back. You can see they are reaching for the sun and getting a bit leggy. Harvesting and Drying Stevia Leaves may be harvested and used at any time. Fresh leaves pair well with mint for an easy, refreshing herbal tea. For a large single harvest, pick in late summer or fall just as plants are stating to blossom. If you wish to overwinter plants, leave at least 6 inches of plant intact to allow regrowth. Most recipes call for dried stevia powder or liquid stevia extract so that the flavor spreads more uniformly through the substance being sweetened, but feel free to experiment with fresh leaves. When harvesting, the leaves are much sweeter than the stem, so the stem is typically discarded. Stevia is harvested and dried like most herbs. You can cut off the desired stems from the plant and bundle them in small bundles (less than 1 inch in diameter) and hang dry, and strip the leaves after they have dried. Alternatively, you can strip the leaves off the cut stems and dry them in ahomemade or commercial dehydrator on low heat. Dried leaves will keep well for several years stored in a tightly sealed glass jar, and can be ground in batches as needed for recipes. 3-4 teaspoons of dried green stevia replaces one cup of refined sugar for sweetening, but you will need to experiment or find a good , because substituting stevia will change the texture and baking properties of food. How to Make Stevia Extract at Home Making homemade stevia extract is actually pretty easy, once you have the stevia. You can use fresh or dried stevia, although I’ve read that extract from the dried leaves tends to be more bitter. I made an alcohol based extract with fresh leaves and it turned out quite well. Homemade Alcohol Based Stevia Extract Here’s a bundle of leaves harvested from my stevia last fall. If you look closely, you can see that the leaves and stems are somewhat fuzzy. Start with clean stevia leaves, either fresh or dried. I rinsed my leaves off and gave them a spin inthe salad spinner. Chop (or break up) the leaves (you don’t want powder because it’s very messy). Place the leaf bits in a glass jar, and then pour in enough edible alcohol to cover. (Do not use rubbing alcohol.) I used vodka because it has the most neutral flavor. Label and put in a cool spot out of direct sunlight for two days, shaking or mixing gently a few times per day. (I put mine in my pantry. Note: The liquid level in the photo looks low because I am tilting the jar for the photo. The leaves should be submerged.) Don’t let it sit longer to try and get a stronger flavor. It will get more bitter. Don’t include stems so you have more material. They don’t contain much glycoside, which is what makes the stevia sweet. After two days, strain your now pale leaves through a coffee filter, cheesecloth, flour sack towel or other fine material. I used my bag in the bottom of my regular strainer. Take the stevia liquid and cook it over low heat – do not boil, or you will ruinit – it will burn and taste nasty. Simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes to drive off some of the alcohol and concentrate the extract. It will get darker and a bit thicker and some particulates may precipitate out. Strain through a filter into an opaque bottle (I recycled a vanilla extract bottle). are great if you have them on hand, as it only takes a few drops of extract to sweeten a drink or recipe. Cover, label and date. This extract will keep for around three months in the refrigerator. I found this extract to be quite sweet with very little bitterness. Given that the tiny bottles of stevia extract generally sell for at least $10 each, you can see how this would save you a lot of money over time if you use a lot of stevia. Homemade Water Based Stevia Extract Adapted from “” Ingredients 1/2 cup dried stevia leaves, tightly packed 1 cup water Directions Bring water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Do not boil. you should see small bubbles only. Stir in dried stevia leaves andremove from heat. Cover and let steep for 40 minutes. Strain out leaves. Pour into a clean glass jar, cover and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Yields approximately 1/2 cup extract. stocks both stevia seeds for planting and dried stevia leaves. They also carry an assortment of bottles, droppers and supplies. Plus, if you buy through my site, I get a small affiliate payment. (Thank you!) If you’ve been thinking of trying something new in the garden, or you use a lot of stevia and would like to save some money by growing your own, I encourage you to give stevia a try. It’s really quite easy to grow once you get the seeds started, and my plants are over two years old and still producing. My only regret is that I didn’t learn how to make the extract sooner and save myself some money. 🙂� As always, remember to share this post far and wide if you like it, because I’ve got no advertising budget. 😉� You may also enjoy: <br /><br /> <br /> <br /> Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission to support the site at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Related Posts :
