To Stevia or Not to Stevia?

[changing]

So a thread in another forum about liquid splenda brought up the alternative of liquid stevia. I have never used stevia as an artifical sweetener but have been very curious about people's real life experiences with it. I am considering purchasing some but I'm trying to get a feel for the sweetener first before I make the plunge (yes, I can be a stingy reject).

Some things I was wondering were:

How do you like this sweetener? How does it compare with other sweeteners you've tried (first, last, etc.)?
How does this sweetener perform in baking recipes?
How powerfully does it sweeten?

Any response will be greatly appreciated... I did some research on stevia and found it has a good safety record in trials and the prospect of not wasting carbs on the maltodextrin in powdered splenda when I bake is a very attractive prospect. Thanks!

[dotsamantha]

Re: To Stevia or Not to Stevia?

To my knowledge, stevia alone doesn't work well with cooking, you have to combine it, which is a question better left to the cooking gurus, i'm merely a young jedi. I've been using it for about a month now and I like it very much. i also like splenda, but I find that stevia has a more natural sweetness to it. i bought a bottle for $9 that has 1000 servings. It's the concentrated powder, no fillers, and it's a tine 25mg serving. There's a tiny little spoon inside. I use it in tea and microwave flax muffins. I suppose I'm cooking with it then, but it's for 60 seconds, i havent done any real cooking with it yet. I'm still using splenda. All in all I like it.

[not2late]

Re: To Stevia or Not to Stevia?

Give it a try. I find that stevia has a nasty herby bitter aftertaste, so I don't use it---even when it's combined with another sweetener, I can still detect the aftertaste (I have weirdly sensitive tastebuds!)

[sadie147]

Re: To Stevia or Not to Stevia?

I use stevia as my main sweetener and like it, however not everyone . It has a different taste than other sweeteners. It does fine in baking, but all sweeteners do better when mixed with others. It is very very sweet compared to other sweeteners if you buy straight stevia like dotsamatha said, you only need to use a tiny bit.

[Miss Phode]

Re: To Stevia or Not to Stevia?

I'm not a big fan of sweet flavors, but I think stevia is probably a better, healthier alternative than other sweeteners on the market. My husband loves it, but personally, I'm not a big fan of the flavor.