Re: Stevia - sugar alternative.

I love stevia.  But some people say they cannot stand it.  This is often because they purchased crappy grades or they are cut with something that does not agree with them such as lactose.

The leaf itself is very sweet, but the stems contain a bitter alkaloid.  The cheaper quality stuff used too much stem and extraction techniques that get a lot of the bitter alkaloid in to the final product.  The higher grades are extracted and concentrated as a 80%, 90%, 95% or 99% stevioside.  Very little of these are used.  With the higher concentrates as little as 1/4 teaspoon of the extract will replace a full cup of sugar.

Another nice thing about stevia is that unlike toxic and unstable aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), stevia is not toxic and is heat stable.  So stevia can be used in cooking, especially for diabetics.  It does not hold moisture though like sugar so for baked goods water retainers such as apple fiber need to be added.