Stevia tips from SweetLeaf

I was contacted by Mariam of Wisdom Natural Brands, Inc. (the makers of SweetLeaf), and she offered some really helpful tips when baking with stevia. In response to my comment about stevia sometimes making recipes dense and flat, she said:

"...this is so true, which is why we recommend using recipes that are adapted to stevia (like the cookbook you used). So if one already has a recipe calling for stevia, then it should be just fine, but if they’re using an old recipe and just replacing the sugar with stevia, then something else needs to be added to attain the bulk of the missing sugar. The stevia gives the recipe a sweet taste, but the volume of the sugar needs to be replaced. If your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, we suggest using 1/3 c. plain apple sauce, apple butter, plain yogurt, powdered milk, sour cream, cream cheese, (or whatever else you think will work) as the volume replacement."

She went on to say:

"Also, Stevia is safe for cooking and baking, and heat stable to over 400 degrees. In baking, the only real difference from sugar is that stevia doesn’t caramelize or activate yeast."

I, for one, am glad to get the suggestions about good volume replacers in stevia recipes. Thanks, Mariam!

If you're ready to get started with stevia, go here for a great SweetLeaf equivalency chart to help you as you replace sugar with a healthier alternative.