How to Prepare Green Stevia Powder

Stevia is an annual shrub that grows leaves that are many times sweeter than sugar. It is a native of Paraguay and Brazil . Glycosides in the leaves produce the sweetness. According to David Richard of Vital Health Publishing, these glycosides include about 10 percent steviosides and the plant has been used as a sweetener in native Brazilian drinks since the 1800s. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed it to be categorized as a noncaloric sweetener.

Things You'll Need

• Stevia leaves
• Dehydrator or cookie sheet
• Blender or spice grinder

Instructions

1. Allow your stevia to grow through the summer until it blossoms in the fall. Just before you expect a frost, harvest the whole plant by pulling it up from the ground. The freezing winter temperatures will kill it anyhow, so be sure to get it picked before it freezes and spoils the flavor.

2. Strip all the leaves and blossom ends off the stems. You can snap the branches off the main stem easily and then just run your fingers backwards up the stem and all the leaves will break off without much friction. Throw out the woody stems.

3. Place all the leaves in a dehydrator or on a baking pan. The leaves will already be pretty dry by this time in the season so it will not take the leaves very long to dry. A few hours in the dehydrator or an hour in a 170-degree oven will do. They are finished when you can crush them between your fingers and they easily break into tiny pieces.

4. Place the dried leaves into a blender or a clean spice grinder, if you have one. Pulse the machine, shaking it up as necessary until the leaves are ground into a fine powder. Pour the green powder into a container with a tight lid. You can now use this green powder as sweetener for tea or other applications where you don't need the characteristics of sugar, such as caramelization. Use it sparingly as it is about 10 times sweeter than sugar.

References

• Stevia.com
• Mayo Clinic