SubscribeIt's been two years since the FDA approved stevia as a sweetener and our family celebrated that day. Since it's approval there have been many varieties of stevia introduced onto the market. Each one has a different taste, consistency and blend. I found a great article in the April issue of Natural Solutions magazine that tested six popular stevia brands in beverages and on food.
Brands include: ZSweet All Natural Supersweet, NOW Certified Organic Stevia, PureVia, Stevia Extract In The Raw, NuNaturals NuStevia White Stevia Powder and Truvia.
So here's the article:
What's In It: Erythritol, Stevia rebaudiana, and natural flavors
Verdict: A favorite granular sweetener, ZSweet isn't bitter and mixes well with beverages and food.
Those with an acute sweet tooth may prefer NOW or NuStevia
What's In It: Organic Stevia rebaudiana, orgainc inulin (from Jerusalem artichokes), and silica (from the mineral)
Verdict: Most testers liked the taste, but some found it too sweet. Powdery but not granular, NOW clumped a bit in beverages. But because it's the only individually packaged certified-organic stevia on the market, we'll overlook this minor detail.
What's In It: Reb A, erythritol, isomaltulose (a natural disaccharide found in honey and sugar cane), natural flavors, and cellulose powder (from fibrous plants)
Verdict: Several testers complained about a bitter aftertaste;others felt PureVia wasn't sweet enough. Granular, PureVia mixes well into most drinks and foods.
What's In It: Dextrose and rebA
Verdict: Sugar In The Raw's stevia version has a pleasant taste that may appeal to stevia newbies. Powdery, the brand is not best for fruit, but still dissolves easily in hot beverages, yoguart, and cereal.
NuNaturals NuStevia White Stevia Powder
What's In It: Stevia rebaudiana, maltodextin, and natural flavors
Verdict: Most testers preferred NuStevia's sweet but not-too-saccharine taste. The brand mixes well into beverages and yoguart, but its powder consistency could pack a punch on solid foods like grapefruit.
What's In It: Erythritol, rebA, and natural flavors
Verdict: Like PureVia, granular Truvia tastes more like sugar than other powders, but it loses potency when stirred into beverages. With virturally no aftertaste, Truvia works well on fruit and cereal.
You can find many of these products at your local grocery store baking aisle.
What's your favorite sweetener?
I’m Natalie. I’m a mom of three kids, two with type 1 diabetes. As you know, parenting children with type 1 diabetes is a journey of long nights, lots of work, and seldom much support. There’s not much I can do about your long nights, but I hope our website and blogs offer you some support. I look forward to blogging with you.