Question from Connie
I am new to this blog and haven’t read all postings so please forgive me if this issue has already been dealt with. I just tried making brownies with stevia in the raw and they taste really nasty. I had such high hopes and now I am so frustrated! They don’t taste sweet at all! I have been off sugar, honey, molasses, etc for 3 1/2 years due to severe hypoglycemia, so I am normally very aware of any sweet taste. I exchanged the sugar for stevia using the 2 teaspoon per packet measurement. I am baffled since the Truvia I use in my coffee tastes very sweet. Any ideas?
Thanks!!
Debra’s Answer
I totally understand. My first experience with stevia was an attempt to make brownies and they were horrible.
I wouldn’t recommend using the product Stevia Extract In The Raw. There is nothing raw about it, in either sense of the word. It’s not uncooked, and it’s not without any additions. The “in the raw” part of the name is just because it is made by the “Sugar In The Raw” company (which is also not uncooked, but is straight sugar).
Their website states that in their Packet Product,”The stevia extract is blended with dextrose, a natural carbohydrate derived from corn” and in their Cup For Cup “Baker’s Bag” Product, “Stevia extract is blended with maltodextrin, a natural carbohydrate derived from corn.” How a corn sweetener is zero calorie, I don’t know. But basically what is happening here is that highly refined corn extracts are being combined with highly refined stevia extracts to make a fractionated sweetener that is no more “whole” than refined white sugar.
I used to recommend stevia drops until I decided to use only whole food sweeteners. I do recommend whole stevia herb leaves, which can be eaten fresh off the plant, or used fresh or dried in hot and cold tea blends for sweetness, or brewed alone to make a sweet tea that can then be used as a liquid sweetener.
But stevia lacks the bulk of sugar and so is not very practical for baked goods.
Sorry I can’t give you any tips on how to make stevia brownies.
