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Substitute Stevia for Agave Nectar?

(19 posts)
  • Started 2 years ago by rachel
  • Latest reply from lisastafford
  • 3 Members Subscribed To Topic

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  1. rachel
    Member

    I'm not celiac but do have a sensitivity to gluten, sugar, soy and dairy. I've all but cut sugar out of my diet which has been a huge change for me. I'd do almost anything for a cookie! Stevia is my only "legal" sweetener but most of the recipes I can find that use it contain some of my "illegals". I found this fabulous blog last night (and ended up staying up until all hours reading it) and have sleepily spent the day dreaming of yummy Elana-food. Do you have any advice for substituting stevia for agave nectar? Is it even possible or does it end up kind of yicky? I'm a novice cook and baker and am overwhelmed by the variety of stevia options and how to use them. I would love any advice.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  2. suekam
    Member

    I have the exact same sensitivities (at least so I'm told... I haven't been able to cut them all out at once - too overwhelming! I've been concentrating on the gluten.) What's the blog you found?? I've been dealing with these diet changes for about 2 months and would love to find others in the same situation - DH is pretty numb to my complaining after 7 YEARS of stomach problems!!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  3. Vee
    Member

    Rachel,
    I've been thrilled with finding Elana's blog site as well. So encouraging and fun to read. Love the recipes.
    I'm curious as to why you don't use agave nectar? I think substituting it when agave nectar is called for in a recipe would cause taste and consistency woes.

    I did find for you on another site, a chocolate chip cookie recipe using only stevia as a sweetener, that might work if you use appropriate substitutions for the butter and the regular flour it calls for. I found it at http://www.stevia.net Let us know how it turns out if you try it.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  4. Ninufar
    Member

    I'd be interested in anyone else's reports, & if I try a recipe here I will post the results. I've eaten things w/agave and been okay, but I'm very cautious with all syrups/sugars/etc.

    Am tempted to buy a stevia cookbook w/o buying the stevia. (I'm just cooking for myself, & I'm used to mild tastes, but I'm ready to believe in Vee's predictions of consistency woes. I left the sweetener out of another GF bread-type recipe recently and it tasted fine... just took 40min longer to cook than predicted!!! More like a big lump than a loaf, too.)

    Posted 1 year ago #

  5. benevolentkitchen
    Member

    please watch the amount of stevia you use -- it is not really intended for 'food' use like sugar and agave -- it is an herb -- plus a little goes a long way like 1 t dry stevia = 1 cup sugar in sweetness. Sweeteners are part of the main chemical reaction in baking, so a major alternation, like sugar vs. stevia makes a HUGE difference. agave is acceptable for diabetics though.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  6. zebe912
    Member

    Stevia definitely interacts differently with ingredients than any sort of syrup or dry sugar so it isn't just an even substitute all the time. If you can get over the way it tastes, then search for gluten free stevia recipes that people have already "test driven." That way you can get your feet wet on things that should be successful (that's how I used Elana's blog when learning to cook GF & RSF). Eventually you'll be able to figure out substitutions on your own. I just don't like the taste of stevia!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  7. lcameris
    Member

    Has anyone been experimenting with a sweetener called Erythritol? It's made from sugar, but supposedly has not after taste. A brand-name is ZSweet, but there's others too. Whole Foods carries it. I've yet to use it, but I just bought some.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  8. chariscreations
    Member

    Has anyone ever heard of the sweetener Lakanto? I am interested to find out if anyone has tried it, and if anyone has any other information on it, other than the website that is selling it!! Thank you!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  9. kangachick
    Member

    does anyone know when it is best to use stevia and when not to? I am not sure when I should use it and when I shouldn't.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  10. Diane
    Member

    Rachel, I use Stevia for everything (it is my only legal sweetener as well). For every 1/4 cup of Agave nectar, I sub approx 2.5 teaspoons of a Stevia Blend + 1/4 pear (you can try some other fruit to give some bulk). I also generally up the # of eggs by about 25-50% or even added flax meal with a little water (experimentation is the only solution). So far, I have made Elana's Orange Cake, Chocolate Chip Brownies (w/o the chips, due to the sugar) & Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (recipe from another website) this week with Stevia & pears as my only sweetners & they are absolutely yummy (the texture is great too). My hubby, who can eat whatever he wants, including gluten & sugar, absolutely loves them. The brand of the Stevia Blend I use is StevitaStevia.com's Spoonable Stevia product, their filler is erythritol. I have been using all their products for over 6yrs (except the gum, I don't chew gum) & buy the Spoonable Stevia in 1lb jars, specifically sold for baking. You can call them for free samples, and purchase directly through them (call them for discounted pricing) or I believe they sell it through Amazon as well. I have tried most of the Stevia products on the market & this one has the least after-taste. The stevia substitution depends on the brand & the blend, so you have to experiment. I read on another forum on Elena's website, that someone substitutes 1/4 cup of Agave for 1/2 cup of sugar in recipes, so I am ready to experiment with other recipes as well. Thanks Elana for providing such wonderful recipes and a place for an exchange of helpful info.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  11. foodintolerancescook
    Member

    Diane! I really like your suggestion. Is it possible you could e-mail the recipes with your substitutions to me? I run a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free website (and DIET) and I would love to try your substitutes. Can you email me at foodintolerancescook@gmail.com ? Do you use pureed pears or what and what is one forth of a pear? 1/4 cup? Please let me know. You can see my site too at http://www.foodintolerancescook.blogspot.com

    Posted 1 year ago #

  12. Elissa
    Member

    I recently made a nice fruit cake sweetened with pineapples and stevia (and of course, fruit) and that worked really well. I mix it in some orange juice, but so far I've not been game to try it in other recipes - I think i'll try your suggestions Diane, It's difficult for me to find agave here and I prefer to use stevia anyway. Thanks!

    Posted 9 months ago #

  13. Gini
    Member

    For those, like me, who need an agave substitute, http://www.vivapura.com has "Jerusalem Artichoke Syrup". It is about 13 on the glycemic index. They are the only ones in the U.S. that have this product. I have used it with good results in the recipes I have tried so far. I am new to this forum and am grateful to have found it! I especially needed the help with pancake turning, can't wait to try them again. The taste is fab. I freeze the leftovers and before work pop them into the toaster oven and think I am having a great pastry with my yogurt/fruit breakfast. Thanks all for being there!

    Posted 9 months ago #

  14. adelshad
    Member

    I made Elana's ginger cookies with stevia (mostly - I left in 2 T. agave) - I added an egg to make up for the lost liquid. The result was more muffin like than cookies like, but still very tasty! The recipe with these changes are on my blog http://www.delshadduo.blogspot.com

    Posted 8 months ago #

  15. panthergirl
    Member

    FYI All,
    The agave acts as a binding agent, and Adelshad has the right idea. When substituting stevia, a 1/2 stevia 1/2 agave mixture plus an egg will give "bind" but also sometimes be more cake-like than crumbly. This only mattered to me when having the 'chocolate chip cookies'. Otherwise, I've been happily doing the 1/2 blend for about a year now.
    Regards.

    Posted 8 months ago #

  16. susancache
    Member

    I am very new here - as of today! I have been using little packets of stevia powder for a couple of years. Part of the problem is that all the different forms of it have different ratios of sweetness. So it is hard to know how much. I always substitute small amounts of it for cooking recipes such as stews,mulegatawny, red cabbage, and other recipes calling for smaller amounts of sugar. I have even substituted part stevia in cranberry sauce to replace part of the sugar. I find that letting the food refrigerate for a day before eating it gets rid of the slight bitter flavor. Maybe it just needs to fully absorb? Baking something sweet is not something I have figured out yet. So - off to try Diane's ideas above.....

    Posted 7 months ago #

  17. Ari- The Frugally Rich Life
    Member

    Diane! How exactly do you substitute the pear and the stevia? Is one-forth pear equal to 1/4 c.? Do you have any of your recipes written down? Could you email me back? This would really, really help me out! Thank you! -Ari

    PS. My email is thefrugallyrichlife AT gmail DOT com.

    Posted 5 months ago #

  18. Diane
    Member

    Ari,

    Clarification re my substitution of stevia (& pear) for agave syrup (posted 7 months ago, above):
    "For every 1/4 cup of Agave nectar, I sub approx 2.5 teaspoons of a Stevia Blend + 1/4 pear (you can try some other fruit to give some bulk). .... The brand of the Stevia Blend I use is StevitaStevia.com's Spoonable Stevia product, their filler is erythritol."

    When Elana's recipe calls for 1/4 cup of Agave nectar, I use approx 2.5 tspns of Stevita Stevia's Spoonable Stevia AND a peeled & cored quarter of a fresh or frozen ripe pear (I have generally used Anjou pears - got a bunch for a really good price & froze a couple of bags of peeled quarters for future use). I generally blend the pear quarters (fresh/frozen) with other liquid ingredients (eggs, vanilla, etc) in my Vitamix & add my liquid mixture to my dry, 'flour' mixture. I have experimented by incorporating the stevia with the liquid ingredients and also by mixing it in with the 'flour', dry ingredients & sifting them together; both ways work. I don't always increase the eggs, as sometimes it may taste 'eggy'.

    Since, I love experimenting every time I bake/cook, I never follow a recipe, not even mine (that would be so boring). So, I don't have any written recipes (much to my hubby's disgust). I believe for both of Elana's recipes I mentioned in my earlier post, I tried to stick to her recipe as much as I could (since I was trying to figure out the stevia substitution myself). Now, I generally use Elana's recipes as a guideline & then just have fun & go crazy.

    Hope this helps, keep us posted on your experimentations.

    Diane J.

    Posted 5 months ago #

  19. lisastafford
    Member

    Have you all looked into Xylitol? There are some other threads on this discussion board about it. We use toothpaste and gum that contain Xylitol and I have been reading more about it.

    Posted 5 months ago #

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