DEHYDRATED STEVIA - Homemade Sweetener

 

I've finally gotten around to dehydrating Stevia and wanted to share some comparisons on using 100% pure Stevia Rebaudiana

 

 

On the left, fresh leaves rinsed and ready to dehydrate. On right in less than 24 hours, the leaves retained their shape and are completely died and brittle.

 

 I first tried grinding with a Mortar and Pestle. It worked well to create a fine powder, but it took a lot of energy for breaking down the fibers.

The winner for breaking the Stevia down into a nice powder was my tried and true Magic Bullet

 

In a mere few seconds, I had my Stevia ground to the consistency that I wanted.

 

 

A Quick Comparison

 

 

 

I first started using Stevia several years ago before it became mainstream. When it finally started  appearing locally on the shelves, I'd either have to hunt for it in the pharmacy section, or track it down with a clueless employee.

 

Back then, I was on the quest to find a more natural sweetener. I had many years ago sworn off NutraSweet, and other chemical sugar substitutes.

 

For awhile I was excited about Splenda and I used to buy it by the pound. I thought it was the best sugar substitute ever invented, after all, it was made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar --- until I was selected to be a part of their marketing research group and met the inventor . You can read about my experience here. Is Splenda really splendid?

And of course, now that Stevia is popular, other companies have jumped on the bandwagon and have marketed their own versions with additives. Labels. We're forever reading labels it seems.

So the only way to get the REAL DEAL was to make my own.

Comparing the powdered marketed versions, I didn't find any difference in sweetness. With the pure Stevia I had ground, it had a distinct earthy taste. I can handle that, because I am 100% sure that I am getting 100% pure Stevia, not to mention, it was organically grown with no pesticides.

Using a pinch to my iced tea, I handed a glass to my husband. Now mind you, he's diabetic and he doesn't drink sweet tea, nor did he ever get into the habit of using substitutes. I wanted him to be honest and tell me if he tasted the sweetness and if it was pleasant to the taste.

His exact words: I can taste some sweetness and that is some good tasting tea!

 

Those words made my tea even sweeter.