I've used stevia in several forms, and found some to be better than others (in both the taste and the dangers of extra added ingredients).

I've tried a couple brands of the little paper packets, but found that it pays to read the ingredients very carefully to make sure there aren't hidden sugars used as the "filler" since each little packet only contains a tiny amount of stevia plus a large amount of filler. The three brands I tried all tasted sweet to me, and seemed to have about the same sweetening power as a similar sized packet of sugar or AS.

I looked at the the ready-to-use liquid extracts, but was turned off by: 1) the high price, 2) the fact that I didn't know if the gycerine used as the liquid base would have any bad effect on blood sugar/insulin, and 3) the fact that the label said the little bottle had to be refrigerated after opening (which defeats the point of having a little container of sweetner I can carry in my purse).

However, when I checked out the stevia cookbooks, I found a recipe for making my own stevia extract, which I have been making and using quite succesfully for a few weeks. I carry it in my purse in a little dropper bottle, and mix up a new batch once a week when I run out. It is amazingly cheap if you make it up yourself, easy to measure, and can be used in hot or cold beverages and smoothies.


HOMEMADE LIQUID STEVIA EXTRACT

3/4 teaspoon pure powdered white stevia (no filler)
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 tablespoon Everclear (or Vodka) (used as a preservative)

Dissolve the stevia powder in the warm water. Add the Everclear (or Vodka). Shake well. Pour into a small dropper bottle (I used a 1 oz bottle, available at most pharmacies & drug stores).


I find that one "squirt" from the dropper seems to have about the same sweetening power as a teaspoon of sugar.


~Isolde


PS - The powder I use to make the liquid extract is: NOW brand - Stevia Extract (Potent White Herbal Extract) - 1 oz - $7.15 - - - If my math is correct, I should be able to make at least 50 bottles of liquid extract from one bottle of powder at a cost of less than .15 cents per bottle.

PPS - The health food store I went to had three stevia cookbooks. I didn't buy them, since they each only had a handful of recipes that seemed useable for low carb purposes. But that answers the question someone asked about the availability of stevia cookbooks. I didn't write down the titles, sorry.