I have been using stevia glycerite for years. It's a liquid that is used with an eyedropper. I've never baked or cooked with it - I generally use it in all beverages, e.g. coffee, tea, smoothies, etc.

I've been wondering about using stevia or truvia (heck, even splenda!) in baking. I've been baking SO MUCH lately and it's starting to, um, show? Is it worth it, or will the taste be really off?

@elizabeth marley:

I've baked with splenda, and I personally don't notice a difference in taste, nor does my husband.

The only reason there have been "concernes and suspicion" over Stevia being carcinogenic or causing infertility is so that the big wigs who control all the nasty artificial sweetener (which started out as insecticides) markets would lose business and then big pharma would lose business from people being less sick.

I personally buy stevia only from the health food store but that's because I don't like huge companies controlling that stuff. It's better left to smaller companies.

Please do some research on Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. They have a huge impact on your health, in negative ways. A common, overlooked health concern people never really equate to the sweetener is migraines and headaches...Diet soda anyone!!

I like stevia but oddly, prefer the generic brands at the grocery over Truvia (most stores I've seen its the most popular brand) Truvia is granulated with other stuff to make it more sugar-like but I find it has less of a sweetening effect that generic.

The generic ones are more powdered and have a better kick to them.

For anyone who hasn't tried it, it doesn't feel on your tongue "sweet" the way sugars and substitutes do. It feels more like it's tricking my brain into thinking sweet, if that makes any sense. Very much like if anyone has tried miracle fruit or tablets.

Although everyone is different, I'd just like to comment that, as a lifelong migraine sufferer, i've never had one triggered by artificial sweetners. I'm more likely to get one from real soda, due to the instant spike in blood sugar level, or from the caffeine in a caffeinated diet soda.

@TheWholesomeHome

I agree with you that big wigs control the FDA, but the reality is that Stevia has fewer credible safety tests conducted about it even than Splenda!

I had the opportunity to do a paper on artificial sweeteners for nutrition class back in college, and I came away with it with A) the impression that the FDA has very little control over producers of food even if they did have our best interests at heart and B) just use real sugar!

Also, It's just as important to be skeptical about food claims put forward by more "granola" sources as it is about big business... often their claims are completely untested and worth about as much as homeopathy. Just because something is natural and local doesn't mean it's good for you!

I'm interested to hear from people who have blood sugar issues? Do you notice that this is better than sugar?

I used to use Splenda with a vengeance. Growing up the child of a diabetic, I've probably used almost every kind of artificial sweetener out there-including saccharine! (blech).
I stopped using Splenda as it was giving me migraines. At the age of 32, they suddenly started without any identifiable triggers. Except for Splenda. Quit that, my migraines went away.
Since then I've been using stevia and love it. I haven't baked with it, but I do use it as a sweetener in things like mojitos.

@Gvinton Bravo! Granola sources of information scare me because they're usually asking people to take on faith that the stuff is safe without having any credible evidence other than the stuff being "natural". Remember, hemlock is natural. So are arsenic, cadmium, mercury, radon and any of a variety of extremely toxic mushrooms.

As for stevia, I remember trying it as a kid and hating it. I thought it tasted bitter and weird. I'll stick with real sugar less often, I guess.

I am allergic (or have some sort of sensitivity) to aspartame, and I find sucralose products like splenda that aren't supposed to be aspartame irritate me as well. I have yet to try stevia, but I generally find that the real stuff is better. Plus sugar, cheese, butter, etc. in their real whole states are definitely worth being fat for.

I've heard a lot that *processed* stevia is bad for people with blood sugar issues as it has a much faster/greater effect than raw stevia. So, I'll use the leaves but not the processed "stevia" products from the grocery store.

Mostly though we just use real sugar, the unbleached kind. :)

i have the same issue as mercedesz - all types of artificial sweeteners make me nauseous and cause headaches so i'm wary about Stevia.

Hate the taste of Stevia, just hate it, tastes so strongly of chemicals to me. Strange, considering it is a plant? I use honey, sugar and agave. Once in a blue moon I have a diet soda.

I'm growing stevia this summer. So far I've used it to sweeten tea. I add it to the tea leaves as they steep. It adds a subtle sweetness and takes away the bitterness of the tea. If I eat a fresh leaf, it tastes sweet at first and then a little bitter. I've been pretty happy with it. I haven't tried any commercial products.

There are positives and negatives for almost everything you eat. I use stevia in my coffee, but I don't really like the aftertaste, so I'll mix it with sugar or splenda. I'd love to grow my own stevia for tea and coffee...more natural and a whole lot cheaper.

Well, leaving aside the disputed health issues, I'll comment that, while it's sweet, Stevia definitely doesn't taste like sugar. It actually leaves the same mildly bitter or metallic aftertaste that aspartame does in my mouth.

(sorry about the comma explosion in that first sentence - shoulda proofread before I posted)

I've tried it and really do not like it. We only use sugar for coffee around here and we buy the pure cane sugar from Trader Joe's.

SPLENDA is not Stevia - reading these comments, is there a confusion in that. I in fact have serious adverse effects from splenda, where it will literally have me buckled over in pain having it.

Stevia is a natural product. Splenda is NOT regardless what their marketing tries to tell you.

For some people like me Stevia will taste bitter no matter the brand. It is genetics. So none for me because it's not sweet to me at all. It's horribly, horribly bitter.

Splenda is ok, xylitol and erythritol have a better taste but I don't like that they make some things taste "colder". I sometimes use a mix.

But yeah, cant use Stevia.

Truvia and purevia (is that even around anymore) both also have sugar alcohols in them.

I got recommended Stevia by my doctor and dietist but basically because it's more natural than other artificial sweeteners. However, the only one I find is organic, imported from Germany (which is a guarantee that it's carefully inspected there) and at almost 9 euros the bottle... It's better to regulate your sweet tooth

I've just recently become interested in using stevia, but don't really foresee myself completely giving up real sugar. Like XavierN, I think the best option is probably to regulate your sweet tooth, rather than try to tease out which sweetener is healthiest.

As far as taste though, I'll second m_dow, stevia tastes a lot like artificial sweeteners to me.

For those who are using the term, how is Stevia any more "artificial" than sugar?