Stevia Herb: Natural Sweetener with No Sugar, Calories, or Increase in Blood Sugar Levels - Growing, Storing, Using

Stevia is a sweet herb native to South America, Central America, and Mexico. The leaves contain the compound Steviol that is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia has no calories, is non-inflammatory, and does not raise the blood glucose level. An excellent alternative to sugar that is easy to grow and use.

Growing Stevia

Stevia is in the sunflower family. There are more than 240 herbs and shrubs in the stevia genus. Annual herbal varieties have been cultivated for their sweetness and minimal bitter aftertaste. The stevia plant cultivated for it's sweetness is an annual plant that has to be re-seeded each year. Seeds can be sow directly into the garden, or grown to seedlings for transplanting into the garden - or to larger containers for indoor growing.

In the pictures above you can see the growth progression of the stevia plants in the garden this past summer. They were started indoors in April, but I was slow to get them into the garden by the end of May. I did not water them very often after transplanting them into the garden - they handled weeks of drought and hot weather without trouble.

Harvesting and Storing Dried Stevia Leaf

After snipping the bottom of the stevia stalks, the were strung up in a cool, dry, and dark place for a few weeks. In the pictures below you can see the fully dried stevia plants - ready for storage. The leaves were removed from the stalks and placed in a labeled jar with a hand tightened lid, then moved to a dark shelf for storage.

Making Powdered and Liquid Stevia

Dried stevia leaves can be quickly ground into a fine powder with a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. The stevia leaf powder can be stored in an air tight container for future use. Dried or fresh stevia leaves can also be made into a stevia liquid by soaking 1/4 cup of fresh or 1/8 cup of dried leaves with 1 cup of warm water for 24 hours. The leaves are strained out, the liquid is simmered on low heat until reduced to the desired sweetness. The stevia liquid is then cooled and stored in a container in the refrigerator for up to 2 years. Stevia liquid would be especially useful for sweetening cool drinks.

Sweetening with Stevia Leaf

Quick Snacks, Drinks, and Tea

• A small fresh stevia leaf can be chewed on for a quick sweet pacifier
• Add to steeping herbal tea for a little extra sweetness
• Quickly liven up cold drinks - to taste - with a small dose of liquid stevia
• Two leafs added to a smoothie may be just enough for that little extra flavor

Cooking with Stevia

Cooking with stevia is easiest with the leaf powder. When using stevia powder instead of sugar in a recipe, if the recipe calls for 1 Cup of sugar, use 2 Tablespoons of Stevia Powder instead.

• 1 Cup of Sugar = 2 Tablespoon of Stevia Powder

A little more of another ingredient may need to be added to make up for the missing bulk of the sugar if the sugar helped provide structure to the recipe. A little experimentation may be required for some recipes, but stevia would be a great sugar substitute when making baked goods, sauces, pickling, and more.

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