I have been exploring which brand stevia to purchase. But quite honestly, I’ve never felt good about the perfectly white, flowable, processed stevia products out there.
When I was on a stock-your-pantry preparedness effort several (over 5) years ago, I bought 4 Trader Joe’s Pure Stevias. I remember thinking at the time that they were really expensive, but, hey, if things got bad and we couldn’t get things at the store, at least we had our sweetener! And it read, ‘100% Organic Stevia Extract (leaf)’.
What I found was that I really, really liked using it! Slowly, over time, I kept thinking about having more and MORE, and if I didn’t get to have it, I craved (felt addicted to) the stuff.
I looked for things to eat – to add it to – even though I wasn’t hungry! Yikes!
But here’s where the sleuth in me gets going: Our daughter started having mild migraines about this same time, and I experienced what I called ‘vertigo‘, but I didn’t make the connection… and maybe there isn’t a connection.
Is It All ‘In-Our-Heads’?
I knew there was a lot of anecdotal evidence that processed foods could contain hidden ingredients (false labeling) or leave traces of processing solvents that caused havoc neurologically, but I thought the pure stevia was fine since it didn’t list other ingredients on the label.
Truth is, processed foods often have non-food constituents used to extract or whiten them like bleaching agents, solvents, and alkalizing agents, and this is what concerns me…trace chemicals (which aren’t on the label).
In order to extract Reb A (or rebaudioside), stevia plants are dried, extracted with water, and then separated with a patented (secret) crystallization process using ethanol or methanol. Many companies then use fillers such as dextrose (from corn), cellulose, silica, maltodextrin, erythritol, isomaltulose and/or the ever-present ‘natural flavors’ to create the finished product that ends up on your grocery store shelf.
Be aware of hidden corn because it is a BIG ALLERGEN! The fillers in processed powders (as noted above) contain dextrose cellulose, maltodextrin, etc.
So read the label – just because it says ‘stevia’ on the front label doesn’t mean that’s the only thing in it.
I found there is one stevia extract (liquid and powder) that claims to be processed completely through cool water extraction, no chemicals allowed – the SweetLeaf brand. This brand uses “high-grade, all natural organic stevia leaves and is blended with inulin, a natural soluble vegetable fiber prebiotic that nourishes the beneficial intestinal floras, promoting digestive health.”
There are literally two ingredients in powdered SweetLeaf stevia: inulin soluble fiber and USDA Certified Organic SweetLeaf Stevia Extract.
With that being said, we’ve decided to avoid it for now.
Make Your Own Stevia Extract at Home
Turns out, it’s a simple process – similar to making vanilla extract and other herbal tinctures (here and here). The difference, though, is that when you make liquid stevia extract, you want it to taste sweet. This method will help you extract the most sweetness and – in our experience – NO bitterness.
Benefits to you?
- it’s not pricey
- you know exactly what’s in it
- you can pass on this knowledge on to your children (in the name of a science lesson)
- and you are accomplishing something pretty cool when you make it yourself!
The How To:
What You Need:
- fill a quart jar 1/2 full with Dried stevia leaves (you can also grow the fresh herb; we’ve done that twice and dried our own with good success)
- vodka
- quart canning jar with lid
- dark dropper bottles to store it in (you can find them here).
Directions:
- If you grow and cut your own stevia at home, begin by washing to remove dirt – a good rinse and pat dry will usually do.
- Strip the leaves from the stems; only the leaves contain the sweet-tasting glycosides.
- Let them dry in the sun, on a paper towel, or in a dehydrator until just crisp.
- Then coarsely break the dried stevia leaves but don’t crush into a powder, as it is hard to filter out later and creates a sediment at the bottom of your finished extract.
Note: I have found that stevia needs heat to extract well, so consider gently warming your vodka in a pan of water to get the most sweetness out of it.
If you don’t have a stevia plant, you can find dried stevia leaves most places you can buy herbs.
- Fill your glass jar up to half full with dried stevia leaves
- Cover with vodka. Vodka extracts the sweet-tasting glycosides faster and with less bitterness than water – also, vodka has little flavor and it’s fairly cheap.
- Tighten the lid on your jar, shake it well
- Let it sit on your counter (in sight so you won’t forget it) for at least a week up to several months.
- Test it for strength of sweetness. It will not go bad bc of the vodka.
- When it has extracted enough sweetness, filter out the stevia leaves. You can do this by pouring the extract through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.
- After pouring off the first portion of the extract, let it drain for several more hours.
- When finished dripping, gently squeeze out any remaining extract from the filter before discarding spent herb.
To Concentrate… or Not To Concentrate Stevia:
Option 1) Non-Concentrated stevia
To keep the alcohol-containing stevia extract as is, simply use a funnel to transfer into a dark glass bottles and store in a dark, room-temperature kitchen cabinet. You’ll need more drops to sweeten this way, but it stores for up to 4 years. I make 12 oz. (a lot) at a time and can leave it out on the counter.
Sweet Water:
You can also steep the dried leaves in boiling water just like you make tea and strain them off after 10 minutes…the result is VERY, VERY sweet water! Add a little your “sweet water” to oatmeal, tea, coffee, sauces, chia seeds, soups, and anything you just want to add a touch of sweetness.
Option 2) Concentrated stevia
To remove the alcohol from the liquid stevia extract, gently heat the extract over low-heat for 20 minutes. DO NOT BOIL, or you’ll overheat the glycosides and destroy the sweetness.
The longer you heat it, the thicker and more syrupy it becomes, and you reduce the shelf-life by removing the preserving alcohol (it evaporates). Transfer into a colored glass tincture dropper bottle(s) and store in your refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Use your liquid stevia extract to taste to sweeten a beverage. I recommend storing it in an amber glass tincture bottle with a dropper (you can find them here. I love to dress up my bottle with pretty labels.
Voilà! Now for that lovely glass of sweet tea!
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Cathy
Hello Jacqueline,
A THM (Trim Healthy Mama) friend sent me the link to your website. I would like to try this.
As is my usual response, I have a few questions. 🙂
1) Do you know why it only takes a day or two to make this tincture, whereas as one person mentioned that vanilla extract takes months to prepare and a recipe that I have for bing cherry flavoring takes weeks? (I am guessing it has to do with increased surface area, and like tea leaves, it steeps quickly.) What would happen if you let the leaves sit for a few weeks in the alcohol–would the solution be stronger?
2) I don’t think that I have a problem using Vodka, but I am wondering if we aren’t consuming more ethanol using Vodka than if a product is merely processed with ethanol. (According to one source:
Ethanol is not an ingredient; rather it is created during manufacturing of Vodka (or any alcohol).) From a cursory review, methanol definitely is bad, and it would probably be difficult to pin a company down to know if they were using methanol or ethanol in their processing.
3) What do you think about the literally green, raw Stevia powder by Kal?
Thanks for your research.
Cathy
Jacqueline
Hi, Cathy,
As I mentioned in the post, it gets bitter beyond a few days.
I have not delved into reading about vodka processing, so I don’t know. You can remove most if not all the vodka if you add the extract to hot water. Ethanol volatilizes off (off-gasses) very quickly like at the gas pump 🙂
With the KAL, I’m not sure I want to pay more for the packaging and shipping of little bottles. I haven’t done a price comparison, but think it would definitely be way more $.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cynthia
Hi Jacqueline,
I have raw, ground stevia leaf powder. I got it from a friend and it is in its “unprocessed” state meaning it was dried & ground to a powder but that was it, it’s still very much green. Could I use the same technique to extract the glycosides? I don’t see why I couldn’t but I’d certainly have to strain it very well afterwards. Not sure if you’ve ever tried making your own stevia sweetener this way? I’d never thought to make my own stevia syrup, so thank you for the tutorial! 🙂
Jacqueline
Cynthia,
I am pretty sure you could, but as you mentioned, you would have to strain it very, very thoroughly. I believe it will come out wonderfully!
Blessings!
Shandell
Your blog(ministry) is a wealth of information and wisdom; as a young mother, wife and home- schooler of 3 little ones I find your website to be an enormous help. I am thankful for you providing these resources to everyone who could use them. May God continue to bless you with His goodness in every aspect of your life.
Jacqueline
What a kind thing to say! Thank you and to God be the glory 😀 That is rich encouragement to my ears.
Glad to have you here, Shandell!
blessedgirl
Thank you! My family just recently found stevia. We’re still on our first bottle, but I’m now over my fear of it’s bitterness. This is on my to do list as it’s a lot cheaper.
Blessings –
Zoe
Thanks for the great article! I am definitely going to try this!
Do you use the stevia extract in baking? How can you use it to replace sugar or honey in, say, brownies or cookies?
Thanks!:)
Jacqueline
Good question, Zoe, but I actually have not used it in baking, so I can’t say with authority. I need to do some experimenting with baking using stevia. Maybe you can be the chemist and let me know what you find. Time just seems to fly, and I never get to some of the things I’d really love to do. Sorry, friend.
Blessings!
Bess
Hi Zoe ,
I have used Stevia in my baking and I like it better than Splenda Brown Sugar. But I think that you have to use some form of a natural sugar like molasses or honey or sorghum to give things like brownies or cookies something that will help carmelize them in some way or you will not have a chewie texture that say brownies need. I have used a stevia sugar mix and it is not bad but I also use applesauce in the recipe because there are no additives including the fact that the applesauce has almost no flavours so that is hidden as well. This also adds the moisture that not using sugar has taken away. Depending on how moist you want your recipe to be that will increase or decrease the amount of applesauce you use. Experiment! That is the best way to find the right ratio of ingredients that you will need. One little tip , I still use the odd tablespoon of dark brown sugar when nothing else will replace the flavours that I am seeking . It won’t ruin your diet even if you are diabetic.
Have fun trying this out and best wishes!
Jacqueline
Thank you, Bess! I am thankful you answered Zoe, for me! I especially love to use applesauce and honey for baking. All of your comment is also my experience 🙂
Blessings
Bess
Thank you Jacqueline for that . If answering Zoe was out of place please forgive me for stepping on your toes as this is the first time that I’ve commented on a blog like this. If ever I do step on your toes please feel free to let me know. Also I look forward to making my own stevia as I planted one this year !
I do enjoy the articles on your website too
So I’ll say thank you for all your time that you spend in research . It’s really appreciated.
Jacqueline
Oh, no, Bess 🙂 I am thrilled that you could add your experience here. I love the interaction and sometimes can’t answer, so it helps me out when I miss something. I would like to see it become more like a forum for those interested 😀
Thank you, too for your encouragement. I really needed it today as the blog has been acting up lately and I’ve wondered if I should keep writing. The Lord has a way of showing me through serendipities just like this!
Blessings in the name of the Lord, friend!
Bess
And also to you friend !
Brenda in TX
This seems to be an old post, but, I still want to comment.I just picked some fresh stevia and decided to refresh my memory on how to process it. Thank you for this information!
Last year I made the stevia extract… not sure how many days it sat though. It is weird tasting, so I’m wondering if it sat longer than your recommended time. I’ll try again this year with this in mind.
As a side note. I live in Texas, close to the Oklahoma border, zone 7, and planted stevia in my garden several years ago;, it is still growing, and producing today. I mulched with wood chips about 3-4inches, water in the summer when it screams for attention, and stand back in amazement that it comes back every year. It is so easy to grow and bugs do not bother it! The only plant in my garden that I do not have bugs on. That alone makes it worth growing!
I also have some in a small flower pot that I keep inside over the winter just in case the outdoor ones freeze, and use it for cuttings. Cut it back, put in water and wait for it to root. It has been in that same pot for several years.
Blessings!
Jacqueline
Brenda in TX, I wonder if you let it sit long enough, and I may be the reason why! I just went back to that post (2016) and updated it. I saw that I said to sit a short (days), but it really should steep quite a long time. I apologize. I don’t know what I was thinking when I typed that. SO I revised my text. Let it steep longer and test it.. sometimes I have found that stevia needs heat to extract well, so consider warming your vodka to get the most sweetness out of it. And I added that to the post as well. Have fun!
Ram
Hi,
I’m sure you get a lot of content submissions, but I wanted to bring to your attention to a new guide we released about the All You Need to Know About Stevia.
This blog is helpful and also guide you everything about the Stevia. Stevia has been around for ages in kitchens and grocery store shelves, but many are unaware of the fact that Stevia is a plant, not just a brand name.
Stevia is a small, leafy herb that was discovered more than 200 years ago. It is 300 times sweeter than natural sugar and adds an equal amount of sweetness to food and beverages and was also used in medical treatments in ancient times.
According to a 2019 study, a possible link between non-nutritive sweeteners, including stevia, and disruption in the healthy gut bacteria is detected. The same study also claims that non-nutritive sweeteners may also induce metabolic disorders and glucose intolerance.
Here is the Link – All You Need to Know About Stevia
Do you think it would be a good fit for the Deeprootsathome blog? I’d love to get your thoughts.
Best, Ram
Jacqueline
Ram, you will need to give me the xact link so I can see/read it! Thanks! ~J
Pat
I’m wondering who funded that study. Seems like something that the sugar industry would do. Stevia is the only sugar substitute that is natural, as far as I know, so I could understand those findings if they left stevia out. I didn’t see a link, so can’t check it out.
Jacqueline
Pat, I went back to read the post and am not seeing where I mention a study perse. Can you copy and paste the whole section of words you are referring to?
Thanks, Jacque