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    Home » Blog Post

    How to Make Stevia Extract

    October 17, 2013 9 Comments

    Detailed instructions on how to make stevia extract from leaves.

    how to make stevia extract

    I recently began an experiment with making my own stevia. I nurtured plants on our deck for months, harvested the leaves, and dried them to make stevia powder.

    This whole experiment with stevia began because of my addiction to all things sugar. And I’m equal opportunity. Molasses, coconut sugar, date sugar, honey, maple and agave syrup. I love them all.

    In fact, have an entire shelf dedicated to sugar.

    Let face it, it's not easy breaking an addiction to sugar. First of all, it's added to more foods than you would imagine. Second is the nightly bombardments of sugar-infused TV commercials after dinner. And thirdly, all those sugar and chocolate treats deliberately placed for the impulse buy while waiting to put my kale on the conveyor belt at the grocery store is just mean.

    I looked at sugar alternatives, and stevia was at the top of my list. But a lot of stevia on the grocery shelves is highly processed, with much of it mixed with various forms of sugar like dextrose.

    But then I found some plants at the nursery.

    Making Stevia Powder

    My first experiment was to dry some leaves and whirl them in a spice grinder. I added a pinch of the stevia powder to my morning yogurt and was thrilled with the result.

    It doesn’t take much to do the trick since the leaves are 30 – 50 times sweeter than sugar, and the sweetest part of the leaf is a mind-boggling 300 times sweeter.

    The down side was the powder didn’t melt in my tea and I was tired of leaf bits in my mouth.

    It was just a little too natural.

    Making Stevia Extract

    I needed to make stevia extract. It took two ingredients and 36 hours, but most of that time was spent sleeping, hanging out with friends, and writing.

    The big question is always “How does it taste?”

    I’ll be honest, there’s a faintly bitter aftertaste, similar to other sugar substitutes, but much less than I noticed in the powdered form. The aftertaste can be managed somewhat through the amount of time the leaves steep in alcohol, and by the level heat applied at the end.

    Here’s how to make your own at home.

    how to make stevia extract
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    Stevia Extract

    Tutorial on how to make your own stevia extract at home.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Steeping time1 d 6 hrs
    Total Time1 d 6 hrs 40 mins
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: homemade stevia extract, homemade stevia extract, how to make stevia extract, make my own stevia, how to make stevia extract

    Ingredients

    • Enough stevia leaves to fill a jar, loosely packed
    • Enough vodka to cover the leaves

    Instructions

    • Wash the leaves, dry them, and stuff them into a clean jar. Fill the jar, loosely packing the leaves. The more leaves you have, the less time it will take to infuse the liquid.
    • Pour enough vodka into the jar to completely cover the leaves. Vodka is commonly used for many extracts because of its neutral flavor.
    • Place a lid on the jar and set it on the counter for at least 24 hours. Test the liquid for sweetness. You’ll taste alcohol too, but just focus on the sweetness level. Continue to steep the leaves until you reach the amount of sweetness you want, but don’t go past 48 hours. Longer than 48 hours results in a dominant bitter flavor. I steep my leaves for 30 - 36 hours.
    • Place four layers of cheesecloth or a couple of coffee filters over the jar and strain the liquid into a small pot on the stove. Discard the leaves.
    • Warm the liquid over medium-low heat to maintain a very low simmer for 30 minutes, with only an occasional bubble. Be careful not to bring it to a boil. The extract will darken to pale amber, and dark particles will be apparent.
    • Strain the liquid again using fresh cheesecloth or coffee filters, and pour into a small jar. The extract can be refrigerated for up to three months, so be sure to label the jar.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. LindaB

      October 17, 2013 at 6:52 am

      Susan, you amaze me. You can figure out anything!

      Reply
    2. lizthechef

      October 17, 2013 at 7:45 am

      Well done - you amaze me with your experiments in the kitchen!

      Reply
    3. Elizabeth

      October 17, 2013 at 10:46 am

      Great work. Thanks for the info. Use of a non-processed sweetener can really help a lot of people.

      Reply
    4. Hannah

      October 17, 2013 at 11:56 am

      I love this post for October Unprocessed, Susan! What a terrific sweetener to keep on hand. I look forward to your Food52 column, too!

      Reply
    5. Norma Chang

      October 17, 2013 at 5:19 pm

      Thanks for the recipe. Amazing that it is so simple. Glad you figured it out and share with us.

      Reply
    6. apuginthekitchen

      October 18, 2013 at 1:14 pm

      Well that was easy!! Must try making my own stevia, next spring I will try to locate a plant or two. Thanks Susan!

      Reply
    7. Debra

      October 19, 2013 at 7:51 am

      I've seen stevia plants for sale with the other herbs but never picked any up b/c I had no idea how to process it. Not so anymore. Thanks.

      Reply
    8. mjskit

      October 21, 2013 at 7:31 pm

      I've been waiting for the result of those stevia plants! Headed over to check out your extract.

      Reply
    9. Mary Frances

      October 22, 2013 at 2:40 pm

      What a great idea. I love reading about your projects.

      Reply

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    Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

    I'm a mostly vegetarian married to a mostly carnivore and am on a constant hunt for healthy, delicious recipes we'll both like. Most recipes here are vegetarian with tips for adding meat or fish for the meat-eaters at the table. Whether you're vegetarian, or just wanting to eat less meat, I hope you'll find inspiration here to try something new for your own table, even if you're sharing it with someone with different eating preferences.

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