a lot of that bitterness can be mitigated.
Tips to Fix the Stevia Taste Problem
1. Don't Go Cold Turkey
I mean it. It seems like a good idea but it isn't (for most people).
This is the one valuable piece of information I gleaned from a desperate google search for which I literally typed “how to make yourself like stevia”.
Don't one day decide to put it in everything, on everything. In my experience, you'll hate every moment and feel the same way about it as you did at the start.
You may be likely give up just like me with a bad taste–literally–in your mouth.
Instead, start with a little bit of stevia and increase your use with time. Chances are, you'll grow to like the taste.
2. Buy a Good Brand
Stevia extracts are not created equal. I have purchased my share of brands and while some are palatable, others just don't make the cut. However, as you learn to like stevia you will likely be more tolerant of even the most unpalatable brands. Luckily, some are just delicious and a great place to start.
Omica Organics
One FANTASTIC brand is Omica Organics. They do minimal processing and are all organic. And really little (if any) aftertaste. The owner tells me that you should have a kind of orangey-flowery taste at the back of your mouth when trying stevia, not a metallic one. Using my link gets a discount as well.
Trim Healthy Mama
The Trim Healthy Mama sisters are also really really careful about sourcing. I LOVE that these ladies are so into research as I am. You can be sure that their stevia is top-notch as well.
Do a little experimenting. Try liquid and powder (I prefer liquid) and find what tastes the best on your palate.
NuNaturals
My personal favorite used to be new NuNaturals. Sadly, they had to change their formula, but they still have a smooth flavor with minimal to no aftertaste. What I do detect in aftertaste in the new formula is also pleasant, and after a few uses went away completely.
3. Be Patient
I've mentioned that most people find that stevia has a distinctive taste. Some find it slightly unpleasant, while others are oblivious. Just be aware that it can be an acquired taste, and the more you try it, the less you will taste it.
4. Combine with Other Sweeteners
This tip works really well.
Especially in baking, use stevia along with other sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, fruit juice, coconut sugar, molasses, xylitol, erythritol, erythritol / monk fruit blend, monk extract, allulose, bocha sweet, or some other option that works for your diet.
When stevia is mixed with another sweetener, the taste is greatly reduced and often not even noticeable. This is also true when there is fruit in the recipe (the fruit being the other sweetener), like in fruit crisp or this mixed berry chia pudding. The stevia taste is much less, if at all, noticeable.
Slowly, steadily, each subsequent time you prepare something, decrease the other sweetener and increase the stevia with the goal of cutting out the other sweetener completely over time.
Trust me, you can really reach a point where you will be using all (or almost all) stevia but the taste won't bother you anymore.
5. Stay Committed
It may take a little time, a little experimentation and a little searching for the brand that works for you, but let me tell you, it will all be worth it when you pick up a “sugar” cookie, or a bite of ice cream sweetened only with stevia and you enjoy it as much as the “real” thing.
So worth it, my friends, so worth it!
6. Freeze It
If you added too much stevia to a recipe or if the stevia taste is too strong, don't throw out your hard work. Instead, freeze it for a day or two (letting it sit in the fridge works well too). I don't know the science behind it but for some reason putting it in the freezer dissipates unpleasantness resulting from too much stevia taste.
So glad I discovered this early on in my stevia-loving journey, as I would have wasted a whole lot of money tossing perfectly good food!
There you have it, my tips for teaching yourself to like stevia.
I hope you all will be enjoying some of my stevia-sweetened homemade Dairy-Free Fudgesicles and Sugar-Free Lemonade soon!
A Final Note about Stevia Safety
- If you are concerned about the health claims made about stevia and you are wondering, “Is Stevia Safe?” then please read this post about “Is Stevia Bad for You?” — it should help.
- Another word of caution when choosing your stevia is to check the ingredients!Some stevias (especially the baking mixes) have added fillers and ingredients, like maltodextrin, (which is not good for candida). And some, shockingly, even have sugar in them. Yes, straight up refined sugar. The mixes with sugar might be an OK short term option if you're learning to like stevia (see tip #4) but I believe there are better options for your overall health.
Do you like stevia?
Have you tried any of these tips to overcome the stevia taste problem?
Ha! I got here because I googled ” I dont like stevia what else is there?” I made my first keto dessert today and the mix of stevia and coco powder was just horrible.. I almost vomited.. needless to say it went down the disposal and i was upset to have wasted a stick of butter! Butter is expensive lol I’ll try your tips as i have a huge bag of stevia i dont want to throw out… Thanks!
Ha! Welcome! I so hope it works for you. Blending w/ other sweeteners really helps so maybe make 1 batch w/ xylitol or erythritol and don’t throw it out! I love it in drinks :). Please let me know. What brand did you buy?
this stuff is disgusting and the super sweet taste just lingers WAY to long. the only way i can choke this down it to mix it with pure cranberry juice.
Sorry you feel that way. Maybe you chose a bad brand. I like it!
I was so dissapointed the first time I tried Stevia. After reading about it I had been thinking, who would ever use anything else! Til I tried it. Then I now thought, who would ever use this! That was years ago. I decided to try again. I tried a liquid, Stevita. One drop. In a cup of decaf. It was perfectly fine. Pleasant even. I also added half and half. Now I have another variation I like very much. To my decaf I add a half teaspoon of baking cocoa and a pinch of salt and of course the Stevita. It’s great! Then I tried a generic brand from Walmart, Great Value. I liked it also, not as much, but it wasn’t bad at all.
NuNaturals Stevia DOES have maltodextrin in it. Maybe it’s in there now after the formula change.
Their Reb99 product doesn’t have any.
You should do more research on Stevia. Very bad for your reproductive system :-/
Yes, I did that already. This post might be of interest. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/is-stevia-safe-is-stevia-bad-for-you-stevia-infertility/
Do you know of any books on how to cook with “green” stevia. (Not making the extract. Just using it ground up.) I grow it and it isn’t as sweet as store bought. Store bought tend to have a sugar alcohol in it.
Hi Anna! I think this has some. Let me know what you think! (affiliate link) https://amzn.to/2iEwJYT
To make the liquid stevia the ground leaves do not seem to dissolve. After it sets for 24 hours will straining it affect the sweetness? I don’t like the powder in my drinks.
Hmmmm..that’s interesting. Are they ground fine enough? We haven’t had that problem.
Hi. I’ve been experimenting with Stevia, Xylitol, and Erythritol in my baking lately. Last night was my first go at chocolate/oatmeal cookies using both Stevia and Erythritol. (Using coconut flour, oatmeal, and amond flour.) When they came out of the oven they were pretty much inedible – they looked fine & had a decent (if dense) texture, but with a nasty bitter flavor. Surprisingly, after 24 hours, a lot of the bitter seems to be gone. I’ve had this happen when using only Xylitol – there’s something going on with the chemistry as the goodies cool off. I’ve always been a “super-taster” for things bitter, but even my daughter could taste the funkiness there yesterday and says it’s much less today. Anyone know what it is that’s going on?
I have never heard of this but this post did mention freezing stevia as a way to make it more palatable so maybe that’s a clue?
Hi. Obviously it’s the time and lack of heat factoring in here somehow. I have a box of low-carb brownie mix that cautions to let it cool off and stand for some time before eating, so the manufacturer obviously knows what is going on – I may write to them and see if I can pry that info out. I’ve never used the Erythritol before, so I am wondering if that is what’s twinged my taste buds this time – but since I also used Stevia it could still have been that. . (I’ve used the Stevia previously in a very similar recipe and got a bit of bitter, but nothing like this.) In any event, it’s been several days now and I can barely taste the offensive twang. So molecules must be rearranging as it cools down, I guess? I
The cooling could also be b/c it will fall apart easily otherwise and the texture improves. Giving me something to think about for sure….
I just LOVE Now Foods Better Stevia, and Truvia! Sweet leaf liquids has a more aftertaste than I would like. I really love the fact than Better Stevia doesn`t have alcohol in it. Also, stevia`s aftertaste is masked with certain foods: dark bitter chocolate, liquorice and anise
Thanks for sharing!! I like their Better Stevia as well.
I am using that product and the bitterness drowns out any sweetness. The more I add the greater the bitterness. I am sure I will get used to it.
Oh no. Sorry – did you try the techniques in this post? And what stevia are you using? NuNaturals?
Better Stevia the drops. I have now tried cutting it with Saccharin. I know but I am on a keto diet so no carbs. Once the bitterness is removed, wow two drops and one Saccharin tablet and it was like drinking syrup. So one drop Stevia and one NectaSweet tab and thus far all is good. Just wonder how long before I can dump the artificial.
Thanks for taking time to reply.
PS I drink two mugs of coffee a day, but my tea consumption knows no bounds. Living in China and coming from the UK it is kind of expected I guess. 🙂
I have never tried that – I have their powder but it isn’t my favorite. I do like the Now Flavored drops, however.
Have you tried NuNaturals or Trader Joe’s? Might be a better taste for you. I love tea as well and used to live in Japan and my father is from Dublin so I feel your pain.
Hi,
No the vendor I am using is based in Australia. The Chinese have embraced the Wests diet, but as of yet the obesity has not kicked in, so alternatives to sugar are unheard of here. Try explaining fasting here is like, well…. speaking Mandarin 🙂
I left the UK ten years ago and moved to Texas..” Hot tea with milk? Are you insane?”, So two years later I finally got used to Iced Tea…. Yes feel my pain, but hopefully you will never experience my terrible belly I picked up state side. 160 UK 275 USA, go USA lol. Well close to 200 now so I need this to work for me. I have gout and Artificial sweeteners are up there with sugar.
Anyone reading and interested. Celery and tart Cherries, both you can find in tablet form work wonders. But juicing the real thing is the best.
Dublin unfortunately never visited it, but I did visit Dublin Texas the evil home of Dr Peppers.
I love China they still have repair men and little independent restaurants. And one day mime will not be a major part of my dialogue lol.
I see. My husband lived in China for 2 years. Never in Texas. Have you heard of the Trim Healthy Mama plan and T Tapp? I know you aren’t a female and some of the foods are quite intricate but the plan is sound – not mixing carbs with fats is the basic.
300X sweeter than sugar? Please! I wonder where this is derived from, For me it seems 1/10 as sweet if that. The aftertaste makes it even less sweet than that!
It is commonly mentioned in literature about stevia. Possibly the figure is likely 200-300 times so I will add that to the post. I think some have more of an aftertaste than others. More in this post: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/is-stevia-safe-is-stevia-bad-for-you-stevia-infertility/
In my experience, erythritol is a much better sugar substitute than stevia. It tastes just like sugar though only 70% as sweet. It looks just like sugar. Though people often have gastrointestinal issues with other sugar alcohols, they rarely do with erythritol because it is absorbed before it reaches the colon and thus is not fermented there which would otherwise cause problems. Erythritol is also easy to cook with. Just make sure you get 100% pure erythritol. Some brands mix it with either stevia or fructooligosaccharides. Both of those just ruin the flavor.
Another great option (though expensive) for situations where you might use molasses is Yacon syrup. Hard to find in stores but easy to purchase on the Internet.
I have heard of blends of eryth with xyl and stevia that are quite good – have you tried that?
I don’t think it is a good idea to blend xylitol with erythritol. Xylitol has more g.i. Tolerance problems. It is less expensive than erythritol which is why they do it but I’d rather pay a little more and not have cramps and diarrhea. I have had a blend of stevia and erythritol. It was awful. Bitter and not sugar like at all. I’d rather go without sweetener at all than put up with the taste of stevia.
I guess it depends on your issues. Some have issues w/ xylitol and others don’t. If you don’t I think it’s a good idea. One of my practitioners said she really liked mixing sweeteners so that if it is ever discovered that one of them has a serious problem, then you can feel better knowing you diluted the effects of all of them. I personally really love stevia, but in baked goods it needs to be mixed w/ something.