Throughout the last few decades, there have been controversies surrounding the use of stevia and its safety. For those who understand the extremely negative effects of artificial sweeteners like aspartame this has seemed rather counterintuitive and concerning regarding the hypocritical nature of those decisions. More recent information however has led the WHO to conclude that it is safe for consumption, in fact with health benefits. Since this study, many of the previously banned statuses have since been opened for public use.I’ve been consuming it for a few years now, mostly in the expensive store bought liquid extract form, but have recently been inclined to start growing it myself. So, for all you health conscious gardeners, if you haven’t yet, you should give this little guy a chance.
Stevia: A Member of the Garden.
This baby is a perennial which is convenient and every time you harvest it just seems to come back a bit stronger. Do not let its South America heritage fool you; it has great potential to be grown in North America as well. It is a hardy plant that can be let go to seed and it will multiply easily. However, unless you are trying to build a family, harvesting is best done prior to the formation of blossoms to maximize the sweetness. After this time, there is a slight bitter after taste which is completely avoidable. It can grow as large as 30 or more inches, so ensure you have a good amount of space for this bushy fellow.
To ensure a quality plant, it is better to start from an existing plant. When you are at the greenhouse, rip a leaf off and chew it up! It should be sweet. Sweetness between plants varies, so try to pick the one that is best for your indoor garden.
Harvesting and Use:
The fresh or dried leaves of the plant are added to your food/drinks. A favorite of ours is adding the leaves in with our drip style coffee and having it naturally sweeten our drinks in the morning. The leaves can also be dried and crushed/blended into a powder and mixed in with your foods.
I should say that we still don’t exclusively use stevia grown from our own indoor garden. There is a refined stevia powder that is more potent then the leaves themselves and this is typically used for baking and as a stronger sweetener. From my reading, the stevia leaves will typically have between 10-15% of the “stevioside” while the refined extract is typically between 80-90%.Still, for warm drinks, the subtle flavors in stevia are unequivocal to sugar and I recommend the home grown stevia.
