I am all about the sweets. I’ve always enjoyed fructose, sucrose, pure extract of nerds candy. It all comprises a significant portion of my diet. Really, it’s the main reason I go to the gym…so I can eat more. Ok, seriously, high fructose corn syrup makes up such a large portion of the typical American diet that it sort of troubles me. We need sweeteners to be sure, but HFCS is not a great choice, apart from its affordability.
Anyhow, since I am interested in providing what I can of the things that we eat, I keep bees for honey. Bees have to be the absolute best insect in the world. What other creature make the garden produce more and also give me sweet liquid gold?! So, bees are great producers of fuel for my sweet tooth, but I hate to put all of my eggs in one basket. I decided to try my hand at growing stevia.
Stevia is a an herb in the Chrysanthemum family that grows most typically in South America, but is being grown elsewhere as its market increases. It has been used by indigenous folks to sweeten drinks for centuries. You see, stevia leaves are 10-15 times sweeter than table sugar. In its refined form, stevia powder is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar.
Although stevia is grown on large farms and is becoming more popular in its processed forms (look for Truvia in the grocery store), it is well within the reach of any gardener or plant lover to grow enough stevia to make significant sweetener for one’s own table. Last year, I bought two small, pitiful stevia plants from a mail order place. I immediately transplanted them into typical house plant pots and set them in a sunny spot on top of an array of 6 computer servers in my office. The plants remain warm around the clock upon the computers and get plenty of sun and water.
My plants have grown incredibly fast and have produced long winding vines. The runners trickle down from my computers clear to the floor. Folks stop by my office and snatch leaves from the plants to chew on.
So, stevia makes a great sweetener. It’s natural and clean and can be used in an unprocessed form. For diabetics, the benefits are even greater. Stevia does not elevate blood sugar levels and provides no calories.
If you are interested in providing an alternative sweetener for your family, it’s worth your time to consider growing stevia at your place. So what do you think? Have you heard of stevia or truvia before? Have you tried either? Does the role of HCFS in our food make any difference to you?
Warren can also be found at My Home Among the Hills writing about the adventures of life in WV.
Not Dabbling In Normal 
Now that is interesting! This past spring I started stevia from seed and then put them in pots outside on my deck – they have a thick stem and are about 4 feet tall with side shoots- no vining. I wonder if that is just the difference between indoor and outdoor? I am getting ready to harvest and also do cuttings indoors from them to have for spring. I do think I should have done some pinching back early so they would bush more, but didn’t.
Spring of 2008, I saw stevia in Gurney’s catalog and ordered a plant. It arrived DOA. I contacted Gurneys and they agreed to replace the plant but wouldn’t have any more until Oct 2008. That plant, too, arrived DOA. So this spring I ordered seeds and tried planting my own. Very few of the seeds germinated and those that did failed to thrive. A second planting mid-summer had better results. I now have two small stevia plants growing outside (we live in Florida) and will bring them in for the winter. They do seem to like warm temperatures so I’ll look for a warm spot indoors for them. Mine are growing upright, too, at least for now. I’ve got my fingers crossed!
I grew stevia last year and it was a really tall plant that bloomed rather nicely. I don’t particularly care for the taste of stevia, it’s too much like artificial sweeteners to me, I don’t eat those for health and taste reasons. I won’t be growing it in the future, I’ll stick to honey and maple syrup for my sweetening.
CW-Jennifer – What I am calling vines might be considered stems honestly. The stems are so long and won’t stand on their own here so they look sort of vine-ish…probably the same stuff though
gaiasdaughter – I got mine from gurneys too. I had pretty good luck though as both came looking healthy. In FL you might be able to leave them out but they are not frost resistant so it would be a risk.
Chiot’s Run – interesting…I never felt like the leaves had an artificial sweetener taste. We don’t eat artificial sweeteners either but stevia/truvia suits our tastes pretty well. Oh well, you have other good alternatives too…
Duh question of the day…..how do you use it?
I tried stevia from seed & it never germinated. Will have to try again.
How do you go from potted plant to useful sweetener? Do you cook with it? Wonder if you could use the refined product in candy making? I’ve tried honey in my fudge, but once you heat it it won’t crystalize properly. Ends up being a sticky mess. Maybe stevia would work.
Maureen and Alan…I write on how to use it at my blog:
Vodka…Sweet
thanks for the info, i’ve been thinking about trying this one out. it would go well in a cup of hot tea along with spearmint and peppermint leaves!
roundrockgarden – I love fresh mints also…great mixture…now you need to grow tea!
Alan, I bought a book entitled _Growing and Using Stevia_ by Jeffrey Goettemoeller and Karen Lucke that gives lots of good hints for, uh, growing and using stevia. I don’t know if stevia would work in candy but recipes in the book incude everything from teas and smoothies to pies and cookies to meat dishes and salad dressings. One of the things I like about the book (aside from the really helpful growing tips) is that the authors suggest methods for processing and storing the herb that do not require a power source other than the human one.
Awesome post…LOVE the one at your blog also. Can’t wait to see how this little experiment turns out Kim
I’ve never tasted stevia… though I have seen the commercial products derived from it. For my own needs, I use honey as a sweetner, and occasionally maple syrup. Both seem to have a special taste, and I find I don’t use as much as one might with conventional sugar. Interesting to hear how other sweetening choices play out.
There are many more stevia brands then just Truvia (yes, I’ve heard of it). SweetLeaf Sweetener Stevia was the first. I use SweetLeaf. It has no aftertaste whether in powder or liquid form, and has no calories, no carbs, and a 0 glycemic index (and 0 chemical residues)–I understand the only stevia brand or sweetener on the market with all three properties!
Very interesting. I’ll add this to my spring wish list. Thank you.
I’m curious about Stevia honey. It it hype or really possible?
Recently diagnosed as a Type 2 Diabetic I cannot eat honey now and have long been appalled at HFCS added to food.
Stevia is my sweetener… sometimes in my water, but mostly for baking. To avoid medication I substitute ground almonds, coconut & flax for wheat flour & stevia for sugar. My weight dropped, my vital signs improved & my bg is in the normal range.
That said, labels must be read closely. Different stevia brands have different additives. Using too much is easy to do, which leads to an after taste. Growing plants at home & no additives sounds intriguing!
ChrisO – Bees could possibly make honey from the stevia flowers, but it would still honey I think…with the same issues as regular honey for diabetics. It can only legally be called honey if it is made from the nectar of flowers and that would require that the bees process it like they do any other sort of nectar. I doubt that stevia honey is real or helpful to a diabetic
Warren,
That all makes perfect sense to me. My curiosity was peaked by a few old news stories on India giving beekeepers incentives to have stevia hives/honey.
I love it as a sweetener even though it needs to sit over night when added to food. My first attempt at granola almost got tossed. But when I tasted it the next day to see if it c/b rescued – it was perfect. I’ll bet that 1st impression is one reason the new products are blends.
Thanks
Chris