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Satisfy your sweet tooth without sugar; stevia is the secret to these delicious sugar-free treats - A Better Way to Cook

Natural Health, Sept, 2002 by Cheryl Redmond

HERE AT NATURAL HEALTH we love sweets as much as the next bunch. But we know sugar calories are empty calories. And we're also aware that excess sugar consumption has been linked to health problems, from fatigue and moodiness to obesity and diabetes.

All of our recipes use rice, malt, or maple syrup; honey; or evaporated cane juice. These sweeteners are natural and minimally refined, but they affect your blood sugar level the same way that sugar does and, in excess, can lead to the same health problems. There is, however, a natural sweetener that has no calories and won't affect your blood sugar--stevia. The leaves of the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) have been used for centuries in South America to sweeten food and beverages. In this country, stevia is sold as a supplement, often in the weight-loss aisle of natural food stores. (See "What Is Stevia?" page 87.) The extract, available as a powdered or liquid concentrate, is zoo to 300 times sweeter than sugar.

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I decided to see for myself how well stevia performs as a sugar substitute by making some desserts. Before I started baking, I bought a bottle of liquid stevia and a jar of powdered stevia. After experimenting with them, I decided I preferred the liquid. I found it easier to measure both by the drop and the spoonful (40 drops equal 1/4 teaspoon). And adding liquid stevia to other liquid ingredients made for easy and thorough blending, (To see what else I learned, turn to "How to Sweeten with Stevia," page 89.)

A Sweet Challenge

Stevia's intense sweetness may seem like a godsend, but I found it poses some real challenges for cooks. You can't simply replace all the sugar in a recipe with stevia because sugar does many things besides sweeten. It makes cakes moist and light. It adds crunch to cookies and crisps. Sugar also caramelizes as it cooks, so it gives baked goods a lovely golden brown hue, as well as a delicate aroma and flavor. Stevia, on the other hand, is used in such tiny amounts that it doesn't provide any bulk or volume to foods. It doesn't help baked goods rise, it doesn't add moisture or crunch, and it doesn't contribute to browning. Stevia also has a slight black licorice flavor and can be bitter if you use too much.

Because of these differences, I realized I would need to choose desserts that didn't rely heavily on sugar for volume, flavor, lightness, or crispness. (Angel food cake and shortbread were out.) And to the extent that these qualities were necessary, I would need to come up with other ingredients to supply them. I had read that stevia works particularly well with fruit flavors, so I settled on mildly sweet desserts that contain fruit.

The first recipe I made was apricot bars. After simmering the apricots until they were soft I pureed them, adding a little lemon juice to brighten the flavor and a few drops of stevia. For the oat crust, I used unsweetened shredded coconut and wheat germ to provide some of the crunch that would normally come from sugar. I sweetened the crust with a combination of stevia and apple butter.

Next I chose scones. Scones are good candidates for a stevia makeover because they're basically sweetened biscuits, which get their tenderness from butter or margarine and their lightness from baking powder. I flavored mine with orange juice and zest and added dried currants for texture. A little stevia brought out the sweetness in the orange juice.

My third baking project was brownies. I really wanted to make a chocolate dessert, but after a lot of experimentation. I decided that chocolate and stevia are not a good match. Unsweetened cocoa and chocolate are naturally bitter, and that quality is intensified by stevia. I made several pans of very dark, very bitter brownies before I reluctantly moved on.

Finally, I hit on the idea of making a sorbet. I used green grapes as the base, or body, of the sorbet, and added fresh lemon and lime juice and plenty of fresh mint. The stevia enhanced the lemon and lime, the mint disguised the black licorice tones in the stevia, and the naturally mild and sweet grapes were a perfect backdrop for the mint and the citrus.

After several days in the kitchen with stevia, my verdict is that it will never replace sugar, but in the right desserts it makes a good alternative. Here are my three sugar-free recipes. The next time you need to satisfy your sweet tooth but don't want sugar, try one of these treats.

Satisfy your sweet tooth without sugar; stevia is the secret to these delicious sugar-free treats - A Better Way to Cook

Natural Health, Sept, 2002 by Cheryl Redmond

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