Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Stevia

I think I posted about my patio garden a little too early. Since this post, we've gotten some mint, a few mini-figs (future bonsai, hopefully), a 'Scarborough Fair' herb box with parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme, and a Stevia plant.

So far we've thrown a few stevia leaves in cups of tea. I've also dried some out and made a powder. Does anyone have any good stevia recipes? I've searched on vegweb, and most recipes that include stevia seem to call for "1 c. of sugar or stevia"--but there is no way you would use a whole cup of stevia!! Plus, sugar has some unique properties and it does certain things to baked goods and I don't know how it would go to just take it out.

So if you know of any good conversions, or any recipes specifically meant for stevia, or any good resources where I can find out about this very sweet plant, let me know!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check out Dori's blog. I can't remember the exact substitution ratios but if you search for stevia on her blog you're sure to find some info. She sweetens almost exclusively with stevia. Although, she uses KAL brand stevia which is processed a little further and is white. You'd probably need to google a bit more to see if those two are interchangeable. She should have some good recipes that use stevia also.

http://thebakehouse.blogspot.com/

Amy said...

I know you only need the teensiest bit of stevia and that you can use applesauce strained through cheesecloth (use the apple fibre that's left after 24 hours) to bulk up what's lacking in sugar (does that make sense at all?).

The best trick I've found is to add a bit of stevia and taste it. Add more if you need to.

I also find baking with stevia makes things have a weird bitter taste so I tend to half and half it with sugar still. Not as healthy but it at least halves my sugar intake.

Good luck!

Michele said...

Try www.sweetleaf.com. They have a conversion chart in their recipe section and they also have some great recipes posted.