Stevia rebaudiana, commonly referred to simply as stevia, is a plant that is native to Paraguay and known for its sweetness, which is 10 to 15 times sweeter than sugar, according to "Stevia: The Genus Stevia." In about a day's time, you can prepare stevia leaves into stevia extract, which you can use in recipes in place of sugar and corn syrup, according to "Growing and Using Stevia: The Sweet Leaf from Garden to Table with 35 Recipes."
Step 1
Place 1 cup of stevia leaves in a mixing bowl.
Step 2
Pour pure USP grain alcohol over the stevia leaves until the leaves are covered by the alcohol.
Step 3
Allow the stevia leaves and alcohol to rest undisturbed in the bowl for 24 hours. According to "Stevia: Nature's Sweetener," the alcohol will extract the sweetness of the stevia leaves.
Step 4
Place the coffee filter over the pot and use a rubber band to secure it in place. Slowly pour the mixture into the pot, using the coffee filter as a strainer to catch all of the stevia leaves and residue.
Step 5
Remove the rubber band and coffee filter from the pot. Mix 1 cup of water into the pot to dilute the stevia extract. Taste the extract and add additional water to taste if you find the flavor too sweet.
Step 6
Simmer the mixture in the pot over low heat until the mixture forms a syrup with honey-like consistency. According to "Growing and Using Stevia: The Sweet Leaf from Garden to Table with 35 Recipes," this process will evaporate any remaining alcohol, leaving only the stevia extract behind.
Step 7
Allow the stevia extract to cool, then pour it into a storage container with a lid for later use.
Things You'll Need
- 1 cup stevia leaves
- Mixing bowl
- Pure USP grain alcohol
- Coffee filter
- Pot
- Storage container with lid
- Rubber band
References
- "Growing and Using Stevia: The Sweet Leaf from Garden to Table with 35 Recipes"; Jeffrey Goettemoeller and Karen Lucke; 2008
- "Stevia: Nature's Sweetener"; Rita Elkins; 2007
- "Stevia: The Genus Stevia"; A. Douglas Kinghorn; 2001
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