Growing and Using Stevia at Home

Most of us know stevia as a sugar substitute, another little packet the likes of Splenda, Equal, and Sweet’N Low. Stevia is famed for being a natural product dozens of times sweeter than sugar and calorie-free.

Stevia comes from the leaves of a plant related to asters and chrysanthemums. It can be found in powder and liquid form at the supermarket. The powdered form can be used similarly to sugar in hot drinks like coffee or tea or sprinkled over cereal and oatmeal, but it can’t replace sugar in baking recipes because, aside from sweetness, it doesn’t have the same properties.

All that said, many of the stevia products on supermarket shelves aren’t pure stevia. They often contain highly refined extra of the leaves, called Reb-A, and other sweetening agents. Amazingly, the FDA has approved these refined sweeteners as “safe”, but due to lack of research, raw stevia leaves haven’t been given an official endorsement.

For those interested in a calorie-free, natural sweetener and don’t mind using an actual plant rather than a packet, it is totally possible to grow stevia at home, and it is easy to make an all-natural, unrefined sweetener with it. The plant is definitely edible, not poisonous or toxic, but it seems we must use the leaves at our own risk.

Stevia, the Plant

The plant that is recognized as stevia—the source of the sweetener—is officially called Stevia rebaudiana. Common names for it include candyleaf, sweetleaf, and sugarleaf. It’s a member of the Asteraceae family, along with daisies, dandelions, dahlias, and several other well-known flowers.

Stevia plants are tender perennial herbs, well-suited to growing in hot, humid environments. They are native to Brazil and Paraguay. They get to be a foot to two feet tall, and it puts out white flowers with some light purple accents.

Growing It

Source: PREPSTEADERS/Youtube

It is possible to grow stevia in the United States. In fact, it is grown commercially in the US, Japan, and other temperate climates. It cannot tolerate frost, but a potted stevia plant will survive the winter in a sunny window. It has climate limitations similar to basil.

This plant can be multiplied by rooting tip cuttings in water, so one surviving plant can create many the next year (much easier than planting it by seed.) For this reason, it’s best to simply buy a stevia plant at a nursery. A large percentage of the seeds don’t germinate.

Stevia, the Sweet Stuff

Stevia leaves have compounds called steviol glycosides, the main two of which are stevioside and rebaudioside. These compounds are what give stevia its sweetness. Generally, what stevia manufacturers do is create concentrated extracts of these compounds. This can involve food-grade alcohol and GMOs.

Many stevia products take these highly refined, concentrated extracts and combine them with other ingredients. Truvia includes erythritol (sugar alcohol) and “natural flavoring”. Splenda Stevia also has erythritol. Stevia in the Raw is “stevia blended with other sweeteners”, which it says right on the packaging.

Though using the raw leaves or crude powders made from them is not approved by the FDA for making products, many people choose to use pure stevia leaves—no extracts or additional ingredients—as a healthy sweetener.

Stevia, Homemade

Source: Halle Cottis/Youtube

One Stevia rebaudiana plant provides a lot of sweeteners. A good rule of thumb is that one leaf is equivalent to one sweetener packet. The leaves are best harvested in the morning and prior to the plant flowering.

The easiest way to use stevia from the plant is to simply put a whole leaf, fresh or dried, into a drink. For those looking for something more traditional, stevia leaves can be harvested, dried, and powdered, at which time the conversion is 1/8 of a teaspoon to get a spoon of sugar.

If one stevia plant doesn’t provide enough sweetener, it’s very easy to multiply the plant via cuttings. Also, harvesting the leaves regularly and pruning the plant back in season will encourage it to grow more leaves.

Stevia, the Choice

By no means can we elude the FDA rulings, and the fact is that the powers that be have not approved stevia the plant for safe use. However, unrefined stevia leaves are commonly used worldwide and approved by authorities in other countries. As with anything we eat, we simply have to make the choice that feels right.

Related Content:

• Sales of Stevia Are On The Rise: Here’s How You Can Cut Back On Sugar
• What is Stevia and is it Good for You?
• Fillers and Additives: What to Watch Out For When Buying Stevia
• 5 Homemade Natural Energy Drinks to Fuel Your Workout
• 5 Benefits of Drinking Warm Lemon Water Each Morning

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Adopt-a-Pet: Visit WildWatchers, a watchdog platform specifically designed for animal, earth, and wildlife warriors to actively give back, rescue, and protect animals and the planet.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!