Introduction
Stevia is an incredibly sweet herb, obtained by a natural selective breeding process of the sweetest Stevia parent plants. Prof. Dr. Jan M.C. Geuns of the Catholic University of Leuven (KULeuven) is responsible for the scientific research and the optimising of the growth conditions of this plant. The sweetener, stevioside, extracted from the plants, is 300 times sweeter than sugar. The fresh leaves have a nice liquorice taste.
What makes the Stevia plant so special is that it can be used to replace sugar (sucrose). Indeed, the leaves contain diterpene glucosides with a sweet taste but which are not metabolised and contain no calories. The biggest part of the glucosides consists of the stevioside molecule.
The principal advantages of Stevia are the following:
it is a completely natural non-synthetic product;
stevioside (the sweetener) contains absolutely no calories;
the leaves can be used in their natural state;
thanks to its enormous sweetening power, only small quantities need to be used;
the plant is non-toxic;
the leaves as well as the pure stevioside extract can be cooked;
no aftertaste or bitterness;
stable when heated up to 200 degrees;
non fermentative;
flavour enhancing;
Clinically tested and frequently used by humans without negative effect;
ideal, non-addictive sweetener for children.
The University of Leuven regularly tests the Stepa®-powders on the content of sweetener and on the bacterial composition which is a garuantee for the excellent quality of our product. Beware of imitations!
Many different uses of Stevia are already well-known : as table sugar, in soft drinks, pastry, pickles, tobacco products, candy, confiture, jam, yoghurt, chewing gum, sorbets... The dried leaves of STEPA® are 45 times sweeter than sugar.