Stevia/Truvia...thoughts?
Kind of a branch off from another topic but would love to know if anyone has tried this. Haven't looked into it too much in terms of health concerns.
From their website, it says you can bake with it (as in it is okay in heat) but I can imagine it might not react the same way in creaming etc. Has anyone tried baking with it? How's the taste?
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14 Comments:
I tried stevia liquid in my coffee. Very sweet with a bitter aftertaste,kinda like saccharine.
onepercent99 at 5:04PM on 07/26/09
This is a good sweetener and its made from a plant and not chemicals but I have noticed the price double since it's getting more popular.
WSLunch at 5:45PM on 07/26/09
You can buy seeds for the stevia plant and grow your own. I got a plant from my local gardening center. I haven't tried using the refined stuff in baking, and have really only used the plant leaves in fruit salad, where they are nice, particularly when combined with mint. So far they are mostly a novelty for me, as they do have a little bitter aftertaste (more so for the older leaves).
I'd love to see this take off. On the other hand, the fact that it's a plant doesn't mean that it's inherently safe. I find in googling that there may be some concerns, especially with the refined, isolated substance, rather than the leaves. But essentially the safety of large quantities simply hasn't been investigated.
lemonfair at 6:01PM on 07/26/09
Most of my mom's many sisters have tried to switch over to stevia for their incessant tea drinking (the Irish!), all except one promptly switched back. It does have an after taste to get used to. Haven't tried it for cooking though.
lexophile at 9:10PM on 07/26/09
I've had stevia in ice tea and it tastes ok (I usually use the fake sugar so I don't mind the non-sugar taste). I've never tried it for baking or anything though
gingercookiewithlime at 9:13PM on 07/26/09
I've occasionally used the flavored drops in tea, coffee or water. I do agree that it has a slightly bitter aftertaste. Sometimes it bothers me, sometimes it doesn't.
cmtigger at 12:23AM on 07/27/09
Like I said in the other thread, I tried it and didn't find the flavor mimicked real, sugary sweetness. Also, like @lemonfair said, just because something is natural doesn't mean it is safe (after all, ephedra is a 'natural' plant). And what really turned me off, not to get graphic, was the after effects that were very similar to consuming sugar alcohols for me...
HeartofGlass at 5:39AM on 07/27/09
foul. sugar, sugar, sugar. why mess with perfection?
gastronomeg at 9:18AM on 07/27/09
Good to know, Heart. Don't think I'll be buying any soon- I have issues w/ sugar alcohols too, and if everyone thinks it has a bitter aftertaste, I'm even less interested.
Kerosena at 10:53AM on 07/27/09
My husband has been using it on his cereal, and I've used it in a few sauces/marinades with no flavor or other issues.
I actually made cheesecake for Fathers Day: one with full fat and sugar, and one with lofat and truvia, and although it was a little fluffier and mousselike after the same amount of baking time, it was quite good.
Cary at 11:04AM on 07/27/09
I personally think it's awful. I tried in in my coffee and it ruined my day!
meem21 at 12:04PM on 07/27/09
Suh-weet, gastronomeg. I'm on your side.
I read all this glowing stuff about Truvia and fell for it, did a search for the closest store that sells it and ran out a bought a box of 40 packets. I made a quart of iced tea with two packets and gave baggies full to a couple of relatives, my boss and some co-workers and have 19 packets left. The stuff tastes bleeech, it gave the tea a strong "off" odor and my mouth was dry for hours afterward.
It's not stevia itself (the plant) that's bad; it's the manufacturing process. Stevia extract ("similar to making tea" Cargill states on the box) has to go through chemical processes to remove impurities and get it into consumer-ready shape. And after all that, stevia (rebiana) is second on Trivia's ingredient list. Erythritol, a sugar alcohol, is first; "natural flavors" is third.
I'm old and could probably stand to lose a dress size but I don't worry about it, but because my dad's parents and my mom developed diabetes when they were in their 50s, I started being a little more thoughtful about second helpings of chocolate ganache cake about 10 years ago.
But my idol, Julia Child--geez, a life full of cream, butter, sugar, lardons and wine and she died two days before her 92nd birthday! And she wasn't exactly trim and svelte. I believe she was the first person who taught me that a small slice of something real is healthier than a huge slab of something artificial.
betteirene at 2:12PM on 07/27/09
Health Concerns associated with long-term usage of ANY artificial sweetner are not entirely researched.
Stevia on the other hand really isn't artificial...so I'm personally on the fence.
As someone working in the Natural Health Industry my advice is when in doubt, just leave it out :)
hungrychristel at 3:30PM on 07/27/09
I have tried stevia in many forms, from growing my own and using it fresh or dried, to the liquid, to the powdered. I will only use the fresh, or if not possible, the liquid. It does have its own flavor and is naturally around 300 times sweeter then sugar. The processed stuff is just nasty. It's like the difference between iced tea made with whole leaf tea and iced tea that comes in a can.
I guess this doesn't really answer your question, but if you want to use it for baking, I can't imagine the powder would taste very good. I have dried and then powdered the leaves to use to sweeten baked goods, but there was no creaming involved in the recipe
erunuevo at 2:48AM on 07/28/09