Spice and Herb
Stevia
01/02/10
Brief History
The Guarani Indians of Central and South America have been using stevia for centuries. However, the herb was "discovered" by Dr. Moises Santiago Bertoni, a botanist in the late 1800's.
Stevia was first brought to the attention of the U.S. government in 1918 by a botanist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Three years later, stevia was presented to the USDA as a possible safe alternative to sugar. The sugar producers, however, were alarmed by the stevia plant and successful lobbying has kept it away from commercial use in the United States until recently.
In 1931, french scientists isolated several compounds which give stevia its sweetness in a pure white chrystalline form called stevioside. The Japanese banned or strickly regulated the use of artificial sweetners in the 1960's due to the concern over the substances' safety. Japan has been using stevia as a commercial alternative to artificial sweetners since the 1970's.
It is widely used in other countries as well, including China, Germany, Malaysia, Isreal, and South Korea. Stevia could have been widely in use in the U.S. had it not been for the large effort to block its entry into the food system.
In Baking
When baking, cane sugar does several things. It carmelizes helping to brown baked goods, it helps retain moisture in baked goods, and sugar helps baked goods rise effectively. If baking completely sugar free with stevia, some adjustments need to be made.
The general coversion rates for pure powdered stevia are as follows:
1 teaspoon equals 1 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon equales 1 tablespoon of sugar
A pinch equals 1 teaspoon of sugar
I replace the missing volume in baked goods with natural unwsweetened apple sauce. Depending on your recipe, canned pumpkin, fruit puree, fruit juice, or yogurt can be great substitutes. Adding these ingredients also increases the moisture level.
Start with a recipe you know well, and experiment with the ratios of stevia and fillers. I experiment with combinations as well. Replacing some of the sugar in a recipe with agave syrup, honey, or brown rice syrup and the rest with stevia also works well. If your recipe asks for a cup of sugar, relace with a cup of applesauce and add the teaspoon of powdered stevia. After one or two tries, you will be well on your way to sugarless baking.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
0 Comments