Erythritol

[Guest guest]

I *thought* there was another post on Erythritol, but this is all

I've found in the archives. The link goes to Erythritol on

iHerb. )

Challis

n Rojas wrote:

http://www.iherb.com/store/ProductDetails.aspx?

c=Herbs & pid=NOW-06927

This product is corn based, and does not have chromium added,

which one of

the brands did, or may still have. This is the one that I use.

To get to the

general iHerb site it is important to type into Google only

iHerb--leave out the .com part! I hope this is helpful to some. I

have this product right here,

and as you can see, it has done little, however, to improve my

typing! love,

n

Stevia

Well, I can't find the links I once had. They're probably tucked

in some Safe Spot where I'll never find them. LOL

However, looking through my documents, I did find one page on

Stevia. I wonder why I had it? LOL I've not read it thorugh

again, just skimmed, but here it is, copied/pasted exactly as I have

it saved. ) (Now, when I mentioned some were better... it's

because of an " additive " put in with Stevia that makes it the less

desirable/good for you, one).

Challis

--

http://www.harvestcoop.com/pages/resource/nutrition/stevia.htm

Stevia has a " nectar-like " flavor, so it is not an exact

substitution for sugar. The flavor is compatible with everything

from a hot cup of herb tea to dairy products like yogurt to baked

goods. Sprinkle it over your oatmeal and add some raisins and

chopped nuts. You can make delicious banana bread, apple bran

muffins, peanut butter cookies, etc. About 1/4 to 1/3 teaspoon of

the stevia powder has the sweetening capacity of an entire cup of

sugar, so be careful! If you add too much it will give off a strong

licorice-like aftertaste. When you first try it, add a tiny amount

to a cup of herb tea or plain yogurt. Add more, a few grains at a

time, until you reach the desired level of sweetness. If you find

that the flavor of stevia alone does not appeal to you, you can

still cut calories and carbohydrates by combining it with small

amounts of maple syrup or honey, as its flavor will take second

place when paired with other sweeteners. In a recipe, use less

stevia and add only

1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup, honey, or dried fruit.

http://curezone.com/foods/stevia.htm

The Sweetness of Stevia

by Marie

Who doesn't have a sweet tooth? Most of us are aware that refined

white sugar can take a toll on our body, but a tempting fudge

brownie can easily wipe thoughts of minerals and immune systems out

of our mind. Refined white sugar makes it more difficult for our

bodies to absorb the minerals and vitamins it needs. The body

requires excess B vitamins to metabolize and detoxify sugar. The

problem with sugar is that because it is stripped of nutrients, but

contains calories, the body does not receive any of the nutrients it

needs and expects from food. Studies have linked sugar with obesity,

diabetes and other disorders. Sugar depresses the immune system.

Refined white sugar may be converted to saturated fat. Sugar may

contribute to candidiasis and aggravate some types of asthma,

allergies, and arthritis.

Of course, that sugar is less than wholesome is old news. For this

reason, many of us bake goodies using maple syrup, brown rice syrup,

and barley malt syrup. The natural foods movement has given us many

options to white sugar. For instance, unrefined cane juice, comes

from sugar cane, but is less processed so it contains the nutrients

that have been removed from white sugar. These sweeteners are good

alternatives, however, they all contain calories and they may be

healthful for everyone.

The new century has brought us a new sweetener. Not a newly created

sweetener, fresh from experimental chemical labs, but a new old

sweetener, originally from Paraguay. Used for centuries by South

American natives to sweeten tea and for medicinal preparations,

stevia, the sweet herb, has finally made its way to North America.

This amazing sweet herb is being embraced by health practitioners

and health food cooks alike for its many qualities that give it an

edge over more traditional sweeteners.

Stevia is incredibly sweet, 30 to 100 times sweeter than sugar. A

recipe for cookies sweetened with stevia may call for only 1/4

teaspoon to sweeten the whole batch. Stevia contains no calories.

Stevia is a healthful alternative to artificial sweeteners for most

diabetics because stevia does not affect blood sugar levels. Sandy

Corlett, of the Diabetes Resource Center, says, " stevia is one of

two sweeteners that we recommend. It is a much better choice than

artificial sweeteners. The other recommended sweetener is called

Sweet Balance and it is made from the kiwi fruit. "

The sweetening agent in stevia, called stevioside, does not feed

yeasts in the intestines like sugars. All non-chemical sweeteners,

even fructose, feed yeasts, which makes even fruit and brown rice

syrup off limits to someone suffering from candidiasis, a condition

of yeast overgrowth in the intestines.

Although it sounds like stevia may save us all from our detrimental

sweet teeth, stevia is not the simplest sweetener to work with. It

has a strongly sweet flavor which can quickly overwhelm a recipe.

When trying to use stevia to sweeten baked goods like cookies, the

recipe must be adjusted for the lack of bulk that stevia adds. Cakes

and cookies sweetened with stevia do not brown as much as their

sugar-sweetened counterparts. When testing stevia at The Grain &

Salt Society, responses to this new sweetener were mixed.

I asked a few " testers " to share their stevia experience.

Cheryl, who does not have any specific health problems but is

strongly affected by sugar said, " I am very excited about stevia. I

loved the stevia sweetened cookies we tested. I think stevia gives

me a good feeling, compared to the highs and lows of white sugar. I

think it is going to play a role in my diet, especially for

breakfast foods which are often overly sweet. "

Jon, who is in good health though worried about weight gain

said, " The stevia cookies were good, but they had a " kool aid " kind

of aftertaste. I just think brown sugar is hard to beat, I wouldn't

choose to eat stevia if there was a plate of brown sugar sweetened

cookies being offered at the same time. " Jon became more interested

in stevia after learning that it has no calories and does not affect

blood sugar levels.

Christiana, who is currently on a completely sugar-free diet because

of candidiasis, said, " I love stevia. I use the liquid extract in my

tea. I think it's wonderful that even though I have candidiasis and

cannot eat any type of sugar or fruit, I can have a little taste of

something sweet without affecting my health. "

Nichole, who is a recent wholesome foods convert, said " I think

stevia is great. After testing all the sweets made with stevia, I

wanted more. When it's used just right, it can be a great

alternative to sugar. I also like that you need to use so little

stevia, compared to the cups and pounds you must use of white sugar. "

Investigating stevia, we learned that all stevias are not alike.

Stevioside is often extracted using alcohol or chemicals. The

extract may then be bleached to make it appear completely white.

Look for organic stevia that is unbleached and extracted with a

natural water filtration method.

Stevia is available in three forms: liquid extract, powdered

extract, and powdered extract combined with a bulking agent, such as

maltodextrin. This last form is used to package stevia in small

envelopes similar to the packaging of Nutrasweet and Sweet N' Low.

For your recipes, liquid extract and powdered extract work

interchangeably.

Although stevia is just beginning to reach the American public, a

number of countries have enjoyed its sweetness for decades. Japanese

food manufacturers began using stevia in the mid 1970's. According

to Donna Gates in The Stevia Cookbook, by 1988, stevia sweetened

products represented approximately 41 percent of the market share of

potently sweet substances consumed in Japan. In spite of the fact

that it has been used safely for centuries by South American

natives, and for over twenty years in Japan, stevia cannot be sold

in the U.S. as a sweetener. Stevia is currently available as a

dietary supplement, but no information about its sweetening

abilities will be found on its label.

If you are interested in experimenting with stevia, you may choose

to begin by using the recipe on the back page as a guide. Substitute

raisins or chocolate chips for nuts. As you begin to widen your

stevia repertoire, the cookbook Baking with Stevia, by Rita DePuydt

may be of help. Suggestions from seasoned stevia bakers include:

1. whisking stevia into egg whites before adding to a cake batter

helps to get good volume and crumbly texture;

2. one cup of sugar can be replaced by 1/4 to ½ teaspoon stevia, but

adjustments will be needed to replace the bulk of sugar – applesauce

can be used to replace some of this bulk;

3. flavors such as lemon and vanilla help to ameliorate the

sometimes sharply sweet characteristic of stevia;

4. for blender drinks, sauces, creams, and puddings, add the stevia

in the beginning because adding it later may cause thinning;

5. very small amounts of stevia may be used to sweeten salad

dressings and dinner sauces, measure a dab of stevia with a

toothpick!

References Gates, D. and Sahelian, R., M.D. The Stevia Cookbook.

Garden City Park, NY. Avery Publishing Group, 1999.

Elkins, R. Stevia: Nature's Sweetener. Pleasant Grove, UT. Woodland

Publishing, 1997.

DePuydt, R. Baking with Stevia. Oak View, CA. Sun Coast Enterprises,

1998.

http://www.fareshare.net/recipesV4-02G.html

NOTES :

This recipe came from the website:

http://www.homestead.com/stevia/recipes.html as did the following

information. Other recipes are available on that site, as well as

Stevia products and cookbooks. It also includes many links for those

interested to browse.

Stevia in the Kitchen by Goettemoeller

There are hundreds of species of the genus Stevia native to North

and South America. Only one species, rebaudiana, tastes sweet enough

to be called " sweet leaf " in Brazil and Paraguay where it grows

wild. Amazingly, Stevia sweetens with almost zero calories, does not

encourage cavities, is non-glycemic, and may even strengthen the

pancreas. All this makes it a great natural alternative to

artificial sweeteners and sugar.

Recipes: Certain issues present a challenge when cooking with

stevia. First, very little is required due to its tremendous

sweetness. Bulk that would normally be provided by sugar must

instead be supplied by other dry ingredients. Also, some way must be

found to distribute the small amount of stevia evenly throughout the

other ingredients. Sometimes this is done by mixing with liquid

ingredients first. Another challenge is the slight taste of stevia

itself. This is

not a problem if ingredients are adjusted and selected so that

they interact harmoniously with the stevia. Green Stevia Powder is

more of a challenge in this regard than is Stevia Extract Powder

Stevia Extract Powder: Pure Stevia Extract Powder is your best

choice for most recipes. Almost all of the recipes in Stevia Sweet

Recipes list it as an option. This white powder is an extract of the

sweet glycosides in the stevia plant. Because of their unique

structure, these glycosides do not contribute calories to the

diet. The main glycoside is called stevioside. Stevia Extract Powder

contains 80-95% stevioside. The percentage should be listed on the

label. We recommend a pure stevia product, with no maltodextrin or

other fillers. These fillers may not be tolerated by those who must

avoid easily metabolized carbohydrates, and the " pure " Stevia

Extract Powder is almost always a better buy in terms of sweetening

power for your money.

Stevia Extract powder is 200 to 300 times sweeter than regular

white sugar. One teaspoon has roughly the same sweetening power as 1

cup granulated cane sugar, though the conversion rate varies

depending on the ingredients it is combined with.

Green Stevia Powder: Green Stevia Powder is dried Stevia leaf

which has been finely ground. Many of our recipes list it as an

option. The green powder seems to work best with beverages, as well

as pineapple, kiwi, and some pies. It contains the full range of

nutrients found in stevia, but does present some additional

challenges for use in recipes, with it's green color and licorice-

like taste. We use it only in those recipes where it works well. One

nice thing about Green Stevia Powder is that you can make it

yourself by grinding dried leaves in a blender or coffee grinder

with metal blades. You can even use home-grown stevia this way!

A good rule of thumb is to use 3-4 teaspoons of Green Stevia

Powder in place of 1 cup of regular cane sugar. Here again, the

conversion rate varies according to the recipe.

Liquid Stevia Extract: Liquid extract is convenient for sweetening

beverages. Most liquid extracts have an alcohol base, though a water

extract may be made by boiling or soaking fresh or dried leaves

leaves and straining with a coffee filter, or by stirring Stevia

Extract

Powder into water. Water extracts have a limited shelf life and

should be stored in the refrigerator. A dropper bottle works well as

a dispenser.

http://www.purelinatural.com/Recipes.html

Cooking & Baking With Stevia

the recipe for sweet success

Our mouths are used to the taste and texture of sugar. In order to

use an alternative effectively we have to realize stevia's

limitations and where it excels so that we can use it to our

greatest benefit.

When using stevia in foods you must remember that it is not only a

sweetener but also a flavour enhancer. If you use stevia in

something with little or no flavour stevia gets " lost " and is

ineffective. Where stevia shines is in items with strong flavours

(chocolate, lemon, berries, cheese, etc.) In cooking, just

substitute for sugar according to the conversion chart.

1 Drop of Stevia Concentrated Liquid is approximately equivalent

to 1 Tsp. of Sugar.

½ Tsp. of Stevia Concentrated Powder is approximately equivalent to

1 cup of sugar.

In baking you use the same substitution as in cooking as well as

following another requirement.

To make up the volume lost due to replacing 1 cup of sugar with

only ½ Tsp.of stevia, we add an additional ingredient, unsweetened

apple fiber.

Place unsweetened applesauce in a strainer lined with cheesecloth

and let sit in a bowl overnight in your refrigerator. In the morning

the sauce will have separated into apple fiber (in the cheesecloth)

and apple juice (in the bowl). Add 1 cup of apple fiber in addition

to the ½ Tsp. of stevia for each cup of sugar the recipe calls for.

You will notice that your recipe will be more fluffy, lighter and

moist. Additionally you will be able to reduce the amount of oil in

your recipe as well because the applesauce will in part be able to

replace it.

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