Advantages to Baking with Stevia
Watching calories or limiting sugar intake doesn’t mean that you have to forego desserts, especially when baking with stevia. Making rich, sweet desserts that are low in sugar yet sinfully delicious is easy when the right ingredients are used.
Sugar is an ingredient that has become grossly overused in the diets of most people. Even if candies, cakes and cookies are avoided, there are plenty of other opportunities to get sugar in your diet. Processed foods such as frozen dinners, breads, cereals, condiments and many other foods contain sugars disguised as other ingredients; dextrose, sucrose, fructose and more. Because of this, Americans alone consume 100 times more sugar than the average person in the early 1900’s had done. This amount of sugar in our diets has had a severe detriment on health; tooth decay, weight gain, rising blood glucose levels, cardiovascular problems as well as other effects.
Often, this constant bombardment of sugar in the diets results in sugar cravings. Many people turn to artificial sweeteners in an attempt to cut back on refined sugars without sacrificing sweet treats, but these artificial “sugars” come with damaging effects as well. One alternative is stevia; an herb that has been used for centuries in several countries. Though it has been in existence for and used as a sweetener since 1887 and possibly even before, it was not allowed to be imported into the United States until 1995, and then with limitations on use. Stevia plant leaves provide the sweetening agent, that can be used as a powder or liquid or directly from the leaf. The advantages of stevia are that it contains no calories, no carbohydrates and has zero effect on the glycemic index. This added to the fact that stevia retains its flavor in high temperatures, makes baking with stevia a good alternative to sugar in many recipes.
Home baked treats are fresher and can be much more delicious than manufactured snacks. An added benefit is that the baker can tailor the ingredients to his or her own tastes and needs. For those who are consciously monitoring their sugar intake, stevia can be substituted in many recipes. Since stevia can be used as a liquid or as a granulated or powdered product, it can easily be integrated into any part of a recipe when the proper amount is used. Because stevia is so much sweeter than refined sugar, knowing how to convert the recipe correctly is important. A recipe that calls for using 1 cup of refined sugar will only need to use 1/3 teaspoon of white powder stevia extract in pure form or a “mini-spoon” of pure liquid stevia (equivalent to about 1/33 of a regular measuring teaspoon). One of the drawbacks of stevia is that its potency is tricky to judge; it is a good idea for bakers to research and use tested recipes until they understand how to use stevia.
There are some limitations when baking with stevia. It should not be used in making any yeast bread products; the yeast used depends upon sugar to provide activation. Baked goods will not brown when stevia is used, so the baker will need to use a “toothpick” test for doneness. Not all recipes will respond well to stevia, since an interaction of ingredients with sugar is required in some to achieve optimal results.
Using stevia in recipes can be helpful with weight control and for controlling medical conditions that require limited sugar intake. The ability to enjoy sweet tasting desserts make diet modifications seem much less like a sacrifice and can actually help people to stay focused and faithful to their diet.