This photo gives you an idea of what kept me busy today - salsa, pickled peppers, and corn relish. Right now I'm hot and tired but I know we'll enjoy the taste of summer this winter.
While working at the kitchen, I thought I should write a little bit about canning with stevia.
I have found stevia a challenge to use in baking. Stevia is far sweeter than sugar. One teaspoon of stevia replaces a cup of sugar. In baking, the lack of bulk in the stevia completely changes the texture of the product.
But I have had good success using stevia in drinks and canning. Here the bulk does not affect the texture of the product. I have discerned a slight aftertaste in lemonade or iced tea but in canning, my experiments have been completely successful.
For canning fruit, I mix two teaspoons of stevia in a gallon of water. This makes a mild sweet syrup to pour over the fruit in jars. I have never had anyone distinguish any aftertaste in the fruit canned with stevia.
Last year I replaced half of the sugar in my ketchup recipe with stevia. Since that was successful, I may get the courage to try all stevia this year.
Today, I use stevia in my corn relish. The recipe called for two cups of sugar which I replaced with two teaspoons of stevia. The relish was so good I could have eaten it straight out of the jar!
Just a note, I use pure stevia with no added fillers. I purchase mine through Berlin Seed.
I always hated how many extra bags of sugar I had to purchase in the summer over canning season. I'm thrilled to have found an alternative.
Do any of you use stevia in canning?
This is fantastic Gina! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with stevia! I'm inspired to try it in my canning endeavors as well. I didn't see Berlin Seed come up in a search. Do they not have an internet presence?
ReplyDeleteQuinn-
DeleteBerlin Seed is owned by Amish and they don't have a website or an email address. I wrote about the company here http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2010/01/baker-creek-and-berlin-seeds.html and shared their phone number. I have had found good fast service from them by phone.
Gina
Could you share your corn relish recipe? This looks like something I could like to try. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSure! I'll try to type it up later today!
DeleteGina
Hi Gina, did you ever get a chance to write out your Corn Relish Recipe with Stevia. My husband and I are hovering over Type 2 diabetes. And I’m looking for recipes to cut out the sugar. Your ketchup recipe would be greatly appreciated as well.
DeleteThank you!
This is interesting, Gina! Do you know if it affects the safety? I thought sugar helped the preserving part - making thing safe to can?
ReplyDeleteJami-
DeleteFrom the research I have done, stevia is safe for canning. Some people say that the flavor is affected and recommend adding some lemon juice to help the flavor. I haven't had a problem with flavor in my fruit, but in the case of my corn relish, it already contains a lot of vinegar.
Most other sugar substitutes (such as NutraSweet - not that you would use it) are not recommended for canning because they are not stable with high heat and long shelf-life.
I also have not used stevia with pectin such as in jams. I think it is possible but I haven't done the research yet.
Hope that helps.
Gina
I have heard that stevia is safe to can but after opening and refrigerating it. Since there are no preserving properties with stevia, you need to eat up the fruit before it spoils.
DeleteI am canning too :) I have not used stevia before.. I am always leery of things of this kinda nature... but its good to know I am not the only insane woman out there canning in the hot summer.. HA HA HA
ReplyDeleteCould you post your corn relish recipe?? I'd love to try some. And we have lots of corn this year, so a good time to try it. And I wanna try the stevia as well. Thanks for posting your results, gives me courage to try!!
ReplyDeleteThis is something I might have to try! My sis uses splenda, have you ever used that?
ReplyDeleteI have heard of using splenda for canning but have never tried it.
DeleteGina
Would love receipes on making jam with stevia, I am diabetic, miss making jam and eating also, would love to know how freezer jam taste and if affects consistency.Also oother receipes.
ReplyDeleteI have read a little bit about making jams with stevia but never tried it. Apparently it is possible to makes jams with stevia and pectin. But jams that are thickened only with sugar can not be made with stevia as the sugar is needed for proper preserving.
DeleteIf you do some research and try it out - let me know how it works!
Gina
Check out www.intheraw.com. It is a stevia website and has how to make jams with stevia.
DeleteHi Gina, it looks like you're having a fun and productive summer! I'm trying to catch up on some blog reading, and this was such a timely post. Yes, I'm doing some test batches of canning with stevia this year. I'm really excited about it, if it works. My husband tasted some pie filling I did and he did not detect the after taste at all, which was good news. I've been using stevia in drinks for a couple years now and have started working it into baking, so I've actually become immune to any after taste and no longer taste it, if that makes any sense. It's just getting the ratios right that takes some practice. I also did a batch of freezer pickles and plan on using it in my chow chow, which is the last canning I do every year. Anyway, thanks for sharing your success with it. It's encouraging to hear about it.
ReplyDeleteGoing to try Stevia today when I can up apple juice. Processed 100 lbs of apples with steam juicer!
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful to have found your blog! I am working on recipes for canning without the dreaded sugar. I tried one making blackberry jam with apple juice concentrate and the Pomona pectin. But it is still not what I wanted. Now I use Stevia for my sweetner of choice in all other things. I have several different forms. You have encouraged me in this post to try it for canning, which I am in the middle of now. I am going to try it in my next batch of berry jams. Stevia is the only sweetner I feel I can trust, at least so far. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteI have picked my Concord grapes and am now ready to start making my jelly. I have some really nice Stevia plants and am ready to pick the leaves to use them for the sweetener. Does anyone have any idea how many leaves to use to sweeten a batch of jelly, using no sugar? It will probably be trial and error this time around, and I will post my findings. Unless I hear back otherwise, I am going to steep the leaves and boil the liquid down to make a sweet syrup for the jelly. Will probably have to add more no sugar added pectin to help with the jelling process. Well, here goes.....!!!!! Carol
ReplyDeleteCan I use fresh stevia in my canning tomatoes? I have two huge plants.
ReplyDeleteI have not experience using fresh stevia so I really have no idea how to use it in canning.
DeleteGina
Due to needing the liquidity sugar gives a product - do you think one could use a combination of sugar and stevia? I am making applesauce and thought about using 1 c sugar along with 1 tsp of stevia. What do you think? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI often use part sugar and part stevia. For example, a recipe that calls for 2 cups of sugar, I'll use 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp pure stevia powder. I have been pleased with the results. Just don't use too much stevia because that stuff is powerful!
DeleteGina
I use stevia powder. It is already processed into a powder. I'm not sure how you would use the leaves in canning but I am guessing that someone somewhere has tried it. Maybe try googling it and see what you find!
ReplyDeleteGina
Are you using Stevia extract powder or the Stevia that has xylitol or another bonding agent, like Truvia or Stevia in the raw?
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post! Can't wait to try it!
I am using stevia extract powder that contains no fillers. I buy it from Berlin Seed.
DeleteGina
Wow. I entered a long reply and it disappeared. It is almost two years from the original post and I wondered how only Stevia worked in Ketchup. Also is your Ketchup recipe from the "more with less" cookbook? I have that somewhere and tried it once but substituted something. It wasn't a big hit but I could tell that without the substitution it would have been great. I've been putting up green beans this week, but will be getting tomatoes next. :-)
ReplyDeleteSylvia-
DeleteI never got up the courage to use only stevia in ketchup. I figured it needed some sugar to "get right." I am using a recipe from a friend. I don't know how it compares with More with Less.
Gina
Gina -- is the stevia powder you are using a white, refined powder or a green powder that is just ground up dried leaves? I have heard that the refined powder is not a healthy alternative but most recipes I have found call for the white powder. I would like to can some things without all the sugar, like bread and butter pickles and relishes. Any chance you could post the corn relish recipe? Thanks for the article!
ReplyDeleteLiz
DeleteI am using the white refined powder. I know it is not to be as good as the green powder but I figure that it is still better than all that sugar that I used to can with!
Gina
I was trying to find a way to use stevia leaves and stumbled onto this delightful blog. I am just learning the joys of gardening and food preservation for winter and I can't believe I had not done this sooner in my life!
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing this blog! Going to check out more of it!!!
Best Wishes!
Sonny
I'm going to try Stevia powder with Watermelon pickle canning today. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteI canned my peaches with Stevia this year for the first time. 3 of the jars have peaches that are brown at the top of the jar. The lids are all still sealed on and the peaches smell fine. Have you had this happen before?
ReplyDeleteNo, I have not. Are the peaches still covered with liquid or are they out of the water?
DeleteGina
They are still covered in liquid.
DeleteLong time since original post but worth a try: do you have any experience or advice about using stevia in pickled beets?
ReplyDeleteI have not used stevia in pickled beets - but I have used it successfully in other types of pickles and relish. I usually try replacing half the sugar first with stevia (of course not the same amount!) and if we can't see a difference, replace all the sugar with stevia.
DeleteHappy canning,
Gina
Hello I was wondering if I could use stevia in the raw it's like measuring regular sugar I wonder if it's OK for canning
ReplyDeleteI don't know as I've never used it. I guess you could experiment with it.
DeleteGina
have you ever used stevia when pickling beets?? if so how much would i use? 1T stevia per 1 cup sugar??
ReplyDeleteI have never tried stevia for beets. My stevia is 1 teaspoon of stevia substituted for 1 cup of sugar - but your brand of stevia may differ.
DeleteGina
When you talk about stevia, you should tell how pure it is. Some steviaproducts are mixed with 90-95% inulin, and some stevia products are almost 100% pure steviol glycosides (the active compound).
ReplyDeleteThe pure stevia are aprox. 250-300 times more sweet than sugar. The "cheap"/dilluted products are usually 10-20 times more sweet than sugar.
I have a shaker on my table filled with 95% inulin and 5% pure stevia (98% steviol glycosides). It can (almost) be used as sugar. The inulin are a healthbonus Inulin can be bought as a tasteless, white powder. It is naturally in large quanteties in a few veggetables. Most Norwegians (like me), and probably most Americans, don't get enough inulin.
Sugar works as a preservative because it "binds up" a lot of the oxygen, leaving very litle left for the bacterias. Sugar doesn't kill them. When you leave out the sugar, you need more vinegar and/or sugar, especially if you want (very) long shelf life. I'm not afraid of sodium benzoate (E211), especially not when used only in the brine (which I don't consume). Using sodium benzoate in soft drinks is maybe another story.
SO sugar is not compulsory in canning preservea? I thought it was part of the preservaton of the fruits?
ReplyDeleteI have liquid and powdered stevia
I will try the liquid stevis tomorrow in some of the jars,how might I mark individual jars..what could I add inside the jar along with the peaches so these jars stand out? I have a fresh bush of stevia....would you use fresh stevia?I might stew some peaches on the stovetop to trial fresh stevia in the stewed fruits;what quantity might i need?Im guessing a teaspoon of chooped leaf to 1kg might be adequate?I dont like oversweet fruit.
Thanks
lalika
Sugar may be necessary for some things but I have successfully used stevia for canning fruits such as peaches and pears. I use pure powdered stevia but have no experience with fresh or liquid stevia.
DeleteI like to mark the lid of the jar with a permanent marker.
Gina
I can't thank God enough for you. I was concerned because we couldn't find a recipe without cane sugar and we had all this stevia growing in our crops. We are seniors, diabetics and we grow our own crops. Since I have a heart problem my husband helps with most of the canning these days and he does a little canning on his own - it's a hobby. He's a retired cook and baker. He's always looking for canning recipes. We cook together and we love your website and the Lord. I do a lot of bread making. Your website was a great find. We both signed up his email and mine: just in case one email goes down. We've been reading one other's mail to one another most of our lives, due to a visual impairment. We wanted you to get credit for your recipes and website so we subscribed both of us at my husband's request - we thought it would work in your favor. God bless you and beautiful family. -- Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteAlso used 2 tsp. stevia to one gallon of water. My peaches from last year are great. No one can tell the difference including the grandchildren. They love them.
ReplyDeleteCan I use Stevie in my canned tomatoes?
ReplyDeleteHave you made your ketchup using only stevia? We are on a low carb diet now & I need good alternatives to convince my husband we can live without sugar. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried only stevia in ketchup. But I know someone who does, so I think it is possible.
DeleteGina
Are you pressure canning? Or water bath...do you need to process longer when using Stevia..i would like to can ni sugar grape juice
ReplyDeleteWhen canning fruit with stevia I use the same time for water bath canning as with sugar.
DeleteGina
I just dehydrated and ground up my stevia. I wonder if I can use that in my canning peaches today?
ReplyDeleteI have never used stevia that I've grown myself. Try it and see!
DeleteGina
This is NOT safe canning practices.
ReplyDeleteI have a recipe that calls for a gallon of sugar but I would like to try stevia instead. Any suggestions on the sugar/stevia ratio? I also want to make jalapeno jelly with stevia as well.
ReplyDelete