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Stevia is a member of the Aster family native to north-eastern Paraguay. It is a perennial shrub that grows 2 to 4 feet tall (600 to 1200 cm.) It has leaves with slightly serrated edges, and blooms with small white flowers.

It's the leaves that are of interest. They are very sweet. They have been used as a sweetener in Paraguay for hundreds of years. The older leaves are sweeter than younger ones, though the sweetness overall will decline somewhat after the plant flowers. When you chew on a leaf, it has a sweet taste at first, and then a bitter aftertaste. One of the compounds that causes the sweetness, Rebaudioside A, can be extracted to provide the sweetness without the aftertaste. It is reputed to be 200 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose by weight, without any calories.

White Stevia Powder is concentrated Stevia, with sweetening power up to 300 times that of sugar.

Blended Stevia Powder is Stevia blended with eryhritol. The goal is to reduce the sweetness, making it easier to use in more "human scale" measurements -- for example, 1 teaspoon of Blended Stevia Powder is easier to measure than 1/8 teaspoon of White Stevia Powder.

Stevia is used commercially as a sweetener in Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Paraguay, Germany and Israel. In Japan, 40% of the commercial sweetening is done with Stevia (as of 2004.)

Stevia was, however, banned in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991. In 1994, it was allowed to be sold as a "dietary supplement", but not as a sweetener, and no referral to it as "sweet" is allowed. In America, it can be bought in health food stores as dried leaves, powdered leaves, and as a liquid extract in bottles. Some extracts are a black syrup; others are clear. The clear extracts are made by steeping the leaves in distilled water or alcohol, just as vanilla is to make vanilla extract.

Stevia is also banned from being sold as a sweetener in Canada. The Canadian government allows it to only be sold as an herb.

Cooking Tips
Stevia will not help baked products retain moisture, nor will it add flavour or colour, as other sweeteners will. You have to compensate for this with other ingredients. Moisture, for instance, can be provided by fat or applesauce.

With Stevia's slightly bitter aftertaste, it does better in desserts that are coffee or chocolate flavoured, where its edge won't be noticed.

Substitutes
1/4 cup sugar = 3 teaspoons Blended Stevia Powder = 3/8 teaspoon of White Stevia Powder

Literature & Lore
Conspiracy theorists believe the FDA actions are to protect the artificial sweetener manufacturers such as Monsanto.

Acknowlegements

Also called:

Other entries for: Sweeteners

Amasake, Honey, Sorbitol, Stevia, Sugar, Syrups, Xylitol