Sugar free options?

[goatgurl]

if you like hot tea you can just put a stevia leaf or two in with the tea leaves and voilà, sweetened tea. mine grows well here too FEM. and i have had it come up the following year too.

 

[Britesea]

You can just grind the dried leaves to a fine powder for most baked goods. I would love to grow it, but it's not frost resistant at all- I would have to grow it in a heated greenhouse up here. I had one plant once, but when I harvested the leaves I got at the end of the summer, it was only about a teaspoon of ground powder- enough for a few batches of brownies but not enough to keep myself in sweetened tea.

 

[goatgurl]

@Britesea you just need a bigger flower pot. it isn't frost resistant here either but i cut and pick it all summer long to get enough. and i usually have more than one plant.

 

[creativetwinszoo]

Stevia sounds awesome!
Wonder how well it would convert for canning, as it is much sweeter than regular sugar?

 

[Britesea]

You can use it for canning fruit very easily- but I think you would have to taste the syrup to get the sweetness you want. I haven't seen any charts giving amounts, and if you are growing your own - different plants provide different levels of sweetness.

 

[Fae]

I actually just tried making some raspberry jam with splenda instead of sugar... sucralose, to be exact. Used slightly underripe berries so they'd have a bit more pectin to help it thicken up a bit. I'll update with the morning if it set or not.

 

[sumi]

Welcome on board @Fae Please do let us know how that turned out.

 

[MoonShadows]

Hi Fae and . We're happy to have you with us.

I have never tried to make it with Splenda. We usually use concentrated grape juice for a "no sugar added" jam...comes out to about 1/2 the calories, 1/2 the carbs and 1/2 the sugar of a regular jam. Let us know how yours turned out.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hi Fae, and welcome. Can't wait to hear the results of your sugar free jam!

 

[baymule]

@frustratedearthmother how do you make the extract?