Stevia – What it Is and How to Use It
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What is stevia anyways?
Stevia is quite the “sweetener in the news” these days.
It used to be something most hadn’t heard about, but now it’s showing up all over the place–in bottled drinks, in the sweetener section of your grocery store, and on blogs (such as mine :).)
So today I’m sharing some facts about stevia, what kinds of stevia there are, and how to use stevia.
I get loads of questions about stevia from readers. Mostly it’s about how to use it, how to measure it, etc. So–in the hopes of having a helpful “go-to” resource for all of you, here is more about this amazingly sweet plant and how you can use it.
However, I also get comments now and then (or see them in other places) about stevia being artificial. So I think it’s important to answer the question, “What is stevia” and then talk about how to use this low-carb sweetener.
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What is Stevia?
Stevia rebaudiana is a plant in the stevia group of plants that grows wild in Paraguay and Brazil. The glucosides in the leaves are the extremely sweet part of the plant.
Stevia is super sweet (the leaves are about 10-15 times as sweet as sugar while the extract is about 300 times as sweet as sugar)
Stevia has no calories,
Stevia doesn’t feed candida (read What is Candida-The Beginning of My Sugar-Free Life),
Stevia has a glycemic index of zero (meaning it doesn’t affect blood sugar levels), making it a sweetener of choice for those who suffer from candida, or who have sugar metabolism issues, like diabetes.
There are some who are wondering, “is stevia safe?” I have done quite a bit of research into this and I feel very comfortable using it. You can read the post linked to in the previous sentence to find out how I reached that conclusion.
Different Forms of Stevia
Before we get into the different kinds of stevia, I think what is most important to point out is that the answer to the question, “What is stevia?” is that it is a plant that is made into a variety of different sweetening forms. Here they are:
Stevia Plant
The stevia leaves can be dried, crushed, and used as a sweetener. They are sweeter than sugar, but the “licorice-y” aftertaste is stronger than that of the pure white powder extract. You can also buy stevia in this powdered form.
I have never used this form. I hope to grow stevia myself soon and get more experience with this and also make stevia extract with it!
Green Stevia Drops
There used to be a liquid form of whole leaf stevia, but it’s been discontinued. Approximately 1 Tablespoon of this was equal to 1 cup of sugar. It had a stronger aftertaste than the refined powder with a more “licorice-y” taste.
I’m guessing that it wasn’t that popular, so not holding my breath that it will come back on the market.
Stevia Blends
These typically come in convenient packets that make it easy to take with you and add to your favorite beverages while on the run. They also come in baking blends so you can easily use them 1:1 for baking.
I never buy these, for several reasons.
a. Most of them have fillers that are not what I want in my body (natural flavors, etc.).
b. They are expensive compared to using pure extract powder.
Remember, I am cheap – er – frugal. I would rather carry around my little container of stevia extract powder in my purse with a little stainless steel scoop and use that. See below for scoop info.
c. The packets are just more garbage to add to landfills. As much as we can, we try to be a “no throw away” family. If everyone does their part we can clean up this world little by little.
Liquid Stevia Drops
This liquid stevia is a great choice for liquid stevia since it’s a large bottle at a great price with great flavor
They have a lot of other flavors too. Those are more expensive but super yummy. There’s Chai Spice, French Vanilla, and more!
If you are trying to get your family off of soft drinks, these drops are a great thing to bring into your household. You could buy sparkling water and add these to it. And if you’re advanced in your fermentation skills, you could add these to your “fizzed” water kefirs or kombuchas.
This recipe for Homemade Liquid Stevia Drops is a super frugal way to make your own stevia drops for use in recipes, beverages, or hot cereals.
Pure Stevia Extract Powder
This is the form of stevia that I most often use.
It is a super sweet powdery substance that comes in containers from 1 oz up to 1 lb. I currently buy the 1 lb size to save money (I buy almost everything in bulk). Stevia’s shelf-life is long and that container lasts us about 1 year or more. And we use stevia a lot.
How to Use Stevia
Now that we’ve answered the question, “What is stevia,” let’s move on to how to use this amazing sweetener.
There are tons of recipes using stevia on the internet (and on my blog :).)
You can use stevia to sweeten drinks (like my Sugar-Free Lemonade), or my Rich and Nutritious Coffee Substitute.
Or, you can mix some into warm cereals, or put on top of cold cereals. One of our favorite warm cereals is this Cream of Brown Rice.
Baking with stevia is a little tricky. Here are some tips that I think will help.
Use With Other Sweeteners
I find that it’s better to use a mixture of alternative sweeteners to get a smoother “more like sugar” taste. Plus, stevia on its own has no bulking agents so you will have to add something to your recipe to get it to work something like the original if you are only using stevia.
What I typically do is cut the sweetener in a recipe in half and use one half of a no glycemic index, candida-diet-friendly sweetener (like xylitol in my case. You of course, can use a sweetener that is appropriate for your health needs) and then use stevia powdered extract for the other half. See the next section for measuring stevia.
How to Measure Stevia
Since the stevia extract powder is about 300 times as sweet as sugar, a little goes a looooong way. That’s why a 1 lb container lasts a long time.
But it can be pretty tricky measuring something so strong.
When I first started using stevia, I was working on a candida protocol via Whole Approach. The ladies there were all talking about a “scoop” of stevia.
“Well, what on earth does a scoop of stevia look like?”, I wondered.
I soon found out when I bought my first container of stevia extract–it came with a teeny plastic scoop in the container (it was kind of hidden in the white powder) and it served its purpose well for a long time. However, it eventually broke and I found that not all stevia extracts come with such a scoop. I ended up finding the same scoops at soap making companies, but they broke quickly so I wanted to find a better alternative.
These mini stainless measuring scoops fit the bill perfectly. I only needed one of the scoops, but they are pretty reasonable so I was willing to buy the set.
The 2nd smallest scoop is 1/32 of a teaspoon (the standard “stevia scoop” size) and it fits nicely in my small stevia container.
I purchased one of the smaller stevia containers (about a 3 oz size) and then refill it with stevia from the 1 pound size. Alternatively, you can of course find some other small container to hold your stevia. This is the first brand of stevia I bought and it happened to be the right size for everyday use. (If you choose to buy it, I hope the container is still the same size as it was years ago:).)
How to Use Stevia in Recipes
Since stevia is so sweet and concentrated, using it in recipes can be a little tricky.
1 scoop of stevia extract (1/32 teaspoon) = 2 tablespoon sugar
Typically you can assume that 1 scoop of stevia equals 2 tablespoons of sugar.
But that will depend on the type of stevia you use. I have found that the strengths really vary from brand to brand.
Same goes for the liquid drops. I’ve found it hard to find a “one size fits all” chart to depend on so I recommend you use stevia “to taste” in your recipes and then keep track of what you like.
NOTE: If you’re using powdered green stevia, substitute 1 T ground green stevia for every 1 cup sugar.
I hope that helped you to answer the question “what is stevia” as well as to learn how to use stevia, and that this made it easier for you to use it for your family should you need and/or choose to do so.
Were you wondering “what is stevia” and if so, did you learn what you’d hoped to?
Hey there, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog site in Firefox, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
Other then that, awesome blog!
Hi there. I found out that IE isn’t supported any longer. Most people recommend Chrome now. You can move to Microsoft’s new product if you like but IE isn’t recommended. Thanks for the heads up and hope that helps!
I am looking for a new clean source of Stevia, so I thought I’d ask you if you already know- 1) the country of origin for NuNaturals and 2) if the company does Third-party testing for heavy metals and contaminants on their stevia extract?
As a mom of 2, I am working with limited time, and I love to find wonderful websites and blogs like yours, where I can get helpful information about good health! Thank you!
Hi there. I just heard back from the company. They do source (like most companies do) from China but they do testing including heavy metals. I hope that helps! I did check around and it’s very hard to find stevia sourced elsewhere. I found 1 company and maybe another (put a call in to them) but not sure where else to look! I have another one in mind but it was a hard one to find on the internet. LMK if that helps and thanks for the kind words! I’m trying! I was so ill w/ chronic fatigue for so long but I’m doing really well overall now and am trying to get more stuff out now.
I know the feeling of that deep fatigue, and it’s awful. I’m so glad you’re feeling better now.
Thank you so much for checking! I really appreciate it!
Thank you I am as well! You are so welcome!
Very interesting. I would love to know what bulking agents you would use for green stevia powder in cakes and biscuits. Have you tried bulking sith skim milk powder?
Hi there. I’m really not great at this. Have you tried any until now?
My Stevia powder (8.7 ounce container) says to use it one cup of stevia to one cup of sugar. Is that going to be too sweet for this banana bread?
Hi there. That is almost certainly a stevia blend–look at the ingredients list and there will be other things there–not just stevia extract–hope that helps!
I picked up the liquid Stevia . Trying to figure out the ratios and how to measure the drops to the other types of non sugar sweeteners. Recipe calls to 2 tablespoons of zylitol. How many drops approximately is liquid stevia?
That would typically be 12 to 18 drops. Hope that helps!
Have you come across anyone that has problems with stevia? When I consume
it I feel very uncomfortable afterward, in my stomach. It feels like a rock sitting the middle of my stomach.
Thanks for your site
RoseB
Hi there – interesting. I have heard of other things but not that–are you using a blend or extract?
I love liquid stevia but have started using Lakanto sweetener for some of my snacks. It’s working really well but I wondered if you have had any experience with this sweetener and if you think it is fairly healthy still.
Hi there. Isn’t Lakanto monk fruit with erythritol? I think it depends on you and your needs. Monk fruit is of course more of an “all natural” sweetener but I wrote about technical aspects of erythritol here: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/is-erythritol-safe/