Stevia is a herb that we grew this year for the first time. Imagine our surprise when we saw it advertised at our local greenhouse last spring. This sugar substitute is native to South America.
Ours probably would have done better without the drought we had this summer, but we were still able to harvest a good amount of leaves despite it wilting a couple of times.
After harvest we dried the plant in the garage, a couple of weeks was still not enough to dry it for crushing. We do not have a dehydrator, so put it in a low oven for a few brief minutes.
That did the trick.
I put the crispy leaves into our mortar and crushed them to a fine, green powder, just like the kind we have bought in the past.
There seems to be some question regarding the healthfulness of the highly processed white stevia powder that is more commonly found in stores.
Many of those also have questionable additives, and the white stevia stuff is very expensive.
We stopped buying it.
We like the green kind that is not processed beyond drying and crushing. 100% pure leaf, and still many times sweeter than sugar.
We have also bought it in the past, but it is still pretty expensive, and we would much rather grow it ourselves if we can.
And we can, as it turns out.
We will start the winter with enough homegrown stevia powder to replace several cups of sugar in things like our chia tea, cornbread, and other baked goods.
It could also be sprinkled on a bowl of oats. I wonder if we could grow those, too?
Maybe next year's garden, which was formally started when we planted our garlic last weekend.
Oats, or no oats, we will definitely be growing stevia again.
I, too, grew stevia. But, I suppose I let mine die. I will try again. I am intrigued by your green powder.
ReplyDeleteI too am intrigued by the green powder. I use stevia from the store, the white powder. Would love to grow and use my own...does the green powder taste differently from the white powder? Thx for the inspiration to grow stevia. - Mary
DeleteI didn't let mine die, but it wasn't as bushy as it should have been. You must try again!
DeleteThe green powder tastes, well, "green", compared to the white, refined powder. We originally bought white stevia for coffee, but the green powder does not dissolve like the white does in liquids. So, now we use sugar in our coffee, and green stevia anywhere else we normally use sugar, like baking. Then the greenish taste does not matter as much, we have found.
White stevia would be better all around (except that most of it is not pure stevia), but it is so expensive, and you can't make it yourself. Something we might try next year is making a tincture out of the green stevia we grow. Then we would end up with drops that could be used in coffee, although it still might taste greeny.
We just love being able to grow our own sweetener, and one that is healthier than sugar (the green is, anyways). It is a fun garden project that we will be repeating, hopefully with more success next year. More rain, please!
Oats are relatively easy to grow, but do require some room. We grew them for the first time last summer. I would recommend one of the varieties that do not have hulls. They are much easier to get to a useable form as the hulls on regular oats are very hard to remove. The hull less varieties still need some cleaning, but it is much easier to do. There are youtube videos on how to do this for small batches. It is always fun to try something new in the garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed. I am more likely to try after reading your comment. Looking forward to another growing season. But first, winter! Stay well.
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