Stevia

[LordJezo]

Stevia is going mainstream now that the FDA has approved it as a food additive this past December and I picked myself up a box of Truvia (http://www.78west.com/wordpress/?p=354) to give it a shot.

Anyone else out there using this stuff as a sweetener? So far it tastes pretty good mixed with iced tea and last night I made a Tom Collins with it and it was quite nice. Today I am going to put it in some coffee to see how that goes. Being a 0 calorie sweetener is great and having it be natural is even better, rather use something from the Earth as opposed to some chemical laboratory somewhere. Straight up the stuff has a strange taste but mixed with things has so far shown to be very positive.

I'm still a bit afraid of it though. Only being allowed on the market for us normal consumers (I know it's been around for years but it was regulated as a supplement) and soon coming to things like Coke and Sprite (http://www.screamtobegreen.com/2009/01/stevia-goes-big-time-with-truvia-and-purevia/) I wonder what kind of things it will do to us. It's been in use for 100s of years in other countries but there are always stories of stuff being put on the market and then years later pulled because people discover it causes crazy diseases and kills people (pharmaceuticals always have this happen to them)

The stuff is still banned in Europe (they suck anyway) but should be on a table near you soon here in the USA.

[razorboy]

I use liquid stevia in some things, such as iced tea (along with honey). It's powerful stuff in terms of it's dosage to sweetosity ratio and the health questions about it seem to be suspect at best.

[Ritalin]

Stevia is going mainstream now that the FDA has approved it as a food additive this past December and I picked myself up a box of Truvia (http://www.78west.com/wordpress/?p=354) to give it a shot.

Anyone else out there using this stuff as a sweetener? So far it tastes pretty good mixed with iced tea and last night I made a Tom Collins with it and it was quite nice. Today I am going to put it in some coffee to see how that goes. Being a 0 calorie sweetener is great and having it be natural is even better, rather use something from the Earth as opposed to some chemical laboratory somewhere. Straight up the stuff has a strange taste but mixed with things has so far shown to be very positive.

I'm still a bit afraid of it though. Only being allowed on the market for us normal consumers (I know it's been around for years but it was regulated as a supplement) and soon coming to things like Coke and Sprite (http://www.screamtobegreen.com/2009/01/stevia-goes-big-time-with-truvia-and-purevia/) I wonder what kind of things it will do to us. It's been in use for 100s of years in other countries but there are always stories of stuff being put on the market and then years later pulled because people discover it causes crazy diseases and kills people (pharmaceuticals always have this happen to them)

The stuff is still banned in Europe (they suck anyway) but should be on a table near you soon here in the USA.

A Tom Collins?

Are you my grandmother? Did you throw an extra cherry in there?

[LordJezo]

A Tom Collins?

Are you my grandmother? Did you throw an extra cherry in there?

I never had any interest in them either until someone made one for me the proper way with out any of the mix that you buy in a supermarket. Two shots of gin, half a lemon squeezed into a glass, tablespoon sugar (or stevia in this case), and seltzer. They are delicious.

[sr71blackbird]

I got this yesterday and tried it this morning as a sweetener to my tea. It tastes fine. I do know if it had anything to do with it, but I did have the runs late in the afternoon. It seems like a good product. I got the box in Shoprite. Its cool that it comes in sugar like packs within the box.

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[DarkHippie]

I never had any interest in them either until someone made one for me the proper way with out any of the mix that you buy in a supermarket. Two shots of gin, half a lemon squeezed into a glass, tablespoon sugar (or stevia in this case), and seltzer. They are delicious.

Whisky sour > tom collins

[angrymissy]

I've been using this for a while, it's ok in stuff like lemonade (lemon juice/stevia/water), but it tastes like ass in coffee.

[topless_mike]

my wife is into this stuff.. i dunno... i drink my tea without sugar..

[Ritalin]

Whisky sour > tom collins

I don't even want to imagine the hangover you'd get from drinking either of those two drinks all night.

No thanks, ladies.

[LordJezo]

The Stevia movement is going strong.

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Dan Quinn speaks truth?

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[Misteriosa]

i had something called "stevia in the raw" (at least thats what is said on the packet). i used one packet of that and a packet of sugar. it was sweeter than i expected (i usually put like 4-5 sugar packets in a cup of coffee) there was a weird little aftertaste but overall it was ok http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/Misteriosa_NYC/smilies/shrug.gif

[Chigworthy]

i had something called "stevia in the raw" (at least thats what is said on the packet). i used one packet of that and a packet of sugar. it was sweeter than i expected (i usually put like 4-5 sugar packets in a cup of coffee) there was a weird little aftertaste but overall it was ok http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/Misteriosa_NYC/smilies/shrug.gif

I think that stuff is already blended with sugar.


Stevia works good in tea, but it seems to derive it's sweetness from the same type of compound that makes licorice sweet. In other words, it's got a licorice-y flavor that doesn't work that good in coffee.