A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
YOUR SWEETENER BUYING GUIDE
By Adriane Campos
STEVIA
• 2023 BUYING GUIDE •
On my quest to discover all zero-calorie stevia sweeteners in stores across the United States, I found about 200 products. See here the complete list and how they compare.
First, What Is Stevia?
Sweeteners commonly referred to as stevia contain extracts from the leaf of a shrub called Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni). The stevia plant has been cultivated and used to sweeten drinks for centuries by South Americans. Currently, China is by far the top grower globally; other countries include Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, and the United States.
Chemically speaking, the sweet components of the stevia leaf are steviol glycosides. They have an intensely sweet taste 25 to 450 times that of table sugar. The stevia leaf contains more than forty steviol glycosides, and the most abundant are shown in the image below.
When you buy stevia sweeteners, they will have one steviol glycoside or several. The most commonly used is rebaudioside A (reb A or rebiana). Pure reb A is 250 to 450 times sweeter than table sugar with a characteristic slightly bitter, licorice-like aftertaste. Another steviol glycoside in stores, called stevioside, has a much more intense bitter aftertaste than Reb A.
Reb D and reb M are considered the "better-tasting" and "more sugar-like" stevia. Some brands that contain them include Splenda Naturals, Whole Earth, Wholesome, Stevita Naturals. The best-tasting sweeteners have blends of a variety of steviol glycosides.
STEVIA BRANDS & PRODUCTS
There is A LOT to see here. Scroll down to explore it all or, if you are short on time, make your choice below:
BULK-FREE SWEETENERS
Is There a Stevia Without Any Additives or Fillers?
About 20 products contain pure stevia leaf extract—without any additives or fillers. They are super sweet, so a little goes a long way. Many products come with their own little measuring spoons, but if they don't, you can buy your own mini measuring spoon set or a complete set like this one. Start with the amount recommended by the seller and adjust to taste.
Can you bake with pure stevia or substitute it for sugar? Yes, but keep in mind that they don't offer bulk (volume and weight). They don't contribute to texture, shelf life, moisture retention, color, and aroma. And that's why the vast majority of the stevia sweeteners you'll find in stores are not going to be pure leaf extract. Keep scrolling down to see how most products are blends of extracts with a bulking sweetener.
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Does Stevia Come In Liquid Form?
Liquid stevia sweeteners are blends of leaf extract and water. Flavors, preservatives, or both are often added to improve taste and maintain freshness. Some products have other ingredients (glycerin, erythritol, or maltodextrin) to mask off-flavors. Stevia simple syrup contains gums to make it viscous.
Stevia drops and syrups are mainly recommended for sweetening purposes as they provide no bulk (volume and mass) to our recipes. Liquid stevia works best in foods that don't require sugars for texture, shelf life, moisture retention, color, and aroma. They offer a convenient way to sweeten coffee, tea, and other drinks on-the-go.
Does Stevia Come in Tablets?
Yes, but my favorite is stevia cube. So adorable!!!
What Can You Do With Dried Stevia Leaf?
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't approve the use of whole-leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts as ingredients in foods, as you can see in this FDA guidance. However, it is legal to sell whole dried leaves, which are also available ground to a green powder.
You can use it to sweeten your hot beverages. To substitute one teaspoon of sugar, steep 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon of the green powder or 6 to 7 leaves per cup of tea or coffee. The leaves have a characteristic bitter, licorice-like aftertaste.
BULK SWEETENERS
Why is Stevia Combined with Erythritol?
I'm often asked, Why is stevia mixed with erythritol and other sweeteners? The reason is stevia extracts in pure form are super sweet. A good rule of thumb is one teaspoon of table sugar is generally equivalent to just 1/64 of a teaspoon of pure stevia.
Because pure leaf extracts provide a sweet taste with tiny volume and weight, sugar substitutes often require BULKING sweeteners so they can have an overall resemblance to table sugar. The basic idea is that something is needed to fill in that empty space when you remove sugar [learn all about bulking agents >>>].
The most common bulking sweeteners are erythritol and allulose. Others include maltodextrin, glucose, inulin, and xylitol. Bulking sweeteners not only improve the taste of stevia extracts but also make it easier for you to measure sugar substitutes at home. Instead of having to measure or weigh minuscule amounts of product, you can use the measuring tools you have in your kitchen.
Common questions I get include: How do I substitute stevia for sugar? How much stevia equals one teaspoon (cup or tablespoon) of sugar? The answer depends on the product you are using.
Some stevia sweeteners are 1:1 sugar replacements, i.e., spoon for spoon, they are as sweet as table sugar. Others are 2:1 (2 teaspoons of sugar is as sweet as 1 teaspoon of stevia) up to 10:1. To find out how sweet a product is, you need to pay attention not only to the brand but also the type of product.
For example, the Truvía brand has several types of stevia sweeteners with different sweetness levels: Organic Liquid, Nectar, Packet, Spoonable, Sticks, Sweet Complete, Confectioners, Cane Sugar Blend, Brown Sugar Blend, and Baker's Bag.
On this page, all infographics list the amount of each product needed to replace ONE teaspoon of sugar.
Stevia Sweeteners
WITH ERYTHRITOL
Do all stevia sweeteners have erythritol? No, but most do. I've found about sixty stevia erythritol blends and list them here. Erythritol (Ah-REETH-ra-tall) is currently one of the most popular sweeteners. It is promoted as "natural," zero-calories, tooth-friendly, well-tolerated in the digestive system, and zero effect on blood sugar levels. However, it's less sweet than table sugar and creates a cooling (cold) sensation when dissolved in the mouth—which feels like we are sucking a mint [but without the mint flavor].
When blended with stevia leaf extracts, erythritol's taste is improved.
I wrote extensively about erythritol in two blog posts: Erythritol: Powdered vs. Granulated and Sweetener Review: Erythritol | Is it Really "Natural" and The Perfect Sweetener?. I also have a page called Erythritol Buying Guide, where I showcase all sweeteners containing erythritol in stores in 2023.
Because the vast majority of stevia sweeteners are going to be composed of 99% erythritol with just a hint of leaf extract, you need to know the do's and don'ts of erythritol to understand how to choose & use the products listed below. So check out my SUGAR SWAP STARTER KIT. You'll learn how stevia blends compare with the top sweeteners in stores, such as allulose and monk fruit. Plus, you'll discover when to use and avoid these stevia blends in cookies, ice cream, bars, cakes, and more.
Stevia Sweeteners
WITH BENEFITS
Final thoughts
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Keep in mind that stevia leaf extract (or steviol glycoside) is not just one ingredient. It might be reb A, reb D, reb M, or stevioside. The best-tasting sweeteners have blends of a variety of steviol glycosides. All stevia sweeteners have a distinct flavor and work best when combined with stronger ingredients, such as coffee, chocolate, or citrus fruits.
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Note that synthetic extracts (read about it here) may also be called stevia. They are not directly isolated from the leaf, meaning they are produced by one of the following processes:
Process #1 – It bypasses the leaf altogether, and uses refined sugar to make synthetic reb D and/or reb M
Process #2 – Uses extracts from the stevia leaf to make synthetic reb D and/or reb M.
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Example of a synthetic stevia: Purecane Sweeteners are made up of a synthetic reb M obtained from Brazilian sugarcane. Want to know why it's synthetic? Sugarcane has no reb M in it, but it's produced once fermented with a genetically-modified (GM) yeast strain. Note that, even though it's synthetic, their reb M has an identical molecule to the one extracted directly from the stevia plant. The manufacturer promotes their products are a sustainable way to make stevia extract because it requires 1/10th of the acreage to produce an equivalent quantity of Reb M.
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