Stevia

[PunkinPeep]

I pruned it, and now i'm simmering the leaves i pruned to see if i can make some sweet "tea" to add to my -- well, whatever i want.

Snagging a leaf to eat while working outside is a really wonderful treat.

Let us know how that works. Maybe you've come up with a plan to be able to use it.

My concoction is very strong; it also has a lot of the flavor of the plant - as opposed to just the sweetness of it.

I'm wishing now that i had dried half of the leaves and THEN steeped them in hot water. I'm thinking that would make a sweeter concentration, possibly with less flavor of the plant that isn't as sweet.

I know that part of this is just because of using leaves harvested in the spring instead of the fall.

I'm going to put my leaves and liquid in the fridge for a couple of days and then strain out the leaves. I read somewhere that letting it cool helps somehow.

I also know that i've read somewhere about someone making tea out of stevia and using that tea to sweeten their iced tea, etc.

I just need to figure out the best way for me to do it.

I had that same result with crushing the dried stevia leaves. They don't ever dissolve in the liquid; they just float on top. They also don't share their sweetness with whatever they're in. I still have some in my freezer from last fall's harvest. I'm thinking if i make a tea bag out of cheese cloth or a coffee filter and steep the little pieces that way, i might be able to use them. They're very sweet when i put some on my finger and put it in my mouth.

YUM.

 

[jojo54]

I never thought about freezing the leaves. I also never tried to use them fresh either - only ate them or dried them. Now I have new things to try. Let us know the results of your "brew" after sitting a few days.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I almost forgot to report back about my stevia brew.

I like it, but it isn't a sweetener exactly. You know that other flavor that's in the leaf when you just pick one and chew it up? Well, that flavor is magnified in my brew by quite a bit.

The sweetness - not so much.

Next time, i'll dry them first and then steep them in hot water and see how that goes.

I am enjoying adding this green concoction to my already sweet tea - or to orange juice - or whatever. It's a nice earthy flavor, and it makes my husband look at me funny when i pull out the jar of dark green liquid and put it in my drink.

We've been having a lot of rain lately, and my stevia is growing fast, so maybe i'll get to prune it again soon and do more experimentation.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Wanted to update you on my last stevia sweetener experiment.

This time when i pruned, i dried the leaves and then steeped them in hot water.

I put maybe ten dried leaves in two cups of water and steeped for a very long time.

It got a little sweet, but it took two cups of the concoction to sweeten two more cups of tea. And it was mildly sweet and delicious, but still not what i'm looking for.

Maybe it will be better when i'm harvesting for real in the fall and the leaves are sweeter. I hope so.

But my plant needs to be pruned again, and i need to think of what else i can try to get my tea sweetened.