Stevia is an excessive sweet-tasting plant used in sweetened beverages and tea since almost the sixteenth century. Stevia is a member of the chrysanthemum family, a subgroup of the Asteraceae family, aka ragweed family, and its scientific name is Stevia Rebaudiana. The main active compound in it is steviol glycoside.
The products commonly found in the shops do not contain pure whole stevia leaf but a highly refined extract. These extracts are usually mainly stevioside and rebaudioside-A (Reb-A). They are heat stable, pH-stable, and non- fermentable. Since the body is not metabolizing from glycosides to Stevia, these products contain virtually zero calories, similar to artificial sweeteners. Some of the extracts have a liquorice-like or bitter taste. Stevia’s taste has a longer duration than sugar and also has a slower onset than it.
Uses of stevia :
Stevia can be used in our households in place of table sugar in our favorite foods and beverages. One teaspoon of sugar may be replaced with just a pinch of stevia powder. Stevia leaf extracts have been available in the US since the mid-1990s in dietary supplements containing both sweet and unsweetened components of the leaf.
Use of stevia in better ways:
- Sweeten your coffee, tea, or any beverage
- Sprinkle on hot or cold cereal
- Sprinkle on unsweetened yogurt
- Cooking with it is also possible, but one should always keep in mind the stevia-to-sugar ratio for every dish since each brand has its own, and no one likes a bitter aftertaste by using too much Stevia
- Baking using Stevia can be crafty since Stevia and sugar have different compositions, and it may not give the right texture, but this technique can improve with a little experimentation
- Ingredients in ice cream, bread, pickled food, sauces, candy, prepared vegetables, desserts, etc.
