RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

Stevia
Lauren Migrala
Culinary Institute of Virginia

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

2
Abstract

Stevia has become a bigger alternative to sugar in the past decade

because its perceived as a healthier and more natural substitute rather than
Splenda, Sweet N Low, or Equal. Stevia has many pros, despite it not being
a perfect substitute to sugar, without all the negative effects that sugar has
on your body in the long run.

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

3
Stevia

Stevia or Stevia rebaudiana Bert. is part of the genus Stevia and is the
only one out of the 154 members that produce sweet steviol glycosides. Its
native to the valley of the Rio Monday in Paraguay. (Brandle, Starratt, Gijzen,
1998) It has multiple uses, but the most popular being a low glycemic
alternative to sugar, meaning those who are hyperglycemic can enjoy the
sweetness of Stevia without having to worry about their blood sugar levels. It
is also non-caloric so its good for people who are trying to lose weight and
help with cravings for sugar. Along with the hyperglycemic benefit, its also
Kosher.
Stevia is made up of a mixture of 8 glycoside diterpeniques; stevioside,
rebaudioside A, rebaudioside B, ducloside A, stevioviosides, stevion, and
isoesteviol. The most relevant components are stevioside (50%) and
rebaudioside A (30%). The others are present but in quantities undetectable.
The chemical formula of Stevia is C44 H70O23 whereas sugar is C12H22O11
(Inkanatura, 2016) Stevia looks very similar to sugar, but is more powdery
and contains crystals that are a nice bright white color. Sugar plays a large
part in baking beyond its sweetness, sugar also adds color, gives the product
a tender texture, acts as a food for yeast, and retains moisture.
Unfortunately, stevia doesnt add color, doesnt make the product quite as
tender, and doesnt ferment, therefore is unable to help yeast grow.
However, Stevia is water soluble, extremely heat stable, and will not give
you the long-term problems sugar eventually does.

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

The obvious thing you have to do while baking with stevia is to figure
out the ratio needed to get the same level of sweetness with sugar, since it
is 300 times that. For 1 cup of sugar, you need 1 teaspoon of powdered
stevia extract or liquid stevia extract. It wont be exactly that ratio for every
recipe, so you have to play around a little with the recipe depending on how
sweet you would like end product to be. Another big change in the MOP is
the order that the ingredients go in. Take a chocolate chip creamed cookie
for example; we cream the butter and sugar, slowly add eggs and vanilla,
then add in the dry ingredients. When using stevia, its a little different; we
start by whipping the eggs, vanilla, and stevia then add the butter and let it
whip up a little bit, and finish off by adding the rest of the dry ingredients.
Sugar vs. Stevia is prepared pretty differently in order to produce the same
product in the end.
The actual end product when using stevia looks very different than when
using sugar. I made chocolate chip cookies with stevia and the cookie dough
looked the same before baking, but never spread in the oven causing them
to stay in a ball shape. Before I had actually done the method, I thought it
was going to be very different from the typical creaming method for cookies
but it didnt end up being too different. I used white stevia powder for my
cookies, so I only ended up using a of a teaspoon in order to sweeten 2dozen cookies, which, in comparison to sugar, is a huge gap. We normally
use anywhere from 6-12 ounces of sugar in typical chocolate chip cookies,
depending on where you get the recipe from. Compare 10 ounces of sugar to

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

of a teaspoon of stevia powder and thats a gigantic difference, which

makes a huge impact on the end product, as I found out. Another pretty big
thing that happened to my cookies, as a result of them not spreading, is that
they were pretty dense and almost under baked on the inside. I used a larger
than normal scoop so even though the outsides were nice and browned, the
insides still couldve used a good 10 extra minutes of baking. They baked for
around 27 minutes, which is a pretty long time for cookies. The cookies
tasted really good, despite all of the problems I encountered throughout the
baking process. They had a different texture, almost powdery, but besides
the texture they had a very nice taste to them.
There are a lot of cons to baking with stevia, but I think that compared
to sugar, the pros far outweigh the cons. Stevia isnt known to cause as
many, if any, health problems like sugar has. While it isnt the most ideal
substitute for sugar, its definitely one of the better substitutes compared to
Splenda and Equal.

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

Stevia in 3 forms; plant, powder, and cube.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ounces
Ingredients:
scoop)
7 ounces
Butter
7 ounces
All Purpose Shortening
10 ounces
Sugar
7 ounces
Light Brown Sugar
5 ounces
Eggs
ounce
Vanilla Extract
1 pound 3 ounces All Purpose Flour
ounce
Salt
1 pound 4 ounces Chocolate Chips

Yield: 3 dozen @
(#24

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

Preparation: Creaming for Cookies Method

.
1.
2.

Sift dry ingredients EXCEPT SUGAR together. Set aside.

On mixer with paddle cream fats, sugars and salt on 1st speed, just
till smooth.
3. Scrape.
4. Slowly add and blend in eggs and vanilla extract, in stages, on 1st
speed.
5. Scrape.
6. Add sifted dry ingredients all at once and mix until almost combined.
7. Add chocolate chips and mix till just completely blended.
8.
Deposit on paper lined sheet pans.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Stevia

Yield: 3
dozen @ 2 ounces
Ingredients:

(#24

scoop)
7 ounces
Butter
7 ounces
All Purpose Shortening
1 teaspoon
Stevia Powder
5 each eggs
Eggs
2 1/3 cups
Applesauce, unsweetened
1 ounce
Vanilla Extract
1 pound 3 ounces All Purpose Flour
ounce
Salt
1 pound 4 ounces Chocolate Chips
Preparation: Creaming for Cookies Method
.
1. Add all eggs, applesauce, vanilla, and stevia powder into mixer and
mix on 1st speed until slightly foamy.
2. Sift flour and salt. Set aside.
3. Add butter and shortening in chunks into mixer, slowly. Mix on 2nd
speed until creamy. Make sure to scrape sides to fully incorporate all

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

4.
5.
6.
7.

ingredients.
Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop onto lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Bibliography
Brandle, J. E., Starratt, A. N., & Gijzen, M. (1998). Stevia rebaudiana : Its
agricultural, biological, and chemical properties. Canadian Journal of
Plant Science Can. J. Plant Sci., 78(4), 527-536.

RUNNING HEAD: Stevia

Flint Marx, R. (2011, December 11). Baking with Sugar Substitutes. Retrieved
March 19, 2016, from http://www.chowhound.com/foodnews/100627/baking-with-sugar-substitutes/#!
Inkanat. (n.d.). Stevia, the natural sweetener. Retrieved March 19, 2016, from
http://www.inkanat.com/en/arti.asp?ref=stevia
Richard, D. (2007, February 15). Stevia.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016, from
http://www.stevia.com/Stevia_Article/Frequently_asked_questions_FAQ/
2269
Sahelian, R., & Gates, D. (1999). Stevia Conversion Chart. Retrieved March
19, 2016, from http://www.stevia.net/conversion.html#comment971364
(2013, September 12). Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/39601stevia-facts-safety.html